David E. Warden
Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
David E. Warden is an internationally recognized expert in business litigation and arbitration, including patents and other intellectual property. He is a lawyer, arbitrator, engineer, adjunct professor, published author, and businessman.
Mr. Warden has tried many healthcare, energy, securities, and intellectual property business lawsuits for individual clients and entities, as well as mass actions and class actions, and is licensed as a patent attorney before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. He was a founding partner of his former firm Yetter Warden & Coleman LLP, and prior to that was a partner at Baker Botts LLP. Mr. Warden also has been appointed by federal courts as a special master and mediator in patent litigation, has served as an arbitrator in ICC and ad hoc arbitrations, and has served as class counsel in major class action cases.
He has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1989 by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has arbitrated cases under the auspices of ICC International Court of Arbitration (Paris) and American Arbitration Association (New York), and has conducted ad hoc arbitrations, both as counsel and as an arbitrator.
Mr. Warden is licensed to practice law in all Texas state courts, the U.S. District Courts in Texas, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been on the list of Texas Super Lawyers since 2003. He has been recognized by attorneys across the United States as one of the Best Lawyers in America from 2015 – 2025.
He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Purdue University. Before attending law school, Mr. Warden was an engineer and district production engineering supervisor for Exxon Company USA. He has been an adjunct professor in both engineering and economics at Rice University since 2006. He earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in 2019, focused on novel high energy radiation shielding applications. He speaks basic French, and is an instrument-rated pilot and a certified scuba diver.
Mr. Warden’s business activities include serving as vice president-corporate development for Excalibur Almaz U.S.A. from 2009 to 2011, and has been for over 15-years associated with various commercial space enterprises, including as founder and CEO of Black Moon Energy for the last two years. He was on the board of directors for Encore Bancshares Inc. and chaired its audit committee for seven years. He also served on the board of directors for InNexus Biotechnology Inc.; Industry Forum Lead, National Space Biomedical Research Institute; Chinese Community Center; and Board of Trustees for the Awty International School.
Overview
- French
- Rice University, Ph.D., graduated 2019
- University of Virginia, J.D., graduated 1981
- Purdue University, MS, graduated 1973
- Purdue University, BS, graduated 1972
- Texas, State Bar of Texas
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- French
- Texas, State Bar of Texas
- Rice University, Ph.D., graduated 2019
- University of Virginia, J.D., graduated 1981
- Purdue University, MS, graduated 1973
- Purdue University, BS, graduated 1972
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
- Litigation - Intellectual Property
- Patent Law
- Arbitration
- Commercial Litigation
Best Lawyers in America, 2015-2026
- Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2003-2025
Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
News & Media
Additional Information
Case History
- Reported Cases
- Christus Health Gulf Coast v. Aetna, 2007 WL 2457803 (Tex.), 50 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1148 (2007
- Eddins v. Redstone, 35 Cal.Rptr.3d 863 (Cal.App. 2005)
- Wright v. Sage, 137 S.W.3d 238 (Tex. App. 2004)
- Cleveland v. Viacom Inc., 166 F.Supp.2d 535 (W.D. Tex. 2001)
- Bareford v. General Dynamics Corp., 973 F.2d 1138 (5th Cir. 1992)
- Hotvedt v. Schlumberger Ltd., 925 F.2d 119 (5th Cir. 1991), 914 F.2d 79 (5th Cir. 1990)
- Hernandez v. Houston Lighting & Power Co., 795 S.W.2d 775 (Tex. App. 1990)
- Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Wheelabrator Coal Servs. Co., 788 S.W.2d 933 (Tex. App. 1990)
- Southern Co. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Powell, 736 S.W.2d 745 (Tex. App. 1987)
- Kelly v. Lee, 736 S.W.2d 750 (Tex. App. 1987); CTS Corp. v. Dynamics Corp., 481 U.S. 69 (1987)
- Representative Cases
- Limited partners in accounting fraud case against major accounting firm (2007)
- High-net-worth investors against major securities broker in fraud case arbitrations ($100 million settlement, 2006)
- Individuals in suit against major hospital and others for performing unnecessary heart surgeries ($420 million settlement, 2006)
- Video store franchisees in antitrust case against major motion picture studios ($28 million settlement, 2003)
- Major software developer in trade secret theft case (1998)
- Class of limited partners in fraud case against major hotel operator ($440 million settlement, 2000)
- Entities in Saudi Arabia and Yemen against major international oil company for breach of contract ($24 million settlement, 2000)
- First Toyota dealer in Texas in a case against franchisor ($6 million settlement, 1996)
- Major defense contractor in case involving “black program” technology for advanced fighter aircraft (1994)
- Major computer technology company in a case asserting patents for first single-chip microprocessor (1992)
- Major oil company in arbitration to determine fair market value of natural gas at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, under terms of Unit Agreement (1985)
- Mass action representing victimized children for fraudulent dental procedures (2015)
- Major bank in case asserting fraud in relation to CDOs and subprime mortgages (2018)
- Class actions asserting privacy violations regarding hospital websites (2023)
- Government investigation asserting fraudulent billing in connection with concurrently performed heart surgeries (2024).
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