David Swaim

Dave is a trial lawyer and business counselor that protects and pursues his clients’ interests. Dave’s diverse litigation practice focuses on complex commercial, employment and intellectual property litigation in state and federal courts, and administrative forums in Texas and across the country. Dave's clients include individuals and businesses of all types and sizes, mostly based in Texas or with operations in our state, including Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes, do...

John Brusniak, Jr. has been a nationally recognized property tax attorney for 40 years. Before starting his own firm, John was a partner in two of Texas’ largest law firms. As a result of his ground-breaking appellate and other successes, Texas property tax law bears his personal mark. He is a frequently sought speaker and publisher of property tax articles, as well as his own reference book, Brusniak’s Texas Property Tax Digest. John is also the author of Texas Property Tax Code ...

Thomas Laughlin is one of the founding partners of the Dallas office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Thomas regularly represents clients in mergers and acquisitions (including controlling investments, preferred equity and other minority investments, and SPAC transactions), divestitures, joint ventures, debt and equity financings, restructurings and other corporate matters. Thomas has broad experience across many industries, but in particular, he has focused his practice representing clients in t...

R. Daniel Settle, Jr. has more than 40 years of experience in public finance, representing cities, counties, special districts, nonprofit corporations, investment bankers and other financial institutions in connection with structuring financings for a variety of projects including public infrastructure, economic development, affordable housing and health care. Mr. Settle is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the Texas Association of Bank Counsel.

Michael Baum is a seasoned trial lawyer and respected courtroom advocate specializing in employment and commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on disputes involving non‐competition and employment agreements, theft of trade secrets, tortious interference with contracts, and breach of fiduciary duties. Mr. Baum is frequently consulted by employers and executives on a wide range of matters, including employee discipline, employment investigations, and strategic employment decisions. H...

Carol Willis Butrus is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. Carol Willis, who practices law in Plano, Texas, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Carol Willis is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Eli Burriss represents clients in sophisticated litigation matters, with a scope that includes derivative actions, M&A disputes, software license and data breach litigation, antitrust litigation, and trade secret litigation. Eli also has extensive experience litigating matters that arise under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including 401(k) litigation, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) litigation, and representing some of the world’s largest health plan admi...

With more than 25 years of experience, clients turn to Nikki Fanous for advice and guidance with commercial real estate transactions including leasing, development, acquisitions, dispositions, and property management issues. Nikki represents buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, developers, and investors in all areas of real estate transactions including leasing, development, acquisitions, dispositions, financing, and property management issues. Nikki has extensive experience drafting and nego...

Tina Ross concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial real estate, mortgage finance, construction law, and business law. She represents institutional lenders, investors, pension fund advisors, and developers regarding a variety of real estate matters including land acquisition and development, condominium development, construction financing, syndicated loan transactions, loan workouts and restructures and foreclosures, and bulk/portfolio sales and auctions of distressed assets. Altho...

Gary S. Kessler is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Securities and Real Estate Law. Gary S., who practices law in Dallas, Texas, has been recognized since 1995. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Gary S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.