Conor McEvily’s practice focuses on appellate advocacy and brief writing in the context of complex commercial litigation disputes, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts and in domestic and international arbitrations. Conor’s experience includes breach of contract, class action, tax, property, and energy matters.
Conor joined Gibbs & Bruns in 2019 following a career in the appellate section of Vinson & Elkins, LLP in Houston.
Oral advocate and lead brief writer of directed-verdict motions in $60 million contract case (D. Colo.)
Oral advocate and lead brief writer of successful directed-verdict motion in contract case (S.D. Tex.)
Oral advocate and lead brief writer in successful defense of state tax law (Tex. App.—El Paso)
Oral advocate and lead brief writer in constitutional challenge to state tax law (Tex. App.—Tyler)
Lead brief writer in successful appeal of district court’s denial of federal habeas relief (4th Cir.)
Lead brief writer in successful jurisdictional challenge in $50 million putative class action (D. Del.)
Lead brief writer in challenge to class certification in $30 million mineral-rights dispute (10th Cir.)
Lead brief writer of mandamus petition in $2.5 million employment dispute (5th Cir.)
Lead brief writer in cross-appeal of $25 million fraud and breach-of-contract case (5th Cir.)
Lead brief writer in successful appeal preserving $10 million mineral lease (La. App. 2d Cir.)
Lead brief writer of federal habeas petition challenging Texas inmate’s capital sentence (S.D. Tex.)
Contributing brief writer of merits briefing on behalf of petitioner in Elonis v. United States (S. Ct.)
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2011
The Georgetown Law Journal, Senior Administrative Editor
University of Notre Dame, B.A., English, 2007
University Honors Program
Listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2023
Appellate Practice
Commercial Litigation
Named a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters, 2023
State Bar of Texas, 2011
United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Houston Chronicle, Op-ed Contributor
“Looking Ahead: October Term 2015,” CATO SUP. CT. REV. (2015) (co-authored)
“Vested Interests: The Felon Body-Armor Ban and the Continuing Vitality of Scarborough v. United States,” 100 GEO. L. J. 1341 (2012)