Monica E. Gaudioso
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Monica E. Gaudioso

I am at my happiest and best, professionally speaking, in the courtroom. Some people shy away from trial work, preferring different aspects of the law, but—when litigation is the right move, strategically—I thrill at the opportunity to represent clients zealously and effectively, on a broad range of issues, in this forum.

Monica focuses her practice on general commercial litigation and arbitration, both on the plaintiff- and defense-side, and at the state and federal levels. She has handled cases of all sizes and levels of complexity—including those involving business ownership disputes, director-and-officer, and shareholder litigation, breach of contract and fraud, and trade-secret misappropriation, among numerous others. She is also working to grow her practice in the area of token and blockchain technology. Whatever the nature of the dispute, Monica guides clients smoothly through all phases of the case, from pre-litigation demand through discovery, motion practice, and eventually trial.

Before joining Carrington, Monica spent four years as a litigation associate at another firm, where she handled pre-trial discovery matters and second-chaired disputes at both trial and arbitration. She also gained valuable insights and experience as a law clerk to the Hon. Samuel H. Mays, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, where she managed the civil docket and prepared court documents related to federal and state securities litigation, complex commercial litigation, employment discrimination, and a First Amendment appeal.

Monica is extremely detail-oriented, and clients and colleagues alike can rely on her to always ‘know the file,’ inside and out. A former competitive swimmer, she sees many similarities between that sport at which she excelled and her current legal practice. “Both are collaborative team sports, but also require intense individual focus, strategy, and performance,” she explains.

Areas of Focus

Education

Education

  • University of Texas at Austin School of Law (J.D., 2013)
    • Article Editor, Texas Law Review
  • Rhodes College (B.A., History, 2010)

Clerkships

  • Hon. Samuel H. Mays, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 2013-2014.

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • Texas, 2013
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District, Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District, Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Leadership

  • Member, State Bar of Texas
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
  • DAYL Foundation Fellow
  • Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, 2019-2021

Recognition

  • Lawdragon 500, Leading Litigators in America, Commercial Litigation, 2024
  • Honored as a Texas Rising Star in Civil Litigation Defense as published in Texas Monthly magazine, 2023
  • Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, 2021-2024, Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Labor and Employment Litigation

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Outside of Work

I’m half Italian, and food is very important in my family. Cooking has always been my creative outlet, and for an amateur chef, I am pretty serious about it. When we entertain at my home, it’s usually for a crowd. Twenty-five people showing up for dinner? That won’t phase me one bit—I will jump right in and start happily planning and prepping with the precision of a small-scale military operation. I don’t have any particular dishes that I am known for, but I did recently create a “banoffee” tower, made of creampuffs stuffed with banana cream and topped with caramel, which was a pretty big hit. Let me know if you’d like the recipe!