John B. Thomas is known for his deep experience in handling complex commercial litigation. He and the firm’s lawyers represent both defendants and plaintiffs in lawsuits involving oil and gas, securities, environmental matters, banking, transportation, intellectual property, and health care.
Mr. Thomas has been named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America, listed in Best Lawyers in America for his work in Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation, selected as a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters for every year since Texas Super Lawyers’ inception, and listed by Chambers USA as one of the leading lawyers in the country. He has an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.
Mr. Thomas received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and earned his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University, where he was a Division I athlete. Following law school, he clerked for Edith H. Jones, Chief Judge (former) of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Following are just a few examples of Mr. Thomas’ work for clients:
- INA, the Croatian national oil company, in international arbitration tried in London and New York and involving claims that INA was guilty of tortious interference with a Texas company’s alleged rights to a Syrian oil concession.
- Mattress Firm, Inc. (one of the U.S.’s largest retailers) in highly publicized litigation against its longtime supplier, Tempur Sealy International, Inc., after news of the breakup resulted in Tempur Sealy stock dropping nearly $1 billion in market capitalization.
- The King Ranch against Exxon when the ranch barred its mineral lessee’s access to its land based on claims of improper operating practices.
- Union Pacific Railroad in litigation against a major Gulf Coast plastics shipper that claimed over $100 million in damages for the alleged breach of a most-favored-nation clause in a rail transportation contract.
- JPMorgan Chase before the International Arbitration Association involving its claim for damages for breach of the joint-venture agreement that established one of the largest credit card portfolios in the world.
- Occidental Petroleum in international arbitration against BP following its $3.6 billion acquisition of Permian Basin assets.
- The Independent Directors of Reliant Energy (including former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker) in numerous proceedings spawned by federal investigations and lawsuits resulting from allegations that the company engaged in improper commodity trading practices.
Updated Oct 2023
