Practice Areas:
Business Litigation
Products Liability
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
Construction Litigation

Practice Description:  
Rob Sayles represents clients in a wide variety of litigation matters, including business and commercial disputes, personal injury and wrongful death claims, and construction. 

His legal track record includes work in breach of contract disputes, fraud claims, product liability cases, insurance defense, and performance and payment bond claims. Rob is licensed to practice in all Texas state courts and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas.

A native Texan, Rob earned his undergraduate degree in finance at The University of Texas. He went on to earn his law degree at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Computer Law Review and Technology Journal.

Professional Activities and Honors:
Dallas Bar Association
 
Publications:
“Ninth Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Jailhouse Webcams,” 9 Comp. L . Rev. & Tech. J. 521 (2005)

Education:
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, J.D.
University of Texas at Austin, B.B.A.

Professional Experience:
Godwin Pappas Langley Ronquillo – 2006-2007
Langley Weinstein Hamel LLP – 2007-2010

Bar Admissions:
State Bar of Texas

United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas

Practice Areas:
Business Litigation
Securities & Financial Fraud Litigation

Practice Description and Representative Cases:
Christopher focuses his practice on commercial and business litigation disputes for both plaintiffs and defendants. Christopher’s experience in state and federal courtrooms includes first-chair criminal defense work and a variety of motion arguments.

Christopher has experience in all phases of litigation, from investigation to trial preparation. His legal background also includes drafting motions, evaluating cases, and researching substantive and procedural legal issues.

Professional Activities and Honors:
Dallas Bar Association

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Equal Access to Justice Committee, Co-Chair

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Leadership Class and Steering Committee, 2010

Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, Associate Member

Education:
Southern Methodist University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2009

University of Texas at Austin, B.B.A. in Finance, 2006

University of Texas at Austin, B.A. in Chinese, 2006
 
Bar Admissions:
State Bar of Texas

U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas

Practice Areas:
Intellectual Property Litigation
Business Litigation
 
Practice Description and Representative Cases:
Prior to joining Sayles Werbner, Natalie Cortez practiced in Washington, D.C., handling commercial and intellectual property disputes. She has represented clients in cases involving, patent infringement, trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, fraud, defamation, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of various consumer protection laws, among other cases.

Natalie has experience in all phases of litigation from investigation to trial preparation. She has managed all aspects of discovery, including conducting depositions, in addition to drafting and arguing numerous evidentiary and dispositive motions.

Education:
Stanford Law School, J.D.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A.

Professional Experience:
Powell Goldstein, LLP, Washington, D.C.

Bar Admissions:
State Bar of Texas

District of Columbia

Darren Nicholson joined Sayles Werbner in 2008, and was previously a trial attorney with the law firm of Arnold & Porter, LLP in Washington, D.C. Darren has extensive experience in all phases of litigation, from investigation to post-verdict appeal. He has taken more than fifty trial preservation and discovery depositions and has been a regular speaker on deposition strategies and tactics.

Darren’s trial experience includes first-chair criminal defense work, as well as participation in multiple civil jury trials for a defendant pharmaceutical company, with defense verdicts featured in the National Law Journal for “exemplary, cutting-edge work on the defense side.”

He has represented both individuals and Fortune 500 companies in cases involving products liability defense, criminal defense, consumer class actions, copyright arbitrations, FOIA litigation, and fraudulent trading investigations and enforcement actions by the CFTC.     

Darren received his law degree cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2001, where he was awarded the DeCrane scholarship. Darren was the Senior Articles and Notes Editor for the American Criminal Law Review and won the International Trial Lawyers’ Association award for appellate advocacy.  Darren earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife Sarah live in Dallas with their two young daughters, Ellie and Anna.

Stacy D. Simon is a native of Dallas and she is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She handles antitrust and commercial litigation and has represented clients in cases involving antitrust claims, securities fraud, health care-related claims, tortious interference, contract disputes, federal and state wiretaps, civil conspiracy and media-related claims.

Stacy has trial, mediation and arbitration experience, and has taken and defended numerous depositions, represented clients at state and federal hearings, and drafted numerous pretrial motions.

A cum laude graduate of Duke University in 1989, Stacy received her law degree with high honors in 1993 from the University of Texas at Austin. While attending law school, she was an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Before joining Sayles Werbner, she clerked for U.S. District Judge A. Joe Fish of the Northern District of Texas and practiced at Vinson & Elkins in Dallas.

Practice Areas:
White Collar Criminal Defense
Intellectual Property Litigation
Business Litigation
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death

Practice Description:
Sayles Werbner co-founder Mark S. Werbner is one of the nation’s most respected trial lawyers. His practice covers a broad range of law with an emphasis on complex business litigation, business torts, catastrophic personal injuries and wrongful death cases. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in more than 150 trials heard by juries throughout Texas and across the United States. His ability to translate high-stakes, complex legal matters into easily understandable language has enabled him to achieve an extraordinary courtroom track record.

