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Thomas M. Melsheimer

Principal

Dallas

214-292-4001

Tom Melsheimer is a Principal of Fish & Richardson and the Managing Principal of the firm’s Dallas office, and head of the office’s trial practice. Mr. Melsheimer’s trial practice includes complex civil and criminal litigation in state and federal courts, emphasizing intellectual property, antitrust, and False Claims Act litigation. His practice is unusually broad. He is highly sought after as trial counsel by clients facing significant, "bet-the-company" litigation. He has successfully tried cases to juries on both coasts and throughout Texas.

His $178 million jury trial win on behalf of the plaintiff in IRCC v. NL Industries, et al. in a breach of fiduciary duty case was named one of the National Law Journal’s Top Verdicts of 2009 and was one of the three largest verdicts in Texas in 2009. On four previous occasions, Mr. Melsheimer’s cases have been recognized by that publication as some of the most significant national cases of 1998, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

In recent years, Mr. Melsheimer has represented clients in disputes as diverse as a minority shareholder in a $178 million fiduciary duty claim, Bank of America in a high-profile patent case involving check-imaging; medical device manufacturer Fresenius in an $87 million patent infringement trial; a publicly-traded health services company in a $4 billion False Claims Act case; the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in a $100 million class action; a Texas-based software and consulting firm in a $30 million trade secret case; a small inventor in a $40 million patent infringement jury verdict against one of the world’s largest contact lens manufacturers; Mark Cuban and his company HDNET in an injunction action against one of the world’s largest satellite television providers; and a local politician in a criminal bribery case.

Mr. Melsheimer has substantial trial experience in high-stakes, complex technology cases for both well-established companies and start-ups. He has represented Microsoft in cases involving audio and video compression technology, Texas Instruments in cases involving digital music and smart phone technology, Fresenius Medical Care in cases involving dialysis technology, Alcatel USA in cases involving telecommunications switching technology, and Deep Nines, Inc. in a case involving network security.

Mr. Melsheimer, who D Magazine described as one of the city's top "courtroom fighters," is consistently named in the magazine's annual round-up of "The Best Lawyers in Dallas." He has been cited for both his business litigation and white collar criminal defense practice. He was named in the 2007 and 2008 editions of Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation, and the legal publication LawDragon has twice named him to their list of the Top 500 lawyers in the country. In 2008 he was named one of the best defense attorneys in North Texas by the Dallas Business Journal, and in 2009 he was included in Chambers USA.

Mr. Melsheimer was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 1990 to 1993. He successfully prosecuted the largest bank fraud case ever undertaken in Texas, involving more than $200 million in fraud, and he obtained one of the largest RICO verdicts in Texas history. The Justice Department honored Melsheimer as one of the nation’s top prosecutors.

Following his departure from government service, Melsheimer successfully defended a data processing company in a financial fraud qui tam litigation brought by the Justice Department and obtained a $15 million settlement on the company’s counterclaim after a favorable jury verdict. Melsheimer’s efforts in the case were recognized by the National Law Journal as the year’s Top Defense Verdict.

After law school, Mr. Melsheimer served as a law clerk to the Honorable Homer Thornberry, Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, for whom the Federal Courts Building in Austin, Texas is now named. He also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law and the Southern Methodist University School of Law where he taught courses in antitrust, white collar crime, and legal writing. Mr. Melsheimer is a frequent contributor to the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle and other publications on legal issues including the right to jury trial, selection of judges, and related subjects.

Admissions

Texas 1986

Clerkships

The Honorable Homer Thornberry, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Memberships and Affiliations

Mr. Melsheimer a Board Certified Specialist in Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Member: Dallas Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates; and a former member of the District 6 Grievance Committee, State Bar of Texas.

Other Distinctions

Published works
"Criminal Procedure: Confession, Search, and Seizure," 52 SMU L. Rev. 915 (1999).

"Annual Survey of Texas Law: Criminal Law," with David Finn, 51 SMU L. Rev. 839 (1998).

