Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Roy Atwood has extensive experience in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters. He has specific experience in the areas of commercial contracts, product liability, state and local taxation, insurance coverage, toxic torts, software development, antitrust, trade secrets, noncompetition provisions, construction, securities fraud, and negotiable instruments. Roy has appeared extensively in Texas state court, in all four federal districts in Texas, as well as in federal and state courts in other states and before administrative tribunals. In 2001 and 2002, Roy was a member of the team that successfully defended a client in cases recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the top 20 defense wins of the year. In addition to successfully trying cases to verdict before juries, Roy has arbitrated matters and negotiated creative settlements of complex matters. Roy also has significant experience in overseeing and coordinating nationwide defense efforts. He has served as lead coordinating counsel for a group of companies facing more than 1,000 lawsuits involving tens of thousands of plaintiffs in over 20 jurisdictions.

Among the clients Roy has represented are AT&T Broadband, BP America, Brush Wellman, Fina Oil and Chemical Company, Halliburton Company, KFC, Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, Michaels Stores, Morrison Knudsen Corporation, National City Bank, Norton Company, TCI, Tesoro Corporation, Texas Instruments, Textron, TRW, U.S. Silica Company, and Westinghouse Corporation. Roy also has handled or assisted with pro bono matters, including a successful asylum case and a breach of contract case in which he obtained a verdict for his client and an award of sanctions and attorney fees.

Roy enjoys teaching and routinely serves as faculty for deposition, motion practice, and trial programs put on by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. For many years, Roy coached mock trial teams at the Southern Methodist University School of Law. He is a frequent speaker and has spoken on such topics as Texas procedural rules, summary judgment in Texas, witness preparation, jury charges, discovery motions, and ethics issues relating to expert witnesses. He has been a frequent speaker at national silicosis seminars.

Roy is a member of the Dallas Bar Association, the Dallas Bar Foundation, and the State Bar of Texas. He currently serves on the board of the Trial Skills Section of the Dallas Bar Association. He served as chairman of the City of Carrollton Capital Improvement Plan Advisory Committee and currently serves on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, serves as Boy Scouts of America Troop 574 assistant scoutmaster, and volunteers his time at his church and children's schools. Roy also serves as president of the board of trustees of Special Care and Career Services, a nonprofit organization that helps children and adults with developmental disabilities lead fulfilling lives in their communities.

Areas of Practice

• Trial Practice
• Class Action Litigation
• Commercial Disputes
• Alternative Dispute Resolution & Mediation
• Insurance Coverage
• Construction Litigation
• International Litigation & Arbitration
• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
• Class Action and Multidistrict Product Liability Litigation
• Consumer Goods Product Liability Litigation
• Coordination of Product Liability Litigation
• Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Other Health Care Product Liability Litigati
• Toxic Tort Exposure Litigation (Chemical, Environmental, and Occupational)
• Trial Experience in Product Liability Cases

Representative Cases

• Ballinger v. Brush Wellman (Jefferson County, CO)
• Bryant v. U.S. Silica Company, et. al. (Smith County, Tx)
• Cockril, et. al. v. Allfast Fastening Systems, Inc., et. al. (S.D. Tex.)
• Fina, Inc. v. Travelers Indem. Co., (N.D. Tex.)
• Hammond v. Texas Commerce Bank Dallas (Dallas County, Texas)
• Hillerich & Bradsby Co. v. Mackay et al. (E.D. Tex 1999)
• Lower Colorado River Authority v. Westinghouse Corporation, et. al. (Fayette County, Tx)
• Merritt, Hawkins & Associates v. BDO Seidman
• Stewart v. Mine Safety Appliances Company, et al (C.D. Ca)
• The Masters of Money, Inc, et. al. v. TRW, et. al. (Dallas County, Tx)
• Pre-suit settlement contract

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Asbestos, Asbestos, Bankruptcy Litigation, Business & Commercial Law, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Class Actions, Class Actions, Collections & Repossessions, Commercial Leasing, Complex Litigation, Consumer Protection, Contracts, Debtor/Creditor, Environmental Law, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, Franchising, Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste, Insurance Law, International Law, International Trade Litigation, International Transactions, Joint Ventures, Lemon Law, Litigation & Appeals, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Medical Products & Devices, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Military & Veterans Appeals, Motor Vehicle Defects, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Pesticides, Pharmaceutical Products, Pharmaceutical Products, Products Liability Law, Radiation & Electromagnetic Energy, Recreational Products, Secured Transactions, Solid Waste, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Tobacco, Tobacco, Toxic Torts, Transactions, Uniform Commercial Code, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Warranties, Water Pollution

Bar Admissions

• Texas

Education

• Southern Methodist University

Published Works

• Solving the Problems in Mass Tort Litigation, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2007
• In Silica Litigation, the Numbers Alone Dictate Careful Scrutiny of Injury and Causation, Andrews, Toxic Chemicals, Vol. 21, Issue 21, p. 2-7, 2003

Address

2727 North Harwood Street
Dallas, TX 75201-1515

Phones

1.214.969.2924 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.214.969.5100 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com