Trey Cox a litigation partner in our Dallas Gibson Dunn office and serves as a Dallas Co-Partner-In-Charge. He is an accomplished and sought after advocate and trial lawyer. He has spent his entire professional life as a courtroom attorney and litigator helping clients resolve large, complicated and often high-profile business disputes. His courtroom experience is unusually broad and extensive. He has tried over 35 cases involving trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, securities fraud, product liability, trademark, insurance coverage, energy, oil and gas and partnership disputes. He has achieved success for a variety of clients – both defendants and plaintiffs, from big energy companies to a lone individual businessman battling the odds.

Mr. Cox is consistently recognized as one of the top civil trial lawyers in America. For over a decade, he’s been listed as one of the “Best Lawyers In America”, a “Leader in His Field” by Chambers USA, one of the “Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas” and a Benchmark Litigation Star. He is a fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Litigation Counsel of America. His jury trial experience and courtroom success have earned him the distinction of being double Board Certified in Civil Trial and Civil Pre-Trial by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Cox’s cases have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, Bloomberg News and the Houston Chronicle, among many other publications. His last trial – a commercial plaintiff-side partnership dispute in 2019 — was recently recognized as one of the Top 20 Verdicts in Texas.   Mr. Cox has handled cases from both cradle to grave and dropped in thirty days before a trial to lead the attack. His trial experience provides a real advantage in focusing the entire preparation process on what matters most — how to effectively and efficiently marshal the proof to prevail on the key issues.

Mr. Cox is active outside of the courtroom as well; he is committed to serving the legal profession. Progressive and innovative, he has earned a reputation as a thought leader in using technology to create clear, memorable and persuasive jury communication. His focus is on courtroom presentations that make judges and juries take notice. He has lectured throughout the country and authored numerous legal articles, white papers, and books. He has served as a featured lecturer at many of the nation’s top law schools, including University of Virginia School of Law, University of Texas School of Law and SMU Dedman School of Law. Following each of his jury trials, he interviews the jurors to understand and analyze their decision-making and thought process. With the help of a former Texas state court judge, he has turned these interviews and insights into a book, The Jury Rules: The Rules Every Juror Wants Every Trial Lawyer To Know and Use.

Mr. Cox received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Washington & Lee University, and his J.D., from the University of Virginia School of Law. After graduation, he clerked for the Honorable Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Trey’s wife, Erin Nealy Cox, is the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• In March of 2019, Mr. Cox was lead trial lawyer in a real estate partnership dispute in Texas state court that resulted in a complete victory verdict of $18 million for his client. Recently, this verdict was recognized as on the top 20 jury verdicts in Texas for 2019.
• In Texas state court, Mr. Cox obtained temporary restraining order and subsequently negotiated settlement after three days of trial in significant non-compete and trade secrets litigation involving two major government contractors.
• Purdue Pharma Opioid litigation in Oklahoma and Cleveland MDL. The cases against Purdue—beginning with the one in Oklahoma—represent an focal point in the opioid situation in the US. The Attorney General of Oklahoma brought what many consider to be a bellwether case against Purdue and others. Purdue hired Mr. Cox to try the case. This lawsuit was vitally important to the client, the pharmaceutical industry, and, more broadly, healthcare consumers nationwide as it pitted the principles of healthcare freedom of choice and patient access to medical care against the state’s claims for astronomical damages. It resulted in a settlement of $270 million to found the “M.D. Anderson” of addiction at Oklahoma State University.
• Mr. Cox has represented several Am Law 100 law firms and individual  lawsuits and sensitive investigations regarding claims of professional misconduct, legal malpractice, and breach of fiduciary duty. Mr. Cox also regularly defends lawyers against grievance complaints, appears as special counsel for lawyers facing motions for disqualifications or sanctions, helps lawyers resolve intra-firm controversaries, and handles client fee disputes.
• Mr. Cox won summary judgment in Texas state court for Xerox, defeating all claims by one of world’s largest retailer’s claim that Xerox was responsible for damages associated with outage of government’s electronic benefits transfer verification system. The decision is nationally significant because billions of dollars change hands in similar electronic transactions every day.
• Florida Gas v. Texas Brine — As a result of the Bayou Corne salt mine collapse, a significant section of Mr. Cox’s gas pipeline was destroyed. In Louisiana state court, Mr. Cox was lead trial lawyer for the team that successfully tried the liability and apportionment phase of trial. Shortly thereafter, the case was resolved confidentially and favorably.
• After a three-week jury trial in Abilene, Texas, Mr. Cox secured a take nothing verdict for his client, the largest windfarm in the world, in a mass action by surrounding landowners seeking to shut down the windfarm as a nuisance. It was heralded as a landmark decision for the wind energy industry. Mr. Cox successfully defended the verdict all the way to the Texas Supreme Court.

HONORS / AWARDS

• Selected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• Honored as a “Leader in His Field” in Chambers & Partners’ Chambers USA Guide to Leading Lawyers – General Commercial Litigation (Texas), 2009-2021
• Listed as a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters (as seen in Texas Monthly), for 15 consecutive years, 2004-2019
• Named one of the “Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas” and “Top 100 Super Lawyers in DFW” by Thomson Reuters, 2013-2019
• Listed as one of the “500 Top Litigators in America” by Lawdragon, 2015
• Recognized by his peers in D Magazine as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” for eight consecutive years and prior to that “Best Lawyer Under 40” for five consecutive years
• Listed as one of the “Best Lawyers® in America”, 2009-2019
• Listed as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon, 2021
• Recognized as a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, 2012-2019
• Selected as a “2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property” by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell
• Selected by the Dallas Business Journal as a “Defender” and “One of the 10 Metroplex Litigators Worth Having on Your Side”
• AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Named one of the “Best and Brightest Business Leaders” in the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” survey
• Winner of an International Law Office/Lexology “2013 Client Choice Award” in Litigation

PUBLICATIONS

• Texas Trade Secret Litigation,  A step-by-step guidebook covering statutes, procedures, and overall litigation strategy
• Winning the Jury’s Attention, Presenting Evidence From Voir Dire to Closing
• The Texas Jury Rules, Ten Rules Every Courtroom Lawyer Must Know
• How to Recover Attorneys’ Fees in Texas, Everything You Need to Know About Attorneys’ Fees
• In Defense of the Wind: Legal Challenges Facing Wind Power Can be a Breeze with Proper Planning
• Alternative Fee Arrangements: Partnering with Clients Through Alternative Fee Arrangements
• Jury Rules: The Rules Every Juror Wants Every Trial Lawyer to Know and Use
• What is the Settlement Value?, National Law Journal