Honors and Awards:

• Case Notes and Comments Editor, Baylor Law Review
• Winner and two-time top speaker, Leighton B. Dawson open moot court competition

Pro bono/Community Service:

• He has served on the board and been president of St. Catherine’s Montessori School, was a YMCA soccer and baseball coach and a den leader with Pack 130 of the Sam Houston Area Counsel of the Boy Scouts of America.

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• Temporary Restraining Orders and Temporary Injunctions in Trade Secret Cases:  Trends and Common Practices, Texas Center for the Judiciary, In Chambers publication, June 2011 (http://www.yourhonor.com/IC-Online/IC_Spring11/injunctions.html).
• Dance of the Sumo Wrestlers:  Common “Headwaters” Issues in Commercial Cases, Harris County Judicial Education Conference, 2004.
• I Know it When I See it:  Phillips v. AWH Corporation and the Continuing Search for Interpretative Consistency, The Center for American and International Law, 43rd Intellectual Property Law Conference, 2005.
• Taking on the Hardcore Expert, University of Houston Law Center, Experts seminar, 2005.
• Handling the Stock Options Case from a Plaintiff's Perspective, Houston Bar Association, Securities Litigation and Arbitration Section, 2006.
• Preparing a Witness, UTCLE/University of Texas School of Law, 29th Annual Corporate Counsel Institute, 2007.
• Tom has lectured and written on a variety of legal topics relating to elements of his practice, including bankruptcy litigation, parent/subsidiary corporate liability law and both procedural and tactical aspects of the trial practice.  He has presented continuing legal education speeches at conferences and seminars sponsored by the University of Texas, the University of Houston Law Center, the Harris County district judges, The Center for American and International Law, and the Houston Bar Association.

Verdicts and Settlements:

• FMC Technologies, Inc. v. Frac Tech Services, Ltd. (2011):  We obtained a 12-0 jury verdict and $9.7-million judgment in this breach-of-contract action and a take-nothing judgment on the Defendants' counterclaims for breach of warranty and fraud.  The judgment is now on appeal.
• Disclaimer:  The cases listed in this website reference actual result histories but are not reflective of results in every case we handle.  No attorneys, including our firm, can guarantee any particularly favorable outcome from litigation.  All of the results reported in this website are of gross recoveries, not net to the client.  In cases in which we are retained on a contingent fee basis, recoveries are reduced by the amount of litigation expenses and the contingent fee in connection with these cases (typically from 20 to 40%), depending on the nature of the engagement.
• Scientific Drilling International, Inc., et al. v. Gyrodata Inc. (2006-2009):  We obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of our client in connection with this patent infringement action initiated by the client's primary competitor.
• Total Separation Solutions, LLC v. Butler & Cook, Inc., et al. (2007-2009):  We obtained a jury verdict in excess of $5.1 million and a subsequent confidential settlement on behalf of our client TSS in this theft of trade secret case.
• Construction Bank of China, et al. v. Larry Wong, et al. (2004-2005):  We defended this $38 million claim in which the plaintiffs claimed that Mr. Wong had misappropriated trust funds and engaged in self-dealing.  The matter was resolved for a contribution by Mr. Wong in a settlement agreement that requires confidentiality as to its terms.
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Investigation of El Paso Corporation (2004-2007):  We successfully represented Huddleston & Co., Inc., the auditor of the reserve estimates of the El Paso Corporation, in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation of El Paso’s 41% reserve write-down in February 2004.
• Estate of Andretta Tillman v. Beyonce Knowles, et al. (2002):  We obtained summary judgment on behalf of the members of the R&B group Destiny’s Child in a claim by the estate of their former manager as well as dismissal of a federal slander action by former members of the group.
• EOG Resources v. Southwestern Energy Company (2002):  After trial and subsequent judgment on all liability issues in our client's favor, we obtained a confidential settlement in favor of the client.  These funds were received by our client net of our 25% contingency fee.
• TransAmerican Natural Gas Company v. EOG Resources (1992-1996):  In what is believed to be the largest claim of its kind in Texas jurisprudence at the time, we defended a $300 million trade secret claim on behalf of our client EOG Resources. Success in a group of legal disputes at the trial court level forced the plaintiff to accept a settlement less than one-thousandth its demand.
• Terrence Robinson v. Destiny’s Child, et al. (2004):  We obtained complete dismissal within six months of the filing of this $200 million copyright claim relating to the hit song “Survivor.”
• Halliburton v. Western Well Tool, Inc. (2003):  We represented Western Well Tool, Inc. in a claim by Halliburton that it was entitled to rescind a development contract and retrieve all $13 million expended in connection with the development of a revolutionary wellbore "tractor."  The case was dismissed after a proposed answer and counterclaim was circulated to Halliburton.
• Wing v. Bechtel Industries U.S. Inc., f/k/a CRSS Inc. (1996):  We obtained during trial a confidential settlement on behalf of our client in connection with his claim for the repudiation of a consulting agreement under which Mr. Wing created five major cogeneration opportunities for the defendant.
• Gyrodata Inc. v. Baker Hughes Inteq (2002):  We obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of our client upon a theft of trade secrets claim arising out of the development of a gyroscopic measurement-while-drilling ("GMWD") system.  These funds were received by our client net of our 1/3 contingency fee.
• EOG Resources v. Unocal (1997):  We obtained a full cost buyout of our client's position in a cost-overrun-ridden gas compression plant within 60 days of filing suit, thereby avoiding $22 million in losses.
• J.A. Compton, Trustee v. Carthage Energy Services, Inc., et al. (2001):  We obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of a bankruptcy estate against the defunct trading affiliate of a major East Coast utility.
• Transocean Enterprise Inc., et al. v. ABB Vetco Gray Inc. (2005):  We defended this $55 million claim by Transocean in connection with a riser separation occurring on the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico during 2004.  The case was successfully resolved in April 2005 in an agreement that requires confidentiality as to the result obtained.
• Gyrodata Inc. v. Textron, Inc. (1994):  We obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of our client for the defective and fraudulent sale of gyroscopic equipment used in their down-hole wellbore survey technologies.
• CXY Energy Inc. v. EOG Resources (1992):  We obtained a take-nothing jury verdict in favor of our client/operator upon this $223 million claim of breach of contract and fraud brought by a group of non-operating working interest owners after a three-week jury trial.

Representative Clients:

• In his entertainment-related practice, Tom has represented both artists and institutional clients, including Destiny’s Child, Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and Sony Music Entertainment Inc.  In his commercial trial practice, he has represented FMC Technologies, Inc., Total Separation Solutions, LLC, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Huddleston & Co., Duke Energy, EOG Resources, Inc., the Celotex Corporation, Gyrodata, Inc., JMB Properties Company and numerous estates in bankruptcy.

Other Outstanding Achievements:

• The Law Offices of Tom Fulkerson is an AV®-rated law firm, and Tom personally carries an AV® Peer Review Rating in the Martindale-Hubbell rating system.      CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards

Educational Background:

• B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, 1980