Alistair B. Dawson - Partner

Alistair Dawson is experienced in practicing almost every aspect of business and commercial litigation, ranging from antitrust claims and class action suits to oil and gas disputes. A partner with Beck, Redden & Secrest, L.L.P. since 1998, he has demonstrated a high degree of competency in preparing and trying complex cases. He has teamed effectively with lawyers of prominent national firms including Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; O'Melveny & Myers; Kirkland & Ellis and others to prepare commercial and business litigation cases for trial. He is the head of the firm’s Business and Commercial Practice Group.

Mr. Dawson has represented a variety of clients in many circumstances ranging from medium-sized cases to large complex cases involving multiple parties and hundreds of millions of dollars.  As a result of his many accomplishments, Mr. Dawson was recognized by Texas Monthly both as a “Rising Star” and a “Super Lawyer” in the legal profession for the years 2003-2007.  He has also been identified as one of the top commercial trial lawyers in Houston by H Texas Magazine.  From 2005 - 2008, Chambers USA recognized Mr. Dawson as one of the leading litigators in the State of Texas.

Highlights of his experience include:

• Defended a Fortune 100 company in a billion dollar fraud and breach of contract case.  Case was resolved after five week trial.
• Defended a Fortune 100 company in an antitrust case involving allegations of attempted monopolization and exclusive dealing.
• Defending Compaq Computer in four consumer class actions all brought in Beaumont, Texas.  In one of the cases, the Texas Supreme Court reversed the trial Court’s certification decision.  
• Defended ExxonMobil in a suit brought by the State of Texas for unpaid royalties. The trial court granted ExxonMobil's motion for summary judgment and the matter settled while on appeal.
• Successfully tried a case in New York involving an oil and gas prospect in East Texas on behalf of famed New York developer Sheldon Solow. The case was tried for approximately three weeks in the Supreme Court of New York in Manhattan.
• Successfully tried a case on behalf of Triumph Healthcare involving fraud claims brought by an investor of the hospital chain.  The case was tried for three weeks before settling.
• Successfully defended Marathon Oil in a multi-million dollar royalty dispute brought in Henderson, Texas (in which more than 200 of the plaintiffs were Henderson residents). After a four-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in Marathon's favor.
• Tried a breach of contract case on behalf of a Texas rancher.
• Successfully defended a nursing home operator in suit to cancel leases for nursing homes in Texas.
• Tried a case on behalf of four businesses whose shops were damaged as a result of a fire that occurred at the Highland Village Shopping Center. Trial lasted two weeks.
• Tried a wrongful termination case on behalf of Martin Brower.
• Won a multi-million dollar misappropriation of trade secrets case.
• Successfully defended IBM in products liability cases involving repetitive stress injury filed in Texas. Five cases were brought in various courts throughout the state and summary judgments were granted in all five cases. In connection with those cases, Mr. Dawson served on the National Defense Steering Committee, which was comprised of representatives from all major companies throughout the United States who had been sued for alleged product defects resulting from repetitive stress injury.
• Led a team of 10 lawyers and more than 20 experts in suits on behalf of AT&T to gain entry into the local phone markets in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. As a result of these proceedings, interconnection agreements were executed with Southwestern Bell in all three states permitting AT&T to enter the market and offer service.
• Represented Mobil Oil in oil royalty/antitrust litigation brought by the General Land Office alleging that Mobil and others had underpaid royalties because the "posted price" did not translate to market price. In connection with this case, Mr. Dawson represented Mobil on the joint defense steering committee.
• Defended Morgan Stanley in a fraud case brought by a former customer/investor. The case was tried before the NADA, which ruled in Morgan's favor and awarded it attorneys' fees.
• Involvement (along with patent counsel) in several patent infringement cases on behalf of Hyundai, Compaq and Becton Dickson.
• Defended several large law firms in legal malpractice claims.
• Represented an international drilling company that sought to recover funds owed to it under a tax-sharing agreement; the parties settled their dispute shortly after the trial court entered a partial summary judgment favorable to our client.

Education and Qualifications

Mr. Dawson graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 1986 with a degree in International Economics and International Business. He graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1989, where he served as an editor of the Texas Law Review and was a member of the prestigious Chancellor's Society. He was admitted to practice law in Texas in 1989, is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Texas, the United States Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Legal and Professional Activities

Mr. Dawson is active in several national and regional bar associations as well as other law-related educational and professional organizations.

• American Board of Trial Advocates
• Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee
• Board of Directors, Houston Bar Association
• Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
• Business Litigation and Corporate Counsel Committee of the American Bar Association
• Member, State Bar Litigation Council (Chair 2007-2008)
• Member, State Bar Litigation Section Committee on Jury Selection (1998 - 2002)
• State Bar of Texas CLE Committee (2001-2006 and 2007 - present)
• Past-Chair, Antitrust Section of the Houston Bar Association
• Member, HBA Administration of Justice Committee (1998 - 2000)
• Member, HBA Planning Committee (1998 - 2000)
• Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
• Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
• Member, Texas Association of Defense Counsel
• Keeton Fellow, University of Texas School of Law
• Dean's Roundtable, University of Texas School of Law
• College of the State Bar of Texas
• Editorial Board, The Advocate
• Former Adjunct Professor, University of Houston Law Center
• Board of Directors, Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program
• University of Texas Alumni Executive Committee
• Court Administration Task Force
• Texans for Courthouse Excellence

