Monica E. Gaudioso
Partner
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.
Outside of Work
Monica is half Italian, and food is very important in her family. Cooking has always been her creative outlet, and for an amateur chef, she is pretty serious about it. When entertaining at home, it’s usually for a crowd. Twenty-five people showing up for dinner? That won’t phase her one bit—she will jump right in and start happily planning and prepping with the precision of a small-scale military operation. She doesn't have any particular dishes that she is known for, but she did recently create a “banoffee” tower, made of creampuffs stuffed with banana cream and topped with caramel, which was a pretty big hit. Let her know if you’d like the recipe!
- Litigation, Disputes, Appeals
- Technology & Innovation
Education
- The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, J.D., 2013; Article Editor, Texas Law Review
- Rhodes College, B.A., History, 2010
Clerkships
- Honorable Samuel H. Mays, Jr., U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee, 2013-14
Bar + Court Admissions
- Licensed in Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth District
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District, Texas
- U.S. District Court, Northern District, Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District, Texas
- U.S. District Court, Western District, Texas
- Legal 500 US City Elite: Dallas, 2025
- Top 25 Blockchain and Digital Assets Attorneys, Attorney Intel, 2025
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Labor and Employment Litigation, 2021-2025
- Leading Litigators in America, Commercial Litigation, Lawdragon 500, 2024-2025
- Texas Rising Stars, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2023
- Member, State Bar of Texas
- Member, Dallas Bar Association
- Member, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers; DAYL Foundation Fellow
- Member, Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, 2019-2021
- Podcast Guest, The Intersection of DAOs, Digital Assets, and AI, Texas Blockchain Council's "Block-Cast", July 2024
