Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Tom Bayko, described as a "litigator-of-choice for international conflicts" by The Houston Business Journal, is one of the Firm's senior litigation Partners. Tom has extensive trial and arbitration experience in a range of different matters. About Tom, Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers wrote: "Senior litigator Tom Bayko impresses clients with his ‘good analysis, knowledge of the law and superior advocacy skills.’ Peers praise his ‘warrior-like approach to disputes.’ Tom Bayko has a formidable reputation in trials and arbitrations. Clients value his ‘excellent leadership skills.’ Clients appreciate his responsive service and noted his ‘vast credibility in court with both judges and juries.’ Clients spoke highly of senior litigation partner Tom Bayko who is ‘calm and compelling in his argument.’ He excels in international litigation and arbitration matters in a range of energy-related matters including construction claims, tortious interference and trade secrets theft." About Tom, The Legal 500 wrote: "Operating ‘a formidable international arbitration practice,’ according to clients, Houston partner Tom Bayko is one of the big names on the team sheet. Certainly, as one of the practice's senior litigation partners, Bayko has worked for several of the firm's largest upstream clients on a range of matters in a myriad of countries, making use of what clients describe as his ‘captivating oratory skills’ and ‘supreme credibility in international courts.’" Tom was selected as one of the top business litigators in the United States in the inaugural issue (and in later issues) of Super Lawyers — Corporate Counsel Edition. Tom also has been selected repeatedly as a "Texas Super Lawyer" by a blue-ribbon panel of top Texas lawyers.

Tom's international litigation and arbitration experience includes successfully prosecuting and defending claims involving commodities trading, energy derivatives trading, offshore blowouts, explosions, tortious interference with contractual and prospective contractual relationships, construction claims, production sharing agreements, joint operating agreements, participation agreements, area of mutual interest agreements, pipeline and other transportation agreements, take or pay agreements, theft of technology and other trade secrets, insurance coverage, and other commercial disputes.

Tom's career covers a wide range of matters, and he has tried cases or arbitrations under the applicable laws of Afghanistan, Belgium, China, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, most states within the U.S., Venezuela, and Yemen:

• Successfully defended a $15 billion lawsuit against Delta Oil Company, Saudi Arabia's only oil company besides Saudi Aramco, involving the rights to construct the "Peace Pipeline" from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan that attracted extensive worldwide media coverage, including articles in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, The Independent, the Texas Lawyer, and The Upstream International Oil and Gas Newspaper; the client paid $0 in damages.

• Successfully defended a $2.43 billion lawsuit brought against Chinatrust Commercial Bank, one of Taiwan's largest commercial banks, involving alleged tortious interference with another company's contract to purchase the controlling interest in the Shenzhen Development Bank of China that attracted extensive media attention throughout Asia and the United States because of the size of the transaction and because this involved the first time the Chinese government permitted a foreign company to purchase a controlling interest in a Mainland Chinese bank; the client paid $0 in damages.

• Successfully defended a Halliburton subsidiary, an oil field equipment manufacturer, in the second longest trial in the history of Scotland in which $500 million in damages resulted from an offshore blowout and subsequent drilling rig explosion; obtained a complete defense verdict for the client (and settled the related lawsuit in the United States for 1/10th of 1 percent of the actual damages) (this case was the subject of many newspaper articles and television and radio broadcasts throughout the United Kingdom).

• Successfully represented Chevron, a major international integrated energy company, in a pipeline rate dispute against another major international integrated energy company; obtained a multimillion dollar arbitration award for the client.

• Successfully prosecuted a declaratory judgment action for Apache Corporation, a major international energy company, regarding the right of Apache under SEC Rule 14a-8(i)(7) to exclude a shareholder's proposal from Apache's proxy materials.

• Successfully represented Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad, in a trademark infringement, defamation, and fraud lawsuit against several major companies in the entertainment industry; obtained an injunction prohibiting them from distributing and broadcasting a music video that portrayed the railroad in a defamatory light (this case was the subject of several newspaper and magazine articles, including one in The New York Times).

