The Legal 500 United States 2017 ranks Gibbs & Bruns LLP a leading law firm in several practice categories, including Leading Trial Lawyers, Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas, General Commercial Disputes and Securities Litigation: Plaintiff.
Partners Robin Gibbs, Kathy Patrick and Barrett Reasoner are highlighted on the selective “Leading US Trial Lawyers” shortlist which names just 54 lawyers nationwide.
In addition, Gibbs & Bruns maintains its “Tier 1” ranking in Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas – one of just four firms nationwide selected for this honor. The firm’s securities litigation expertise was highlighted in Securities Litigation – Plaintiff and the firm debuted on the venerable General Commercial Disputes list alongside many of the nation’s top AmLaw 100 firms.
LEADING TRIAL LAWYERS
Three Gibbs & Bruns trial lawyers, Robin Gibbs, Kathy Patrick and Barrett Reasoner are named on the 2017 shortlist of top trial lawyers in the US:
Robin Gibbs
‘All-around excellent trial lawyer’ Robin Gibbs represents both plaintiffs and defendants. The Houston-based lawyer is acting for plaintiff Sanchez Oil & Gas and two related public companies against three former employees and Terra Energy Partners, claiming alleged trade secret and confidential data misappropriation; the trial is scheduled for March 2017. Other highlights included assisting Enterprise with delay, defect and project mismanagement claims against Amec Foster Wheeler arising from the construction of a large petrochemical refinery in Mont Belvieu, Texas. Houston-based Gibbs is also defending a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan against the attempt to frustrate a coal delivery contract by Drummond Coal Sales.
Kathy Patrick
Although Kathy Patrick’s main strength is in securities law, she also tries cases of legal malpractice and credit recovery. She secured court approval for a $4.5bn settlement for 21 institutional investors in a case involving mortgage repurchase claims filed by the trustees of 330 RMBS trusts. Houston-based Patrick’s clients also included PIMCO, Ambac Assurance and the State of Arizona.
ENERGY LITIGATION: OIL & GAS
Gibbs & Bruns LLP is one of only four law firms, nationwide, selected for the Tier 1 position in Legal 500’s rankings. Robin Gibbs is lauded as a “Leading Lawyer” for Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas, one of just eight lawyers recognized in the nation in this category. Brian Ross was named a “Next Generation Lawyer” for Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas.
Gibbs & Bruns LLP is ‘very good’ at plaintiff and defendant representation, handling a wide range of contentious matters, including contract and construction disputes. The team, which includes recently promoted partner Anthony Kaim, defended Occidental Energy Marketing and Oxy Ingleside LPG Pipeline against breach of contract allegations made by NuStar Logistics; the dispute arose from a liquid propane pipeline refurbishment project in Texas and the associated take-or-pay arrangement made between the three parties, which was subsequently terminated by Oxy. In a separate matter, Robin Gibbs represented Enterprise Products Operating in a construction and engineering lawsuit against its contractor Amec Foster Wheeler and its British parent company. Barrett Reasoner is highly recommended.
SECURITIES LITIGATION: PLAINTIFF
Gibbs & Bruns is ranked among just 13 firms highlighted in the 2017 editorial for Securities Litigation: Plaintiff.
‘Barrister-style practice’ Gibbs & Bruns LLP in Houston has ‘a sophisticated client base of institutional investors for which it finds helpful and creative ways to solve problems’. Following successes in high-profile MBS cases, which included securing settlements for institutional investors of $8.5bn in the Countrywide RMBS matter and $4.5bn from JPMorgan, the firm is now heavily involved in a wide range of cases. The firm’s ‘brilliant, well-rounded lawyers’ include Kathy Patrick and Scott Humphries, who are representing institutional investors including WGI Emerging Markets in a securities fraud action against Petrobras arising from the company’s Lava Jato bribes-for-contracts scandal. Patrick and David Sheeren are also part of the team that filed an $800m suit on behalf of Fannie Mae against nine banks for alleged manipulation of financial benchmarks, including Libor. Robert Madden and founding partner Robin Gibbs are also highly recommended.
GENERAL COMMERCIAL DISPUTES
Gibbs & Bruns is ranked this year in this strong field, standing toe to toe with some of the nation’s top AmLaw 100 firms.
The 26-strong team at Gibbs & Bruns LLP operates from Houston and is widely recognized as a leading litigation firm in Texas. Its broad caseload also takes it elsewhere in the country, with recent cases playing out in New York, Alabama and California. Scott Humphries, Aundrea Gulley and Sam Cruse are currently representing FGH Biotech in fraud and trade secrets litigation against Medivation. Founding partner Robin Gibbs is a ‘top-of-his-game trial lawyer’.
