Catharina Haynes, former judge of the 191st Civil District Court in Dallas, rejoined the litigation department of Baker Botts after serving eight years as a state district judge. As a judge, Ms. Haynes presided over hundreds of trials and thousands of hearings involving the full range of civil (non-family) topics including complex commercial disputes, disputes involving lenders, consumer litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, personal injury, trade secrets and other intellectual property matters, and employment disputes. She brings the insights gained through her judicial experience to the representation of her clients.

In 2003, the Texas Supreme Court appointed her to serve as the Chair of the Court Reporters Certification Board that is responsible for certifying, recertifying, and disciplining Texas court reporters for a term ending in December of 2006. In late 2006, the Texas Supreme Court appointed her to the State Bar of Texas Professional Ethics Committee. She became Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1997, and she continues to be certified.

Ms. Haynes has written and spoken extensively on the topics of civil trial practice, professionalism and ethics, and insurance law. She has also received numerous awards for her volunteer work in the legal community and community as a whole.

Before taking the bench, Ms. Haynes was a partner in the firm's litigation department, handling cases in the area of general commercial litigation, complex consumer litigation, and insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. For example, shortly before taking the bench, Ms. Haynes tried a three-week jury trial of an insurance case in a Houston state district court.