"Annual Survey of Texas Law: Criminal Law," with David Finn, 50 SMU L. Rev. 1059 (1997).

Editor, Complex Crimes Journal 1997, 1996, 1995, and 1994, American Bar Association.

"Annual Survey of Texas Law: Criminal Law," with Thomas B. Walsh, 49 SMU L. Rev. 853 (1996).

"Criminal Procedure: Confession, Search and Seizure," with Thomas B. Walsh, 48 SMU L. Rev. 1031 (1995).

"The Law of Sexual Harassment on Campus: A Work in Progress," with Steven H. Stodghill, 13 Rev. Litig. 529 (1994).

"Due Process and Punitive Damages: Providing Meaningful Guidance to the Jury," with Steven H. Stodghill, 47 SMU L. Rev. 329 (1994).

"Annual Survey of Texas Law: Criminal Law," with Thomas B. Walsh, 47 SMU L. Rev. 977 (1994).

"Annual Survey of Texas Law: Damages," with Steven H. Stodghill, 46 SMU L. Rev. 1315 (1993).

"On Reading the Constitution," 66 Tulane Law Review 1575 (1992).

"Bork’s Apologia," 64 St. John's Law Review 413 (1990).

"Economics and Ideology; Antitrust in the 1980’s," 42 Stanford Law Review 1319 (1990).

Education

BA, University of Notre Dame 1983
magna cum laude
JD, University of Texas at Austin School of Law 1986
magna cum laude
Texas Law Review, Chancellor
Teaching Quizmaster

Experience

Litigation examples

Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. v. Baxter International, Inc. (N.D. Cal.) - Co-lead trial counsel for Fresenius in a patent infringement case involving four patents relating to hemodialysis machines. Jury returned verdict for Fresenius invalidating all asserted claims on all patents. Baxter was seeking $87 million in damages and an injunction barring Fresenius from selling its "Fresenius 2008K" hemodialysis machine.

DataTreasury Corporation v. Bank of America Corporation and Bank of America, National Association - Lead trial counsel for Bank of America in a patent case involving check imaging. Case pending.

Accolade Systems LLC v. Citrix Systems, Inc. - Represented Citrix in a patent infringement case. Plaintiff’s claims were dismissed with prejudice on the eve of trial.

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company v. INEOS Group, Ltd. - Represented Chevron in successful effort to obtain temporary injunction to prevent use and disclosure of trade secrets involving high density polyethylene manufacturing technology; case settled in mediation.

Deep Nines, Inc. v. McAfee, Inc. - Represented plaintiff Deep Nines on patent related to internet security, obtained jury verdict of $18 million for patentee.

Texas Instruments v. Rajendra Talluri - Lead trial counsel for Texas Instruments in an inevitable disclosure/theft of trade secrets case. Obtained injunction for employer to prevent the inevitable disclosure of TI’s valuable trade secrets. Case pending.

Hewlett-Packard Company v. byD:sign Inc. - Lead counsel for HP in a breach of fiduciary duty/theft of trade secrets case involving former senior employees. Case settled.

In re 9/11 Terrorist Attacks - Lead trial counsel for Al Rajhi family members in multi-district litigation in largest wrongful death case ever brought in the United States; case pending in Southern District of New York.

Wichita Falls Power Management, LLC v. Intel Corporation - Lead trial counsel for Intel in a patent case involving power management technology for microprocessors; case favorably settled.

Alcatel USA, Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc. - Trial counsel for plaintiff Alcatel USA in $9 billion trade secret and antitrust case involving optical cross connect technology. Case resolved favorably for Alcatel in arbitration.

Alcatel USA, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Company - Trial counsel for plaintiff Alcatel USA in the largest trade secret case ever tried in Texas. Case favorably resolved during trial on a confidential basis.

Alcatel USA, Inc. v. Tekelec, Inc. - Trial counsel for plaintiff Alcatel USA in patent infringement action involving wireless telecommunication technology. Case favorably resolved before trial.

