- Texas
- Arkansas
Weston O’Black is a trial lawyer who has successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts across the country. Originally from Houston, Weston joined Susman Godfrey in 2010 after a two-year federal clerkship. Weston has won victories on both sides of the docket. He regularly represents plaintiffs but has also successfully defended clients in cases where plaintiffs demanded millions. He has managed cases in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina to name a few.
Weston’s practice spans a wide variety of subject matters. He has considerable experience with contract disputes, the midstream industry, energy trading, exploration and production, large construction projects, mortgage lending, and products liability.
Whether representing plaintiffs or defendants, Weston’s focus is the same: preparing the case to win at trial. That focus creates efficiencies for clients and also provides benefits during pre-suit or pre-trial negotiations. Weston is regularly retained by clients to negotiate settlements of complex disputes before a lawsuit is filed. He also is regularly retained to take over pending cases headed to trial.
In a 2023 article in Texas Lawbook, CenterPoint discussed how Weston and his partners from Susman Godfrey resolved disputes worth hundreds of millions of dollars with the company’s gas suppliers after the winter storm that hit Texas in February 2021:
We hired Susman Godfrey to show suppliers that we were not fooling around when we demanded those contracts be enforced . . . . As a result, nearly every one of those suits was resolved before we even filed a lawsuit.
In January 2025, Weston won $22.6 million in an arbitration for an upstream oil and gas buyer against an insurance company that refused to honor a representations and warranties insurance policy issued when the buyer’s acquired significant oil and gas assets. After a trial on the merits, the arbitration panel awarded our client 100% of the damages sought plus millions in attorneys’ fees
Weston was previously named Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer for securing a landmark summary judgment for Vitol in a case valued at $4 billion, win. Read more in about the matter in Law360 and Texas Lawbook. Additionally, Weston’s work in nabbing a win for Vitol in a $4 billion dollar litigation with Puerto Rico Utility helped secure Susman Godfrey’s recognition by Benchmark Litigation as Texas Law Firm of the Year in 2023.
Weston encourages potential clients to contact him for references of current clients, former clients, former local counsel, and former opposing counsel.
Updated Oct 2025
Successfully secured a complete dismissal of a “multi-billion-dollar” lawsuit against a Texas gas utility for lack of jurisdiction in Multi-District Litigation. Weston wrote the briefs on behalf of his client and argued at the hearing before the MDL court. Multiple news outlets covered the case and quoted from Weston’s winning oral argument.
Won $22.6 million in an arbitration (100% of damages claimed, plus attorney’s fees) for an upstream oil and gas buyer against an insurance company that refused to honor a representations and warranties insurance policy issued when the buyer’s acquired significant oil and gas assets.
Won a take-nothing jury verdict in a products liability lawsuit in state court in Benton County, Arkansas, which was tried with Neal Manne, Katie Sammons, and Chanler Langham. During the two-week trial, I examined four witnesses and handled numerous oral arguments. The jury deliberated for a little over an hour before finding that Walmart was not liable for any claim.
Defended Vitol, Inc. and Vitol S.A. against antitrust claims in a class action filed in Puerto Rico state court. We removed the case to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act, and, one week later, filed a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule 12(b)(6). The next week, the plaintiffs dismissed their claims against our clients with prejudice.
- Represented Hess Ohio Resources in a suit brought by a mineral lessor in Jefferson County, Ohio, who claimed that the oil and gas lease he signed in 2008 terminated in 2010. After a bench trial in April 2014, the Court ruled for our client and held that the lease was still in effect and that the lease’s primary term was equitably tolled since the day that the plaintiff-lessor filed suit. It was a complete victory
- Appellate
- Arbitration
- Commercial
- Commercial disputes
- Competition/antitrust
- Construction
- Dispute resolution
- Energy and construction
- Environmental
- International arbitration
- J.D. - The University of Houston Law Center
- B.S.M.E. - The University of Texas
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Ewing Werlein, Jr. - United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Board Member of the University of Houston Law Foundation - 2024 to present
- Board Member of the University of Houston Law Alumni Board - 2024 to present
- Director on the Board of Directors of the Houston Law Review - 2024 to present
- Co-Chaired the 2025 University of Houston Law Gala with Mary O’Black and SG-Partner Brian Melton, which was one of the largest fundraisers in school history- 2025
- Selected three different times by the District Judges of the Southern District of Texas to serve on the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel to interview candidates to fill open federal Magistrate Judge positions - 2017, 2018, 2021
- Member of the State Bar of Texas and State Bar of Arkansas.
Fellow, Texas Bar Association