Shawn M. Bates

Shawn Bates has more than 22 years of practice in commercial litigation in the energy industry and across numerous other industries. He is a seasoned first-chair trial lawyer, handling cases worth tens of millions. He has conducted hundreds of depositions and supervised trial teams on matters of varying size.

He focuses his practice on litigation and arbitration of complex disputes for clients in the energy sector (oil and gas companies, oilfield supply and support companies, pipeline builders/owners, electric and gas utilities, and other energy sector companies) as well as construction cases and other business disputes. These disputes include a broad range of claims such as business torts and fiduciary duty breach, breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraud, and similar disputes.

Mr. Bates is a former partner at Yetter Coleman LLP and was formerly Of Counsel at Schwartz, Junell, Greenberg & Oathout, LLP. He holds a Certificate in Advanced Arbitration Skills from the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center of the University of Houston Law Center. Before obtaining his law degree magna cum laude at Georgetown University Law Center, Mr. Bates worked for the U.S. Government for 10 years as a Senior Auditor in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Inspector General, and as a Senior Evaluator in the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Mr. Bates has been named a Texas Super Lawyer and to US Best Lawyers in 2021-2025; and before that, as a Rising Star by Texas Monthly Magazine for 2005 and 2006, and one of Houston’s Top Lawyers for 2006-2009 by H Texas Magazine. He has been a United Way Young Leader and a United Way Community Investment Volunteer. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Santa Maria Hostel, a Houston-based non-profit organization that provides in-patient treatment for women battling addiction and abuse and their children.