Rembrandt Vision Technologies, L.P. v. Ciba Vision Corporation et al. - Lead trial counsel for Rembrandt in a patent infringement case involving a novel soft gas permeable contact lens. Obtained plaintiff's verdict after jury trial.

Carreker Corporation v. Jack Cannon, et al. - Lead trial counsel for plaintiff Carreker in an inevitable disclosure and misappropriation of trade secrets matter involving a former senior principal. Obtained an injunction against employee under inevitable and actual disclosure theories.

EPG, Inc. v. Carreker, Inc. - Lead trial counsel for Carreker in trade secret case; case settled after favorable trial verdict.

Texas Instruments v. Gary Johnson - Lead trial counsel for Texas Instruments in "inevitable disclosure" of trade secrets case leading to one of the first such injunctions issued by a Texas court.

BancTec USA, Inc. F/K/A Monitronics, Inc. v. Advanced Financial Solutions, Inc. et al. - Defended Advanced Financial Solutions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Won judgment against BancTec in a countersuit for tortious interference and antitrust.

DSC Communications Corporation v. Pulse Communications, Inc. - Represented DSC in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in copyright and patent infringement action and counterclaims against manufacturer of knock off linecards for next generation digital loop carrier equipment. Both sides affirmative claims dismissed by trial court. Successfully appealed judgment to Federal Circuit, case settled on favorable terms.

DSC Communications Corporation v. Reltec Corporation, et al. - Represented DSC in Texas state court. Obtained trade secrets and inevitable disclosure temporary injunction against group of former DSC employees. Technology involved rural class digital loop carriers. Case settled after injunction issued.

DSC Communications Corporation v. DGI Technologies, Inc. - Represented DSC in United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in trade secrets case against competitor that induced DSC customers to disclose technology in breach of secrecy agreements involving Class IV tandem switch technology. Won $10 million dollar judgment for DSC and developmental injunction and defeated antitrust counterclaims.

State of Texas v. ResCare, Inc. - Defense of False Claims Act case brought by Texas Attorney General and United States Department of Justice; favorable settlement obtained before trial.

Driscoll Childrens Hospital v. KPMG Peat Marwick - Lead trial counsel for hospital in accounting malpractice case; obtained favorable settlement on eve of trial.

Harward v. PricewaterhouseCoopers - Trial counsel for PWC in accounting fraud case; obtained dismissal of all claims before trial.

Universal Image, Inc. v. Cuban, et al. - Lead trial counsel in $1 billion contract and fraud case; obtained dismissal of all claims prior to trial.

Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. Power-One, Inc. - Represented defendant in employee raiding/trade secrets matter in state court, avoiding "inevitable disclosure" injunction.

State of Texas v. Larry Hanson - Public corruption case against prominent local contractor; case dismissed by government.

United States v. Lipscomb - Public corruption case against prominent city councilman and civil rights leader; home confinement obtained after trial; conviction reversed on appeal and case dismissed by government.

United States of America v. Aleida Deleon - Lead trial counsel for employee of Tyson Foods in case involving nationwide sting concerning illegal immigrant smuggling. Case dismissed by government after opening statement.

United States of America v. Nitin Shettie - Lead trial counsel for defendant indicted in the largest human smuggling case in nation’s history.

United States of America, ex rel John D. Battaglia v. Texas Data Control, et al. - Successfully defended Texas Data Control in qui tam case alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act. In addition to the defense verdict, obtained $15 million settlement after verdict, cited by the National Law Journal as the "Top Defense Verdict" of the year.

Walker, et al. v. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, et al. - Obtained a U.S. Supreme Court decision for North Texas homeowners, leaving in place a lower court ruling sustaining a constitutional challenge to race-based public housing.

Linda Brewton, et al. v. National Medical Enterprises, Inc., et al. (State Court) - Fraud case involving chain of psychiatric hospitals.

Barbara Gleason Ellis, et al. v. Joe Charles Lindsey, et al. (Federal Court) - Wrongful death case involving Texas Instruments.

Taco Bell Corp. v. John R. W. Cracken, et al. (Federal Court) - Professional liability case on behalf of prominent attorney.