Jennifer Evans Morris
Partner
Business Litigation, Securities and Director and Officer Litigation, Major Construction, Real Estate Litigation
Phone: 214-855-3044
Direct Fax: 214-758-3744
Email: jmorris@ccsb.com
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Ms. Morris helps clients solve difficult and complex issues in a wide array of areas, with an emphasis on director and officer liability and large construction matters.
Ms. Morris has significant trial experience in both state and federal court and in arbitrations. Ms. Morris represents officers and directors of large companies in securities class actions and derivative lawsuits, breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits, and investigations. Ms. Morris also represents owners, specialty suppliers, and contractors in complex construction disputes involving delay claims, design and construction errors, cost overruns and bid disputes. Ms. Morris serves as special counsel for director and officer investigations. Ms. Morris was named a “Rising Star” in business litigation by the Texas Monthly in 2004 when the award was first introduced and has continued to receive that award every year since.
Ms. Morris is committed to her community and has provided leadership to a variety of organizations. Since 2002, she has served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Community Partners of Dallas, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring safety and restoring dignity and hope to abused and neglected children. She also led Attorneys Serving the Community, a volunteer group comprised of approximately 200 women lawyers, as their Co-Chair in 2005-2007.
Ms. Morris is President of the Texas Young Lawyers Association, which has over 24,000 members. She has served on that board since 2004. As a board member, Ms. Morris played a pivotal role in developing, writing, and filming They Had a Dream Too – Young Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, an Emmy® award-winning film and school curriculum targeting eleventh and twelfth graders, which highlights the role young people played in the Civil Rights Movement.
Representative Matters
Complex Commercial Litigation
Represented Fortune 500 fiberoptics company in a one-week federal jury trial in connection with an asset purchase agreement dispute involving network monitoring technology.
Represented large insurance company in class actions in 13 different states challenging insurance industry practices relating to the premiums for complex workers compensation insurance.
Assisted in two-week state court jury trial involving breach of an alleged real estate partnership claim and resulting in a successful defense verdict.
Represented large public company in federal lawsuit involving breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets claims brought by former sales representative.
Represented governmental entity and its employees in federal and state lawsuits involving breach of covenant not-to-compete, misappropriation of trade secrets, and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Assisted in representing law firm in a one-week state court jury trial involving unfair debt collection practices claims and resulting in a successful defense verdict.
Director and Officer Litigation and Investigation
Represents former CEO of one of the world’s leading industrial suppliers of pumps, valves, seals, automation and services to the power, oil, gas, chemical and other industries in a securities class action.
Represented former director of major non-profit hospital in adversary proceeding brought by trustee alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims in connection with service on the hospital’s Board of Directors prior to bankruptcy.
Investigated former officers and directors of large telecom company on behalf of creditors’ committee after company filed Chapter 11.
Represented outside directors in high-profile option backdating derivative litigation in state and federal courts in Texas and Delaware.
Construction
Represents national specialty supplier in Harris and Bexar counties concerning breach of contract claims.
Represents large public owner company in New York state court in connection with dispute concerning airport terminal construction.
Obtained favorable result representing national specialty supplier in Maryland state court in connection with dispute concerning airport terminal construction.
Represented large international client in defending over $80 million in claims brought under Mexican law by, among other parties, a Mexican governmental entity, arising from a gas turbine failure and involving protracted jurisdictional challenges and international discovery in three countries over several years.
Obtained favorable result representing national specialty supplier and contractor in subcontractor dispute involving revocation of bid post-award.
Obtained favorable result representing national specialty supplier and contractor in subcontractor dispute involving fire damage due to improper electrical wiring.
Represented luxury high-rise condominium owner in defamation claim against local real estate agent in connection with construction of condominiums.
Education
Southern Methodist University
J.D., Order of the Coif,
magna cum laude, 1999
Managing Editor: SMU Law Review
Southern Methodist University
B.A., 1994
Associations/Affiliations
Trustee and Fellow: Texas Bar Foundation.
Founding Life Fellow: Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Foundation
Member: American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry and Litigation Section
Executive Committee and Board of Directors: State Bar of Texas
President-elect: Texas Young Lawyers Association
Member: Dallas Bar Association Securities and Construction Sections
Speeches/Publications
Becoming the Go-To Lawyer, Commercial & Business Litigation, Vol. 11 No. 2 Spring 2010.
Co-author, Texas Survey of Professional Liability, 62 SMU L. Rev., 2009.
Panelist, Voting Rights Act, 1975: the Cases and the History of the Vote, 21st Century Chicano Activist Convention, 2009.
Panelist, What Every Young Lawyer should Know About Discovery, 2009.
Co-author, Where We Are Now With Women and Minority Business Enterprise Programs, The Construction Lawyer, 2009.
Co-author, Texas Survey of Professional Liability, 61 SMU L. Rev., 2008.
Co-author of Presentation Materials for ABA Forum on the Construction Industry’s Fall Meeting: Women, Minorities and Diversity in Construction: Local and National Trends and A Changed Landscape, 2008.
Co-author, Texas Survey of Professional Liability, 60 SMU L. Rev. 2007.
Course Director and Panelist, State Bar of Texas Crossroads – Mapping Out the Rest of Your Career, 2006.
Co-author, Examining Collectibility of the Underlying Trial (Within a Trial), ABA Litigation Section Committee on Com. & Bus. Litig. J., 2006.
Co-author, Civil Evidence in the SMU Law Review’s Texas Survey, 2003-2006.
Co-author, Personal Torts in the SMU Law Review’s Texas Survey, 2001-2002.
Community Involvement
2007-2010 Barrister, Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court
2008-2009 Grant Committee, Women's Foundation
2003-2009 Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, Community Partners of Dallas
2005-2007 Co-Chair, Attorneys Serving the Community
2001-2002 Associate, Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court
1999-2005 Member, Attorneys Serving the Community.
Bar Involvement
2009-2010 President, Texas Young Lawyers Association
2009-2010 Board of Directors, State Bar of Texas
2007-2008 Secretary, Texas Young Lawyers Association
2004-Present: Board of Directors, Texas Young Lawyers Association: 2006-2007: Co-author and Developer of Emmy award-winning film They Had a Dream Too – Young Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement; 2004-2008: committee co-chair of numerous committees, including Local Affiliates, Member Services and Outreach, Law-Focused Education, and Annual Meeting
2004-Present Board of Directors (ex officio), Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
2000 Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Leadership Class
Awards and Achievements
2007 Nominee for American Bar Association Young Lawyer Division National Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award
2004-2009 Texas Lawyer Rising Star in Business Litigation
2005-2008 President’s Award of Merit, Texas Young Lawyers Association
