|
|
Chris Johns |
 |
Chris Johns focuses on appellate litigation and has successfully represented clients before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals, and numerous Texas trial courts and courts of appeals. Chris is a lawyer’s lawyer, someone who loves getting into a case, distilling its essential message, and coming up with some new angle or perspective to help clients win their case. He has handled dispositive motions and appeals across a broad spectrum of litigation categories, including eminent domain, probate, complex business transactions, intellectual property, admiralty, legal ethics, and constitutional questions. |
|
Chris received his J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was editor in chief of the Texas Law Review, a member of the Chancellors honor society, and a member of the Order of the Coif. He also had the distinction of receiving Dean’s Achievement Awards in several of his classes.
After graduation, Chris clerked for the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Following his clerkship, he attended the University of Oxford (Trinity College) to study under Peter Birks, the late Regius Professor of Civil Law and scholar of English private law. As part of completing his postgraduate law degree at Oxford, Chris authored a frequently cited dissertation analyzing the relationship between unjust enrichment and the law of wrongs.
A former Spanish interpreter, Chris received Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s pro bono service award, and he continues to donate substantial time to pro bono representations each year. He has appeared as a guest legal expert on an Austin news program and has authored multiple articles on legal issues for the Austin Chronicle.
Chris is admitted to practice in Texas (2004), the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. |
 |
|
 |
- Coauthored the winning merits brief and sat second chair in the United States Supreme Court case of Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc., 547 U.S. 356 (2006), in which the Court ruled 9–0 in the client’s favor.
- Briefed and argued an admiralty appeal in the Second Circuit, resulting in the reversal of a liability determination and dismissal of claims potentially exceeding $100 million, in Rationis Enterprises Inc. of Panama v. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., 426 F.3d 580 (2d Cir. 2005).
- Coauthored the prevailing appellants’ brief in In re Napster Copyright Litigation, 479 F.3d 1078 (9th Cir. 2007), which reversed a district court’s order to disclose privileged information.
- Coauthored a successful appellee’s brief in Rowe Entertainment, Inc. v. William Morris Agency, Inc., 167 Fed. Appx. 227 (2d Cir. 2005), affirming dismissal of civil-rights and antitrust claims.
- Wrote the Software and Information Industry Association’s amicus brief, which was cited by the U.S. Solicitor General, supporting Microsoft’s successful petition for certiorari in Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 550 U.S. 437 (2007).
- Wrote the prevailing appellee’s brief in Southwest Intelecom Inc. v. Compass Bank, 253 Fed. Appx. 372 (5th Cir. 2007), affirming dismissal of UCC and common-law claims against the client bank.
- Authored the winning brief in Tomlinson v. Estate of Theis, 2008 WL 160202 (Tex. App.—Austin Jan. 18, 2008, no pet.), resisting a will challenge involving a multimillion-dollar estate.
- Coauthored the successful motion to dismiss in Allen v. Russian Federation, 522 F.Supp.2d 167 (D.D.C. 2007), a highly publicized investor suit.
- Coauthored the successful motion for summary judgment in S&D Trading Academy, LLC v. AAFIS Inc., 2008 WL 2325167 (S.D. Tex. June 3, 2008), in which the district court applied the Texas Securities Act to bar the plaintiffs’ claims.
- Wrote and argued prevailing motion for summary judgment for BASF in a case involving chemicals spilled during transport.
- Authored a detailed complaint against a Fortune Global 10 company, alleging trade-secret misappropriation and other claims, prompting the defendant to agree to a high-eight-figure settlement.
|
|
 |
|
|
Glenn Sodd
Chris Johns