People

Kevin Jacobs
Kevin T. Jacobs
Partner | Section Chair - Litigation (Firmwide)

Overview

Kevin Jacobs' trial practice focuses on commercial disputes and arbitrations for clients in the energy, chemicals, transportation, and life sciences industries. Mr. Jacobs' work in the energy space has included renewables, power, mid-stream, and downstream disputes before courts, regulatory bodies, and arbitration panels. He has tried over twenty lawsuits, arbitrations, and regulatory proceedings to decision, including eleven jury trials, in five different states. His trial practice is centered on his talent for effectively conveying his clients' stories to juries, judges, and arbitrators. His cases have involved a broad range of claims, including breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, fraud, environmental, construction, product liability, premises liability, and other business torts.

He is an active member of the Houston Bar Association, Houston Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation. When not practicing law, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, especially on the Little League fields.

Admission & Affiliations

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Tenth Circuits
  • United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
  • Texas Bar Foundation
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Houston Bar Foundation
  • J.D., The University of Texas School of Law 1999
    with honors
    Order of the Coif
    Associate Editor, Texas Law Review
  • B.A., Mathematics, The University of Texas 1996
    with high honors
    Phi Beta Kappa

Experience

  • TPC Group – Representing TPC Group in crisis response, governmental enforcement defense, and multiple class actions and private party lawsuits arising out of its Port Neches plant including the Texas state court MDL proceedings. Also served as lead trial counsel in its Delaware restructuring.
  • Oxbow Calcining – Port Arthur Steam Energy LP v. Oxbow Calcining – Represented Oxbow Calcining in breach of contract dispute arising from waste heat agreement with an adjoining facility. The dispute began in Texas state court and was then referred to AAA arbitration where PASE sought over $50 million in damages against Oxbow. Following a week-long hearing, the Arbitration resulted in a favorable outcome finding that PASE breached the parties’ agreement and that Oxbow had not breached the agreement. Subsequently successfully represented Oxbow in state court and bankruptcy court proceedings that sought to collaterally attack the award.
  • Equistar Chemicals – Equistar Chemicals LP v. GIM Cogeneration Channelview – Represented LyondellBasell subsidiary Equistar Chemical in a breach of contract case arising from a power outage caused by GIM Channelview, which resulted in significant damage to one of Equistar's chemical plants. The two-week trial resulted in a favorable outcome for our client.
  • Telecommunications Company – representing company in numerous disputes in federal and state court involving toxic tort, personal injury, commercial, and deceptive trade practices claims
  • Renewable Company – Represented solar company in two arbitrations – resulting in favorable awards for our client on its claims and the counterclaims against it.
  • Pipeline Companies – Represented pipeline companies in contested hearings before the Texas Railroad Commission. Mr. Jacobs has tried 4 merits hearings to decision before the Texas Railroad Commission involving issues of alleged discrimination, market-based and cost-based rates, and other challenges to published tariffs.
  • Pipeline Company – Represented pipeline company in AAA arbitration involving nearly $100 million dollars in claims and counterclaims related to joint tariffs.
  • Brazos Electric Cooperative – Brazos Electric Power Cooperative v. San Miguel Electric Cooperative and South Texas Electric Cooperative – Represented Brazos Electric Cooperative in litigation involving a joint venture for a lignite-fired electrical generating unit.
  • International Oil Company – Represented international oil company and one of its executives in a fraud and tortious interference lawsuit relating to the auction of oil leases in Nigeria. (Brittania–U Nigeria, Ltd. v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., et. al., 866 F.3d 709 (5th Cir. 2017))
  • International Oil Company – Represented an international oil company in litigation in multiple jurisdictions (Ireland, France, the Netherlands, the United States, and Singapore) relating to various contractual claims.
  • BASF – Nichols v. BASF – Represented BASF in an asbestos-related wrongful death case. After a three-week trial, the jury returned a defense verdict within two hours of deliberations.
  • Oil and Gas Exploration Company – Represented an oil and gas exploration company in the prosecution of a breach of contract claim against a drilling contractor before the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and in confirmation and enforcement proceedings in U.S., UK, and Turkish courts. (Frontera Eastern Georgia Ltd. v. ARAR, Inc., 2012 WL 2892380 (5th Cir. July 16, 2012))
  • Prudential Insurance Company of America – Represented Prudential Insurance in Texas and Louisiana courts in defending claims related to annuity products, including securing a favorable decision in an ancillary trial before the bankruptcy court (In re Everett, 2014 WL 939371 (Bkrtcy. W.D. La. March 10, 2014))


Awards and Community

Selected to the Law360 Energy Editorial Advisory Board, 2016 and 2017

Recommended in The Legal 500 U.S., 2010, 2011 & 2015