Mark’s courtroom accomplishments include some of the largest jury verdicts in the country, and his work has been widely recognized by both his peers and the press. He is lead counsel for Terror Victims v. Arab Bank, a groundbreaking international terrorism lawsuit that has been featured on The Fox News Channel, Court TV, The Wall Street Journal and other national and international media.

Professional Activities and Honors:

• Dallas Bar Association Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2011
• Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only national legal organization
• Advocate in the American Board of Trial Lawyers
• Fellow in the International Society of Barristers 
• Master in the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court
• Listed in the 1999-2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, (Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, White Collar Criminal Defense)
• Top 10 Super Lawyers in the State of Texas, Thomson Reuters Legal (2003, 2004, 2011)
• Texas Super Lawyers 2003-2011, Thomson Reuters Legal
• Repeatedly honored among the “Best Lawyers” in Dallas by D Magazine
• Named one of the five “Go To” lawyers in TX for plaintiff’s civil litigation by Texas Lawyer (2002 and 2007)
• Top 100 Verdicts of the Year,” Verdict Search (2001, 2004, 2007)
• "Trial Lawyer of the Year,” Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (2002)
• "Top Plaintiff Attorney," Lawdragon's Leading Lawyers in America (2007)
• "Top Five Dallas Defense Attorneys,” Dallas Business Journal (2007)
• "Top Ten Litigators," The National Law Journal (2007)
• "The Advocates,” Dallas’ Top Five Corporate Litigators, D CEO (2008)

Select News Media Appearances: 

• “OSHA Construction Crackdown”
• “Jenkens & Gilchrist Wins Millions in Suit Against Former IP Client” Profiled in The National Law Journal
• “$71 Million Verdict in Bus Crash Case” 
• “CompUSA and Latin America's Richest Man Get a $450 Million Lesson” 
• “Zion’s Avenger” 
• “A Winning Team” 
• “Court TV Airs Texas Bus Crash Trial”
Presentations:
“Cross Examination in a Criminal Case,” 6th Annual Criminal Defense Trial Skills & Trial Law Program presented by The Center for American and International Law, 2010

“Deposing and Cross-Examining Experts,” University of Texas School of Law “Damages Institute,” 2004

“Completing the Unfinished Picture - Soriano and the Problem of Having So Many Claims and So Little Coverage,” University of Texas School of Law “Insurance Law Institute,” 2004

“Trial Advocacy in Criminal Cases,” The Center for American and International Law, 2004

“Jury Selection in Medical Negligence Cases,” American Association for Justice, 2004

“Winning the Big Case,” Dallas Bar Association, 2003

Education:
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, cum laude, J.D. (1978)

The University of Texas, cum laude, B.A. (1975)

Admissions and Certifications:
Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

State Bar of Texas

American Bar Association

Dallas Bar Association

Texas State District Courts

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas

Related News:
Mark Werbner Named Dallas Bar Association Trial Lawyer of the Year
Sayles Werbner Secures Multimillion-Dollar Verdict on Behalf of Law Firm
Sayles Werbner Earns Rare Texas Supreme Court Ruling

Richard A. Sayles has tried more than 100 jury trials in three decades of trial practice. Whether representing plaintiffs or defendants, individuals or corporations, he thrives on the courtroom floor. Dick draws on his broad experience in both state and federal courts to handle cases involving commercial disputes, defense of and claims against corporate directors and officers, securities law claims, product liability and patent law claims, among many others. In June 2009, Dick was part of a trial team that obtained a record $1.67 billion jury award in a case that Bloomberg described as the largest patent infringement verdict in U.S. history. Dick has tried numerous securities arbitrations for plaintiffs and defendants before the NASD. Widely recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers in Texas, his honors include:

Dick is a popular guest lecturer at local and national seminars and is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law.

He has often represented major corporations, as plaintiffs, in commercial disputes and patent cases, and his other recent or current cases include:

Dick received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Houston Law School where he served as Comment and Case Note Editor at the University of Houston Law Review.

Practice Areas:
Business Litigation
Securities & Financial Fraud Litigation
Legal Malpractice Defense
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death

Practice Description and Representative Cases:
Shawn focuses her practice on business litigation in both federal and state courts on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. She has experience in cases involving complex commercial disputes, product liability, toxic torts, aviation crashes, wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, securities fraud and intellectual property. Shawn also has defended legal malpractice claims and white collar criminal matters.

Her legal background also includes work in international mass tort claims and national class actions. Her trial expertise covers all aspects of litigation, including investigation, discovery, preparing and arguing pretrial motions, and depositions and trial.