Speeches and Publications

Mr. Dawson routinely speaks and writes articles on various aspects of litigation and the legal profession. Some of his work includes:

• "Recent Developments in Texas Legal Malpractice Law" presented at the Litigation Update in January 2003, January 2001 and January 2000
• "Discovery Building Blocks" presented at the Advanced Personal Injury Update, 2003
• "Privileges Update" presented at the Advanced Personal Injury Update, 2003
• "Recent Developments in Texas Legal Malpractice" presented at the 2003 Advanced Personal Injury Seminar
• "Legal Malpractice/3rd Party Liability" presented at the 2002 Advanced Civil Trial Course
• "Legal Liability" presented at the 17th Annual IP Conference in November 2001
• "Business Litigation Survey" presented at the 2001 Advanced Civil Trial Course
• House Bill 4 and the Future of Class Action Litigation, 24 The Advocate (2003)
• Regulating Referral Fees:  An Evolutionary Process, December 2003, Texas Bar Journal
• Narrowing the Broad Form Submission, published January 2004, Texas Bar Journal
• Innovative Thinking in Jury Innovations, Vol. 18, No. 2 The Advocate (1999)
• “Recent Developments in Summary Judgment” presented at the Litigation Update in January 2004
• “Update on Referral Fee Issues” presented at Houston Bar Association Litigation Section luncheon in February 2004
• “Texas Rules of Civil Procedure:  An Update” presented at the Advanced Litigation Update, Houston Paralegal Association in April 2004
• “House Bill 4 and the Future of Class Action Litigation” presented at the State Bar of Texas Antitrust and Business Litigation Section seminar in April 2004
• House Bill 4, Class-Action Requirements, and Res Judicata - published in the South Texas Law Review, Vol 46, Number 4, Summer 2005
• The Many Challenges Presented by Electronic Discovery - presented at State Bar Annual Meeting, June 23, 2005, Dallas, Texas
• The Many Challenges Presented by Electronic Discovery - presented at Advanced Personal Injury Law Course 2005
• The Many Challenges Presented by Electronic Discovery – presented at 28th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course 2005
• Referral Fees Under the New Rules - presented at 28th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course 2005
• The Many Challenges Presented by Electronic Discovery – presented at the 22nd Annual Litigation Update Institute 2006
• A Word from the Clients – presented at State Bar of Texas Representing Small Business 2006
• Dead on Arrival: Advising When They Don’t Have a Cause of Action! – presented at State Bar of Texas Representing Small Business 2006
• Do’s & Don’ts for the Advocate in the Courtroom – presented at 19th Annual Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course 2006
• So You Think You Know Hearsay? – presented at 29th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course 2006
• Warning! The New Rules Now are in Effect! – presented at Association of Corporate Counsel – America Houston Chapter E-Discovery Seminar, February 27, 2007
• Daubert Challenges – presented at the 20th Annual Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course 2007
• Panel discussion on the State of our Judiciary – presented at the Litigation Update 2008
• E-Discovery – presented at Association of Corporate Counsel – America Houston Chapter E-Discovery Seminar, April 2, 2008
• Daubert Challenges – presented at the 21st Annual Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course 2008
• Rule Making and how it Affects Your Practice – presented at the Advanced Personal Injury Law Course 2008
• Panel Discussion, It’s not just the legislature, multiple forces interact to shape the law - presented at the Advanced Personal Injury Law Course 2008
• Federal Rules of Evidence: Amendments to Section 502 – Presented at Webcast for State Bar of Texas, December 2008
• Evidence and Discovery Update: The Newly Minted Federal Rule of Evidence 502 and Texas Cases in 2008 – presented at 25th Annual Advanced Litigation Update Institute
• Damages Update 2009 – presented at Advanced Evidence & Discovery Course 2009
• Sanctions and Ethical Obligations in EDiscovery – presented at UT Technology Law Seminar – May 2009

Professional Memberships and Community Service

• Board of Directors, Literacy Advance of Houston (1995 - 1999)
• Former Committee Member, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Chair, Capital Campaign for The Parish School (non-profit school for children with special needs)
• Chair, Underwriting Committee for The Parish School (1998 - 2002)
• Board of Directors, The Parish School (1999 - 2004)
• Board of Directors, Theatre Under The Stars (Vice-Chairman, Chair Development Committee)
• Distinguished Service Award, The Parish School
• Recipient of the 2004 State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation
• Recipient of the 2007 State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation
• Chair, TUTS Gala 2009

Interests and Hobbies

Mr. Dawson is originally from the United Kingdom. His family came to the United States in the late 1960s. He enjoys golf, traveling, theatre and coaching his kids' soccer and basketball teams. Mr. Dawson is an active family man. He is married to Wendy King Dawson and has four children. Kaitlyn Dawson, 18, is a creative writer, photographer and a future journalist. Cameron, 13, loves art and school and (hopefully) will take up an interest in golf. Collin, 5, keeps his mother fully occupied. Connor, 3, will one day give his older siblings a run for their money.