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Gwendolyn Johnson Samora
Gwendolyn Johnson Samora
Experience | Education | Recognition | Publications
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Biography
Gwen is seasoned in all aspects of appeals in both state and federal courts and has handled numerous appellate matters before the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas courts of appeals, and the federal circuits, including the United States Courts of Appeals for Fifth Circuit, the Eighth Circuit, the Tenth Circuit, and the Federal Circuit. She has also appeared in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Her proficiency is particularly evident in complex commercial appeals, including securities fraud appeals, oil and gas and other royalty-related appeals, and in interlocutory appeals involving venue and joinder issues, special appearances, and class certification. Gwen is known for her ability to brief, in a plain-language and readily comprehendible fashion, complicated legal and factual issues covering a wide variety of substantive legal areas. Gwen also regularly provides appellate assistance during trial, including drafting and arguing motions for directed verdict, drafting jury charges, making objections to jury charges, and drafting and arguing post-verdict motions. Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in civil appellate law, Gwen has fully briefed and argued cases on the merits involving both personal injury and commercial matters.
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Representative Experience
Federal Appeals
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- Obtained, as principal author of brief of appellee in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, affirmance of a dismissal based on lack of diversity jurisdiction in an important case in which the Fifth Circuit clarified the test for determining whether an entity created under foreign law is a “citizen of a foreign state” under the diversity statute
- Obtained, as principal author of briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, reversal of a securities fraud judgment against the former Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded company; see 2008 WL 4218781 (5th Cir. 2008)
- Obtained, as lead appellate lawyer in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, affirmance of a district court’s finding of mental retardation in a pro bono appeal arising from a successive writ filed in a death penalty case; see 505 F.3d 349 (5th Cir. 2007)
Texas State Court Appeals
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- Obtained, as principal author of the briefs to the Supreme Court of Texas, reversal and rendition of judgment in favor of a lawyer sued for legal malpractice; the case was one of first impression and announced the rule that expert testimony is required to establish causation in a legal malpractice case involving alleged trial malpractice; see 146 S.W.3d 113 (Tex. 2004)
- Obtained, as one of the principal author of briefs in the Ninth Court of Appeals of Texas, reversal of a $100 million judgment against a worldwide engineering, procurement, and construction firm in a case involving claims for tortious interference with contract, business disparagement, lost profits, and exemplary damages; see 273 S.W.3d 426 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2008, pet. denied)
- Obtained, as principal author of briefs in the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas, reversal of judgment entered against a client in a medical malpractice action brought by a patient whose biopsy was misdiagnosed; the court of appeals ruled that the patient's claims were barred by the two-year statute of limitations in the Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act; see 126 S.W.3d 196 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2003, pet denied)
Mandamus Proceedings and Interlocutory Appeals
- Briefed and argued mandamus proceeding in Supreme Court of Texas, in which the Supreme Court of Texas granted mandamus relief and ordered the Denton County statutory probate court to vacate its order transferring a case from Harris County district court to Denton County statutory probate court under section 5B of the Texas Probate Code; see 85 S.W.3d 800 (Tex. 2002)
- Argued mandamus proceeding in which First Court of Appeals granted mandamus relief ordering that litigation brought against our client by a plaintiff who did not sign an arbitration agreement be stayed pending resolution of an arbitration proceeding involving similar claims by another claimant who had signed an arbitration agreement with our client
- Briefed and argued a number of interlocutory appeals to the Second Court of Appeals of Texas in Fort Worth, including venue joinder and class certification appeals, arising out of two nationwide class action lawsuits filed in the statutory probate court; the Second Court of Appeals ultimately reversed both class certification orders, holding that the probate court lacked subject matter jurisdiction; see 127 S.W.3d 286 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2004, no pet.); 128 S.W.3d 718 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2004, no pet.)
Trial Experience
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- Acted as lead appellate lawyer in six-week trial in Texas state court involving claims for tortious interference with contract, business disparagement, and tortious interference with prospective business relations brought by a construction firm against our client, a worldwide engineering, procurement, and construction firm
- Drafted and argued motion for directed verdict in one of the first trials in significant mass tort litigation in Texas state court
- Drafted jury charge and argued objections to the charge in action in which our client, a supermarket chain, sued a wholesale distributor for breach of contract and fraud; the jury returned a verdict in favor of our client
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Education and Professional Background
- University of Houston Law Center, J.D. magna cum laude, 1992 (Order of the Coif; Chief Articles Editor, Houston Law Review)
- Rice University, B.A. English and Psychology summa cum laude, 1988 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Judicial clerk to The Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Admitted to practice: Texas, 1992; United States Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Professional Recognition
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- Recognized in apellate, Legal 500 U.S., 2011
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers in appellate litigation, 2007 - 2011
- The Best Lawyers in America® in Appellate law, 2006 - 2011
Publications and Presentations
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- “Fifth Circuit Update,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Appellate Seminar, 2009
- Interlocutory Appeals, State Bar of Texas Appellate Boot Camp, 2008
- Mock Jury Charge, 15th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, 2005
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Full Biography
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First City Tower
1001 Fannin Street
Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77002-6760
Tel +1.713.758.2942
Fax +1.713.615.5214
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