Shawn earned her law degree from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. During law school, she served as an editor for The International Lawyer and The Law and Business Review of the Americas. She was awarded the Best Brief in the Jackson Walker Moot Court Competition, and authored "Foreign Sovereign Immunity: When is a Sovereign Really a Sovereign," 10 L. & Bus. Rev. Am. 243. Shawn is a member of the Dallas Bar Association, American Bar Association and previously served as an associate member of the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court.

Professional Activities and Honors:
Dallas Bar Association

American Bar Association

Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court - Associate

Best Brief - Jackson Walker Moot Court Competition - SMU, 2002

Texas Rising Stars 2010, 2011

Publications:
"Foreign Sovereign Immunity: When is a Sovereign Really a Sovereign," 10 L. & Bus. Rev. Am. 243.

Education:
Southern Methodist University School of Law, J.D., cum laude

University of Texas at Arlington, B.S. with highest honors

Professional Experience:
Sayles Werbner

Bar Admissions:
State Bar of Texas and U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas

Practice Areas
Complex Business Litigation
Securities Litigation
Prosecution and Defense of Personal Injury and Products Liability Cases
White Collar Criminal Defense

Education
University of Texas, B.A., Plan II Honors Program, Highest Honors (Phi Beta Kappa)
University of Texas, J.D., With Honors, American Jurisprudence Award Winner

Professional Experience
Sayles | Werbner, since 1997 (Shareholder since 2001)
Vinson & Elkins, 1994 – 1997
Law Clerk to the Hon. Sam Sparks, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1993-94

Practice Description & Exemplary Cases
Will's practice focuses on business litigation disputes in which he represents plaintiffs and defendants in matters tried in the state and federal courts, or in matters that are arbitrated. In these cases, Will's clients are typically pursuing or defending against claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of trade secrets, quasi-contractual or equitable claims, ultra vires claims against officers or directors, securities fraud, accounting fraud,  transactional fraud, partnership disputes, oil & gas disputes, and claims arising from failed mergers and acquisitions.  Will also prosecutes and defends cases involving personal injury and products liability claims, and has been retained by corporations and individuals to defend them in federal white collar criminal investigations and prosecutions conducted by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Environmental Protection Agency.  Will also has briefed or argued matters before the Texas appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Texas.

Examples of Will's cases include:

• Obtaining a multi-million dollar jury verdict awarding his corporate client 100% of its requested damages in a dispute involving the breach of a contract related to patent royalties.


• Obtaining a no-liability defense verdict for an individual in a jury trial involving disputes arising out of a real estate development.


• Obtaining no-liability defense verdicts for his corporate client in two product liability jury trials where the plaintiffs suffered permanently disabling personal injuries and sought millions of dollars in damages.


• Obtaining a no-liability defense verdict for his corporate client in a jury trial involving commercial disputes, and obtaining a favorable verdict for 100% of the damages sought on his client’s counterclaims.


• Obtaining a no-liability judgment favoring his client in a bench trial concerning a partnership dispute, and obtaining a judgment for 100% of the damages sought on his client’s counterclaims.


• Defending a securities arbitration where the panel awarded claimants less than .05% of the $9 million in damages sought.


• Obtaining a no-liability arbitration award for his client in a multi-million dollar partnership dispute involving intellectual property royalties.


• Representing a Fortune 500 corporation in a two-year criminal investigation conducted by the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, which ended without indictment.


• Successfully arguing to the Dallas Court of Appeals and denying his adversary mandamus relief in a case involving his client’s claims of securities fraud.


• Obtaining the dismissal of federal court commercial fraud claims seeking more than $11 million in damages from his corporate client.


• Arguing against and defeating multiple summary judgment motions against his client, a Fortune 100 corporation, and subsequently obtaining a favorable confidential settlement on his client’s breach of fiduciary duty claims.


• Arguing and obtaining summary judgment for his corporate client in a multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract suit involving intellectual property.


• Arguing and obtaining summary judgment for his defendant client in a multimillion-dollar partnership dispute involving intellectual property.


• Arguing and obtaining summary judgment on the majority of a corporate plaintiff’s securities-related claims seeking more than $35 million in damages, allowing his corporate clients and their directors and officers to obtain a favorable confidential settlement.


• Arguing and obtaining summary judgment for his plaintiff client in a federal breach-of-contract case involving approximately $2 million in damages.


• Obtaining a favorable, $5.25 million settlement for an individual who brought securities fraud claims against an international corporation, its officers and directors, and underwriters in connection with an initial public offering.


• Prosecuting negligence claims arising from a fire that damaged his client’s planned real estate development, and obtaining a favorable confidential settlement for policy limits.


• Obtaining a $1 million settlement for his clients after pursuing a declaratory judgment action in federal court.


• Prosecuting his corporate client’s claims in an extended securities arbitration, resulting in a favorable confidential settlement before an award was issued.

