Lee Kaplan has tried dozens of cases in state and federal courts, representing plaintiffs and defendants ranging from Fortune 10 corporations to individuals. In recent years he has had two cases that landed in the top 25 verdicts in Texas. His docket has included oil and gas, construction, securities, antitrust, patent and trademark infringement, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, fraud, theft of trade secrets, shareholder rights, and class actions.
He frequently handles “high tech” cases and enjoys mastering complicated business dealings or scientific concepts in order to present them concisely to other lay people (particularly judges and juries).
In 2020, as co-lead counsel with partner Land Murphy, he secured a judgment in excess of $130 million for Vitol against Targa after a 19-day state court bench trial, believed to be the longest Zoom trial to date in Texas. The case arose out of Targa’s failure to reimburse Vitol’s prepayments when Vitol terminated the contract for Targa’s failure to meet Startup of a splitter facility. The Fourteenth Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the judgment on appeal.
Here are some recent examples of his results (omitting confidential arbitrations and settlements):
- In 2019, he served as co-lead counsel for plaintiff Align Technology in a patent suit; the defendant (represented by five law firms) settled four days before the jury trial for $51 million.
- He is a member of the American Law Institute.
- Mr. Kaplan has been a contributor on the radio show “The Price of Business” commenting on diverse topics such as the competitive value of patent protection, factors that drive settlement negotiations in commercial litigation and suggestions on how employers can protect themselves from the loss of intellectual property or from unjustified lawsuits claiming that they have misappropriated others’ trade secrets. Lee has been quoted for publication on various important legal issues, including the 2014 Texas Supreme Court case Ritchie v. Rupe, which overturned decades of Texas law and severely restricted or extinguished the rights of minority shareholders in Texas, and the 2019 Texas Supreme Court case Rohrmoos Venture v. UTSA DVA Healthcare, which imposed strict guidelines for the recovery of attorney’s fees in civil cases, as well as voting rights issues.
- As an Eagle Scout and the father of an Eagle Scout, he serves as an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 212 and attends multiple meetings, campouts and summer camps. Nothing is more inspiring than watching Scouts learn personal skills and conduct typifying the 12 points of the Scout law.
Updated Sep 2023
