Collin Cox, co-partner in charge of the Houston office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is widely recognized for his successes in trying complex commercial disputes. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of subject areas, including technology trade-secrets cases, actions related to the Bernard L. Madoff fraud, fraudulent-transfer cases, royalty disputes, patent litigation, and other business crisis situations. In each of his representations, he prides himself on his ability to get to the heart of a complex matter, making everything as simple as possible, but not simpler (to quote Einstein), to tell a winning story to a jury or judge.
He is among a handful of trial lawyers in Houston with a “Band One” recognition from Chambers USA, in which clients have praised him as “a great, strategic lawyer,” who is “very well versed in the law and easy to work with.” As Chambers USA put it, “Collin is very smart and extremely well credentialed. He is very polished, and a real trial lawyer.” Collin also is listed by Thomson Reuters as one of the “Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas,” and has been listed as a “Super Lawyer” for more than a decade. In 2025, Collin and the Gibson Dunn team obtained a historic jury verdict for Energy Transfer LP and Dakota Access Pipeline in a three-week trial, a victory which earned him national recognition as AmLaw’s “Litigator of the Week."
A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers, Collin currently serves as Vice President of the Houston Bar Association, as Past President of Houston Volunteer Lawyers, and as Chairman and President of Da Camera of Houston. Collin is the past Chairman of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership and the Texas Lyceum, the pre-eminent leadership organization for Texans younger than 45.
Collin maintains a close connection to Duke Law School, where he serves as Chair of the Board of Visitors. He also serves on Duke’s Adjunct Faculty, teaching a class on Hearings Practice each of the last seven years. Collin was recently recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star.” He is named in The Best Lawyers in America® for Arbitration, Commercial and Intellectual Property Litigation, as one of the “Leading Litigators in America” by Lawdragon, and in H Magazine as a “Houston Top Lawyer.” In 2012, he was recognized as the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer in Houston. In 2019, Collin was one of 59 Americans selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar, completing a year-long leadership curriculum centered around four presidential administrations.
Prior to joining the firm, he practiced with a nationally-recognized litigation firm and a premier boutique trial law firm. Collin was a law clerk for the Honorable Anthony J. Scirica, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia.
Representative Matters*
- Energy Transfer LP and Dakota Access Pipeline. Lead trial counsel in a historic $667 million verdict in a trespass and defamation case. The jury's decision marked the largest verdict in North Dakota's history. The Gibson Dunn team’s strategic focus on ground torts and defamation claims led to favorable outcomes on multiple counts, including trespass, conversion, nuisance, civil conspiracy, and defamation. The verdict serves as a powerful affirmation of the First Amendment.
- Treyled Life Settlements LLC v. Campos Trust. Lead attorney in a five-day arbitration, resulting in a complete win for Treyled-- $2 million arbitration award, plus fees and costs, and take-nothing on opposing party’s counterclaims. The case involved complex issues of securities and state-law licensing.
- Maiden Biosciences Inc. v. DSS, Inc. et al. Following a six-day federal trial in Dallas, won a $15 million jury verdict on fraudulent-transfer claims on behalf of a Maryland collagen manufacturer. The case involved complicated accounting issues and the values of tangible and intangible assets. The judgment included actual damages and exemplary damages.
- Kingston Wind Independence, LLC et al. v. Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ltd. et al. Lead trial lawyer in a 13-day ICDR commercial arbitration seated in London. The case concerned wind turbines purchased by claimants, with fraud and contract claims. Following post-hearing submissions, the case settled favorably.
- Business Logic Holding Corporation v. Morningstar et al. In a complex case involving financial software in the retirement sector, first-chaired a trial team that secured a $61 million cash recovery that represented 95% maximum claimed damages by our client, Business Logic. Reached the last business day before jury selection, the agreement is the 9th largest disclosed trade-secrets settlement in the U.S. Also argued summary judgment, which preserved our misappropriation and breach-of-contract claims and disposed of Morningstar’s counterclaim against our client.
- Joseph Hardesty, et al. v. County of Sacramento. Helped secure a unanimous $107 million federal jury trial win (after five weeks of testimony) for two mining families in California. Plaintiffs alleged that the County of Sacramento violated their procedural and substantive due process rights by improperly shutting down a sand-gravel mine at the urging of a large competitor (#21 U.S. verdict of 2017). Liability was affirmed on appeal but remanded for excessive damages.
