John Adams is a trial lawyer in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. John has significant experience in all phases of litigation, from pre-suit strategy to trials and appeals. His experience spans numerous industries, including oil and gas, real estate, and technology. For example, he has successfully litigated cases involving asset purchase agreements; partnership disputes; executive compensation; trade secrets; non-compete agreements; natural gas gathering agreements; mineral leases; receiverships; securities; and class actions.
John is recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for his work in Commercial Litigation from 2021-2024, and is named in D Magazine’s 2023 Best Lawyers Under 40 list. Before joining Gibson, Dunn Crutcher, John worked at a Chambers-ranked litigation boutique in Dallas, served as a law clerk for the United States District Court in the Western District of Texas, and worked for the preeminent legal writer, Bryan Garner.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
- Represented a Dallas real-estate developer in a two-week jury trial based on claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and civil theft in a closely held partnership where the client’s partner mismanaged the business and failed to account for millions in profits. Top Verdict 2019.
- Represented a national manufacturing and sales organization in a two-week jury trial based on claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty when former employees joined a competing business and unlawfully diverted the client’s customers to the competitor.
- Represented nationally recognized real-estate developers in bench trial based on claims for breach of contract arising out of guaranty agreements for a multi-million dollar hotel development project on Lake Tahoe.
- Represented a national pipeline company in a preliminary injunction after it invested over $100 million to develop a gathering system and an upstream natural gas producer threatened to violate a dedicated “area of mutual interest.”
- Represented a national pipeline company in a temporary restraining order when an upstream natural gas producer threatened to divert approximately $1 billion of natural gas to a competing pipeline.
- Represented an international distribution company in a temporary injunction when a former joint-venture partner solicited customers, while defending against claims of trademark infringement.
- Represented a national manufacturing and sales organization in a temporary restraining order when a former employee breached his contract by joining a competing company and threatened to disclose trade secrets.
PUBLICATIONS:
- Give the Jury What it Wants--Decision Making in Trial Practice, ABA Litigation Journal
- How to tell Your Story at Trial, Dallas Bar Journal
- Tips for a Better Direct Examination, Dallas Bar Journal
- Protecting Information Provided to the Government, ABA Corporate Counsel Journal
- Well Established but Often Forgotten: Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Employees, ABA Business Torts & Unfair Competition
- Goldilocks and the Three Outcomes: Civil En Banc Review in the Dallas Court of Appeals, 2001-18, Appellate Advocate
- Recent Decisions on Arbitration, News for the Bar, Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas
- Will the 2018 Judicial Elections Breathe New Life into Factual Sufficiency Review?, Texas Law Book
- A synopsis of Error Preservation, Dallas Bar Journal
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- SMU Dedman School of Law - 2015 Juris Doctor
- University of Southern California - 2010 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- Texas Bar
Clerkships:
- USDC, Western District of Texas, Hon. Alia Moses, 2015 - 2016