McKool Smith

McKool Smith was founded in 1991 with a core group of 13 trial lawyers in Dallas. Over the past two decades, we have attracted and retained the highest caliber of legal talent, increasing our resources to nearly 200 trial lawyers and offices in Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Our entrepreneurial approach means we serve our clients anytime, anywhere, and strategically widen our scope in anticipation of changes in the legal market. In 1996, we set up an office in the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall), which quickly established a reputation as a "rocket docket" for patent infringement cases. Then, we prepared for the patent litigation boom by opening our Austin office in 2000 and launching our Intellectual Property (IP) Litigation practice. As the International Trade Commission (ITC) started to gain momentum as a popular forum for U.S. businesses to resolve their infringement disputes, we enhanced our IP practice with the addition of an ITC litigation practice and a new Washington, D.C. office in 2007.

The same year, McKool Smith opened an office in New York City and added a White Collar Defense practice in response to increased government enforcement and investigations as a result of the financial crisis. Two years later, we expanded into bankruptcy litigation with our new Houston office, timed perfectly to the national spike in bankruptcy filings and unsuccessful business ventures.

In September 2011, our firm made the push to the West Coast with the addition of Hennigan Dorman, a Los Angeles-based trial firm; we now do business as McKool Smith Hennigan in California.

Throughout every change and expansion, we have maintained a fierce commitment to the success of our clients and remain invested in a firm culture that fosters respect, trust, and collaboration. These standards - McKool Smith's hallmark - enable us to deliver exceptional client service time and again.

McKool Smith's first office opened in Dallas's thriving Uptown district in 1991, attracting some of the country's top trial lawyers thanks to the reputation of founding principals Mike McKool and Phil Smith. Over the past several decades, the office has expanded in conjunction with the city's rapid economic growth, providing powerful representation to companies and individuals both locally and nationwide. The entrepreneurial spirit of our Dallas lawyers - who have substantial experience in every major field of complex commercial litigation, as well as in bankruptcy matters and intellectual property litigation - mirrors the pro-business atmosphere that defines Dallas as a hub of technological and economic innovation.

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Bankruptcy	4
Corporate	1
Insurance Coverage	2
IP	11
Litigation	66