- Polyzen, Inc. v. RadiaDyne, L.L.C. First-chaired a defense victory in a four-day jury trial in Raleigh representing defendant RadiaDyne, the designer of balloons used in prostate cancer therapy. Before trial, the court dismissed all patent claims brought by the plaintiff, a manufacturer of medical balloons. At trial, the jury unanimously found for our client on plaintiff’s trade secret claim and its claim for unpurchased inventory. The jury also found that plaintiff breached the relevant contract, competed unfairly with our client, and failed to return tooling paid for by RadiaDyne. After a seven-year journey, the case resulted in a judgment for monetary damages for RadiaDyne, which has since been affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
- Fulcrum Credit Partners v. Strategic Capital Resources, Inc. After a four-day jury trial, won a complete victory for plaintiff Fulcrum, giving the client its full measure of lost damages and its attorney fees. The verdict was named one of the top 15 Texas contract verdicts for the year.
- Ruben Rodriguez v. Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. Secured a complete dismissal of a breach of contract claim brought against client Helmerich & Payne by a subcontract employee who allegedly was injured on an H&P rig located on Encana’s property. Granting our motion to dismiss, the Court held that the plaintiff could not establish he was a third-party beneficiary of his daywork drilling contract where he only pleaded that he received incidental benefits from H&P’s obligations under the contract.
- Sanchez v. Noble Energy. Secured dismissal of a nuisance and personal injury lawsuit brought against Noble Energy in Texas state court involving an alleged accident that occurred in Colorado. After briefing and argument, the court granted our motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens, dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice.
Professional Honors & Affiliations
- The American Lawyer: Awarded “Litigator of the Week” for securing a $667 million trial verdict for the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
- Lawdragon: “500 Leading Litigators in America,” 2023-2024.
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers in Texas Commercial Litigation, 2015-2024
- The Best Lawyers in America® in Commercial and Intellectual Property Litigation, 2016-2024
- “Top 100 Super Lawyer” in Texas, Thomson Reuters, 2023-2024
- “Top 100 Super Lawyer” in Houston, Thomson Reuters, 2020-2024
- “Texas Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation, Thomson Reuters, 2013-2024
- “Texas Rising Star,” Thomson Reuters, 2008-2013
- Houston Top Lawyer” in Business Litigation, H Magazine
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Fellow, International Society of Barristers
- 2012 Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, Houston Young Lawyers Association
- Outstanding Young Alumnus of Baylor University, 2008
- Chair, Duke Law School Board of Visitors
Presentations & Publications
- “Business Disputes 2022 Course,” State Bar of Texas, September 2022 (speaker)
- “Helping Clients Overcome Financial Hurdles Mid-Litigation,” Law360, July 16, 2020 (co-author)
- “Nuisance – Trespass and Limitations Issues,” 42nd Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, 2019 (presenter)
- “Discovery of Damages in TCPA Cases,” 32nd Annual Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course, 2019 (presenter and co-author)
- “Business Development, Marketing and Networking Strategies,” Practice Skills for Young Lawyers, Texas Young Lawyers Association of State Bar of Texas, March 2017 (panelist)
- Adjunct Professor (Wintersession), Hearings Practice, Duke Law School, 2017-2023
- “Commercial Litigation Trends in Texas,” Financier Worldwide, November 2016
- “Trends in Commercial Litigation,” State Bar 8th Annual Business Disputes Conference, September 2016 (presenter and co-author)
Education & Professional Background
- Duke University, J.D., summa cum laude, 2001 (Order of the Coif, Editor-in-Chief, 2000-2001, Duke Law Journal)
- University of Cambridge, M.Phil., First Class Honors, 1999
- Baylor University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1997 (Phi Beta Kappa, Outstanding Graduate, College of Arts & Sciences, Student Body President, Permanent Class President)
* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Antitrust and Competition
- Crisis Management
- Energy Regulation and Litigation
- Energy and Infrastructure
- Law Firm Defense
- Securities Litigation
- Trials
- White Collar Defense and Investigations
Credentials
Education:
- Duke University - 2001 Juris Doctor
- University of Cambridge - 1999 Master of Philosophy
- Baylor University - 1997 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar
- Texas Bar
Clerkships:
- US Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, Hon. Anthony J. Scirica, 2001 - 2002