Professional Activities and Accolades
Texas Super Lawyers, 2007-Present
Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2004-2007 
Dallas Bar Association, Fellow
Active in other Dallas Bar Association projects and activities
AV rated by Martindale Hubbell
Speaker on Comparative Fiduciary Duty Law (Texas & Delaware), Texas Business Torts Institute 2011.
Speaker on Fiduciary Duty Litigation, Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference (UT Austin) - Fall 2008

Bar Admissions
Admitted to the State Bar of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas

Practice Areas:
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
Business Litigation

Practice Description and Representative Cases:
Mark D. Strachan is a native of East Texas, having practiced in and near Marshall, Texas, for 25 years before moving to Dallas. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in commercial cases and product cases involving a broad range of disputes. His extensive trial experience includes work before both state and federal court juries.

Throughout his career, Mark has represented both individuals and companies in cases that arise from a wide variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, wireless technology, oil & gas production, legal malpractice, transportation, banking, construction, and industrial fabrication.

Following are examples of just a few of the representative cases Mark has handled:

• Successful representation one of the world’s leading medical products manufacturers in an intellectual property lawsuit that resulted in the largest patent verdict in U.S. history
• Representation of defendant in legal malpractice suit arising out of a patent infringement case
• Successful settlement of on behalf of plaintiff in patent infringement case involving wireless technology
• Defense decision in securities arbitration involving an account executive
• A multimillion settlement on behalf of a severely burned client in a products liability case
• A defense verdict on behalf of a bank in a lender liability case in federal court
• A successful settlement on behalf of plaintiffs in a wrongful death pharmaceutical malpractice case
• A defense verdict on behalf of an apartment owner in a malicious prosecution case in federal court
• A plaintiffs’ verdict on behalf of a land owner in a land damage suit • A successful settlement on behalf of dairy farmers in a products liability case
• A defense verdict on behalf of an insurance company in a bad faith case

Certifications & Specialties:
Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Certified Mediator
 
Classes/Seminars Taught:
Adjunct Faculty Member, East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, Texas

Education:
University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors University of Texas, B.A., with honors

University of Texas at Tyler, MBA 

Bar Admissions:
State Bar of Texas

Courts Admissions:
United States Supreme Court

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

United States District Court for Eastern District of Texas

United States District Court for Northern District of Texas

Sawyer Neely is an experienced trial lawyer who has practiced at Sayles Werbner since 2006. His legal background includes the representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of complex commercial cases involving, among other issues, the RICO Act, securities and partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, minority shareholder oppression, the Federal Fair Housing Act, deceptive trade practices, and construction and delay-related disputes. Sawyer works with clients through all phases of litigation, from discovery through trial. He has earned multiple selections to the Texas Rising Stars list of the state’s top attorneys published in Texas Monthly magazine. Sawyer is admitted to practice in all Texas state district courts and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas.

Sawyer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Vanderbilt University in 1999 before graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2003. He served as an associate editor of The Georgetown Law Journal and was a member of the Order of the Coif. During law school, Sawyer also represented victims of domestic violence in the District of Columbia Superior Court through Georgetown’s Domestic Violence Clinic. Before joining Sayles Werbner, Sawyer practiced in the Dallas and Washington, D.C., offices of Jones Day. He and his wife Suzanne have three children, Wes, Colin, and Willa.

Practice Areas:
Business Litigation
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
Product Liability
Securities & Financial Fraud Litigation

Joel Israel has been practicing law since 2003, and joined Sayles Werbner in 2006. He has been involved in all aspects of litigation from investigation through trial, with representative cases in the areas of mass tort on behalf of victims of international terrorism, products liability defense, commercial and real estate disputes, toxic tort, employment discrimination and harassment, and securities matters. He has represented both individuals and Fortune 500 companies in an array of state and federal matters.

Joel's litigation experience includes taking and defending over 100 depositions of fact and expert witnesses, preparing and examining expert and other witnesses at trial, and drafting evidentiary and dispositive motions. He has argued successfully in state and federal court in Texas, California, and New York, and recently obtained summary judgment in federal bankruptcy court on behalf of the former owner of a major fast-food chain. Joel's successful track record earned him recognition as a 2009 Texas Rising Star in Texas Monthly.

Prior to joining Sayles Werbner, Joel gained valuable experience and training with Paul Hastings’ Employment Law Department in Los Angeles, and also practiced with Latham & Watkins’ Litigation Department in Washington, D.C. He is licensed to practice in Texas and California.

Joel earned his law degree, with honors, from Duke University in 2003. While at Duke, he was an executive board member of the Moot Court Board, as well as a staff editor of the Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy. Prior to law school, Joel earned a BA degree in psychology at Duke in 1999. He grew up in Dallas where he resides with his wife, Elizabeth, and their son, Evan.