Firm Profile > Gibbs & Bruns LLP > Houston, United States

Gibbs & Bruns LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

Industry focus > Energy litigation: oil and gas Tier 1

Gibbs & Bruns LLP is a Houston-based trial boutique with a notable reputation in the oil and gas sector. The firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants in the energy sphere and cases range from construction disputes to royalty cases and class actions. The group has achieved prominence through a series of headline matters over the years. Robin Gibbs is a highly regarded practitioner for high-stakes litigation in the oil and gas field. Kathy Patrick and Barrett Reasoner are also highly celebrated names for major disputes, and Brian Ross also contributes to the practice.

Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers Tier 2

Kathy Patrick - Gibbs & Bruns LLP Based in the firm's Houston office, Kathy Patrick is known across the country as a leading plaintiff lawyer for investors in RMBS cases against financial institutions, some of which relate to alleged securities fraud in jurisdictions such as Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia. Since 2008 she has represented 14 institutional investors seeking to recover funds lost as a result of Lehman Brother's bankruptcy; she recently secured a $2.42bn settlement on behalf of these investors, and at present is handling follow-on disputes concerning particular aspects of the payments to creditors. Illustrating her wider expertise, Patrick is acting for Occidental Chemical Corporation in its attempt to gain contributions from over 100 defendants towards the cost of building a dredge-and-cap remedy designed to tackle pollution in the Passaic River. In addition, Patrick is also sought out by large corporates, such as Reynolds and Reynolds, in major antitrust disputes.

Robin Gibbs - Gibbs & Bruns LLP From the firm's base in Houston, founding partner Robin Gibbs has core expertise representing oil and gas companies in high-value disputes. However, over the course of a career spanning almost five decades, Gibbs has also built up experience in a huge variety of antitrust claims, securities litigation, IP and trade secrets disputes, and construction disputes, acting both for plaintiffs and defendants. In an ongoing mandate, Gibbs is representing Trustmark National Bank in three lawsuits arising from the collapse of Stanford Financial Group with a total claim value of $5bn.

Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: plaintiff Tier 3

Gibbs & Bruns LLP is a boutique litigation firm of 33 lawyers based in Houston, Texas, that exclusively handles high-stakes business and commercial litigation. The firm handles both plaintiff and defense work, but it is its work for plaintiffs in cases involving residential mortgage-backed securities that has established it as a prominent force in securities litigation. Its recovery of $8.5bn from Countrywide in an RMBS case still stands out as one of the most significant pieces of litigation to arise from the global financial crisis. The practice is led by outstanding litigator Kathy Patrick, commercial and securities litigation partner Scott Humphries and up-and-coming partner David Sheeren, who played a key role in the firm's successes in RMBS cases.  PIMCO, Blackrock and Goldman Sachs Asset Management are among their key clients.

Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes Tier 4

Based in Houston, boutique litigation firm Gibbs & Bruns LLP specializes in handling high-stakes business disputes in the energy and financial services sectors. An area of recent development for the firm has been in the tech space, especially in data privacy; Aundrea Gulley and Brian Ross are defending Reynolds & Reynolds in federal antitrust MDL litigation consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois arising from its computing platform. Elsewhere, among its core financial litigation, Kathy Patrick continues to handle follow-on disputes in the wake of a $2.4bn settlement with Lehman Brothers Holdings on behalf of 14 institutional investors, while Scott Humphries, Ashley Kleber and Colin Pogge are representing Trustmark National Bank in three lawsuits related to the collapse of the Stanford Financial Group (alleged damages total $5bn). In a highly significant matter in energy sector, Mark Giugliano and Anthony Kaim resolved a seven-year dispute for Chevron regarding the transfer of its responsibility for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Other key lawyers include the firm's founder Robin Gibbs, a standout generalist trial attorney, and Barrett Reasoner, known for his exceptional work in the energy sector

Industry focus > Energy litigation: conventional power