Warren T. Burns

Warren T. Burns

Dallas, TX recognized lawyers icon Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2019
Burns Charest LLP

4 Best Lawyers awards

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Awarded Practice Areas

Litigation - Antitrust

Biography

We are in a battle for the future of our democracy. The frontline is the courtroom. Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? Maybe a little heavy-handed?

I write and speak like this because it matters. And I care.

At our founding, Thomas Jefferson said this: “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”

Access to our courts is the bedrock of our democracy. But the truth is that the civil justice system in our country has been under assault for decades. Politicians have politicized our courts to a remarkable degree, undermining faith in the system. Powerful interest groups have convinced leaders and millions of ordinary citizens that lawsuits are abusive, even when they protect fundamental rights and the basic functioning of our economy. Wealthy corporations abuse the system every day, denying justice and barring the courthouse door to ordinary Americans.

So, what are we going to do? How do we fight back? It starts with your case.

Selecting a lawyer for your case is a very important decision. You want a lawyer who understands your concerns and will fight to achieve your goals. You want a lawyer who believes in our system and knows how to succeed in it. And, most importantly, you want a lawyer who is going to give you candid and meaningful advice. I am that lawyer.

I focus my practice on high-stakes antitrust litigation, along with other complex class action and commercial cases. I have tried and litigated numerous cases involving price fixing, monopolization, breach of contract, intellectual property, business torts, consumer protection statutes, and accounting malpractice.

I achieve results. In 2022, after five years of hard-fought litigation in Kansas City, Kansas, and on the eve of a trial that I was poised to lead, I inked a settlement with the remaining defendant in a nationwide antitrust and RICO class action against the manufacturer and marketer of the EpiPen. In total, the defendants paid $609 million to a class of people and businesses who had paid inflated prices for the lifesaving device. EpiPen was the first and only consumer and business case to take on corporations for headline-producing pharmaceutical price increases.

In 2012, I helped lead a trial team that took the first mortgage-backed-securities related case to trial. In a landmark and game-changing trial, we secured a $106 million judgment on behalf of our client and obtained key pre-trial determinations that had a domino effect in related cases.

I want to know more about your case and to see if there is a way I can help you. I look forward to talking with you.

Burns Charest LLP

4 Best Lawyers awards

Burns Charest LLP logo

Overview

  • Tulane University, JD, summa cum laude and Order of the Coif, graduated 2004

  • Texas, 2004
  • New York, New York State Bar

  • American Bar Association - Steering Committee for the International Litigation Committee
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ) - Member
  • Dallas Bar Association - Member
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association - Member
  • Southern Trial Lawyers Association - Fellow
  • Tulane Law Review - Board of Advisory Editors of the Tulane Law Review, a national board comprised of distinguished alumni

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District and Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • Texas, 2004
  • New York, New York State Bar
  • American Bar Association - Steering Committee for the International Litigation Committee
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ) - Member
  • Dallas Bar Association - Member
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association - Member
  • Southern Trial Lawyers Association - Fellow
  • Tulane Law Review - Board of Advisory Editors of the Tulane Law Review, a national board comprised of distinguished alumni
  • Tulane University, JD, summa cum laude and Order of the Coif, graduated 2004
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District and Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

Client Testimonials

Awards & Focus

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
  • Litigation - Antitrust
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
Awards:
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2019-2026
  • Best Law Firms, U.S. News & World Report, 2019-2025
  • 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers by Lawdragon, 2021-2025
  • Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2019-2025
  • Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine, 2019-2020
  • International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers, 2014-2018
  • Top 100 National Trial Lawyers, 2015 and 2016
  • Texas Rising Stars in Business Litigation by Thomson Reuters, 2011-2015
  • Elected to the American Law Institute in 2016. The American Law Institute is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law.
  • Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Membership in The Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.
  • Received the John Minor Wisdom Award, Tulane’s highest prize for graduating law students, and also served as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review.

Additional Information

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Case History

Cases
  • ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS
Warren serves as co-lead counsel in In re Vehicle Carrier Services Antitrust Litigation (2013-present) now pending in the District of New Jersey. On the eve of arguing against defendants’ consolidated motion to dismiss, he negotiated a confidential settlement with one of the principal defendants. He negotiated a second confidential settlement with another major defendant just weeks later.
  • ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / LEADERSHIP
Warren serves on the executive committee in In re Domestic Airlines Antitrust Litigation (2015-present) now pending in the District of Columbia. His clients have alleged that the nation’s four major airlines conspired to restrict capacity in order to fuel record- high profits.
  • ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS
Warren served as co-lead counsel in In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation (2011-2015) in the Eastern District of Michigan. He personally negotiated settlements exceeding $100 million with foreign defendants while successfully organizing and managing this complex case.
  • COMMERCIAL CASES / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS
Lead trial counsel in three cases against the gas giant Chesapeake for breach of contract and underpayment of royalties relating to the oil and gas lease on the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Warren has represented minority and women-owned business enterprises in their efforts to enforce contractual provisions against Chesapeake. He has settled all three cases successfully over the past three years, including one case that settled two days before trial.
  • COMMERCIAL CASE / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT
Lead trial counsel in a confidential arbitration representing a telecommunications company in its suit against its former billing aggregator. Warren's client hired him with less than three months to go before trial.
  • SECURITIES CLASS ACTION / DEFENSE COUNSEL
Counsel in Brady v. Kosmos Energy, Ltd. (N.D. Tex.) (2012-present) defending a start-up oil and gas company against allegations centering on its initial public offering. The court recently denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.
  • COMMERCIAL CASE / JUDGMENT EXCEEDING $100 MILLION
Counsel in Assured Guaranty v. Flagstar Bank (S.D.N.Y.) (2011-2012), the first case to go to trial related to the residential mortgage backed securities market meltdown. Warren represented a bond insurer in a suit against the securities issuer, resulting in a judgment of over $100 million. In this expert-driven case, he managed plaintiff’s principal liability expert, on whose opinion Judge Jed Rakoff relied in reaching his judgment. At trial, Warren cross-examined defendant’s principal liability expert, whose opinion Judge Rakoff ultimately discredited.
  • CLASS ACTION / JUDGMENT EXCEEDING $16 MILLION
Counsel in In re Universal Service Fund Litigation (D. Kan.) (2005-2013). Warren and the trial team prevailed at trial on a breach of contract claim for AT&T’s California landline telecommunications customers.
  • ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / SETTLEMENTS EXCEEDING $50 MILLION
Counsel in In re Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation (S.D. Ind. 2005-2010). Warren and the trial team resolved the case before trial with class members receiving more than 100 percent of their actual damages after deduction of attorneys’ fees.
  • PATENT CASE / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT
Counsel in Individual Network v. Apple (E.D. Tex.) (2007-2009) representing an inventor in its patent infringement case against Apple. This case involved Apple’s Genius recommendation engine. Warren managed all aspects of discovery and motion practice, including taking the depositions of all defense experts and managing plaintiffs infringement and validity expert. The case was resolved before trial.
  • ANTITRUST CASE / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT
Counsel in Morris & Dickson Co. v. Abbot Labs. (M.D. La.) (2006-2008), representing a regional pharmaceutical wholesaler in its suit against Abbott Laboratories for violation of the Robinson-Patman Act by unfairly favoring Warren's client’s competitors. He managed all aspects of the litigation, including settlement negotiations. The case was resolved before trial.

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