• Successfully represented Eni S.p.A., a major international integrated energy company, against another major international oil company in a lawsuit over the sale of oil and gas producing properties for $200 million in stock and cash; obtained a 100 cents-on-the-dollar settlement for the client for less than $25,000 in legal fees.

• Successfully defended oil field equipment manufacturers, one a Halliburton subsidiary and the other National Oilwell Varco, sued for $300 million under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act regarding the sale of its equipment for incorporation into three offshore drilling rigs; the client paid $0 in damages.

• Successfully defended a W-H Energy subsidiary, an oil field services company, in a $60 million theft of trade secrets and tortious interference with contract case; the client paid $0 in damages and secured its right to develop and use its tungsten carbide coating process and formulations in the power sections of drill strings used in oil and gas drilling operations.

• Successfully defended Halliburton, the world's largest oil field services company, in a $46.4 million international arbitration; the client paid $0 in damages and recovered its attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, and costs (this case was featured in Mealey's International Arbitration Report).

• Successfully prosecuted a construction claim for a Halliburton subsidiary, a major international engineering and construction firm, against a Nigerian subsidiary of a major international integrated energy company, resulting in a multimillion dollar settlement for the client.

• Successfully prosecuted claims for Occidental Petroleum, a major international oil company, in an international arbitration and obtained an award for the client declaring the adverse party to be in default of a joint operating agreement and related agreements, declaring that the adverse party has thus forfeited all of its participating interest in a block in Yemen and ordering the adverse party to assign its interest to the client, declaring that the adverse party had to pay client all outstanding cash calls and other damages to the client. In addition, the adverse party remains liable to pay its proportionate share of certain future costs and expenses, declaring that the adverse party had to pay all costs and expenses of the proceeding, and awarding the client its reasonable and necessary attorneys' fees and expenses and prejudgment interest.

• Successfully prosecuted construction claims for a Halliburton subsidiary, a major international engineering and construction firm, in a $53 million international arbitration involving an offshore production platform; obtained a 90 cents-on-the-dollar settlement for the client for less than $35,000 in legal fees.

• Successfully defended a Halliburton subsidiary, an oil field services company, in a $265 million antitrust lawsuit; the client paid only $10,000 in settlement.

• Successfully represented Sinopec, a vertically integrated Chinese energy and chemical company, in a $50 million suit alleging breach of an exclusive dealing arrangement; client paid less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the alleged damages to settle.

• Successfully defended the London market, led by Youell & Companies, in a $65 million bad faith lawsuit involving indemnities, anti-indemnity statutes, contractual liability insurance, alleged additional assured status, broad as primary riders, and notice requirements.

• Successfully defended a consortium of 17 foreign banks, led by Deutsche Bank, in a $200 million lender liability suit; the banks paid $0 in damages.

• Successfully defended Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil and gas company and the owner of a $190 million gas compression station that exploded at start-up, and successfully prosecuted breach of warranty, negligent design and manufacture, and products liability claims, resulting in full recovery for the client.

• Obtained a $2 million plus settlement on behalf of NL Industries, a chemical company, in a fraud suit involving the nuclear waste industry.

• Obtained a $32 million judgment for NL Industries, a chemical company, in a real estate suit (case was the subject of several newspaper articles, including one in The Wall Street Journal).

• Successfully defended a pipe inspection company, Moody Tottrup International, in a pipeline explosion case in which the pipe inspection company paid $0 in damages and the other defendants paid $27 million.

• Successfully defended Prudential Insurance Company in a fraudulent transfer-leveraged buyout and lender liability suit in which the insurance company paid $0 in damages and the other defendants were hit with a $63 million jury verdict.

• Successfully defended NL Industries, a chemical company, in a $62.5 million contractual indemnity suit; the client paid $0 in damages (this suit was the subject of an article in the Texas Lawyer entitled "The Best of the Big Suits in 1991").

• Obtained a writ of mandamus for TH. Goldschmidt AG, a chemical company, in a case of first impression under The Hague Evidence Convention (this case was the subject of an article in The American Lawyer).

• Overturned a summary judgment against Olin Corporation, a chemical company, on appeal in a case of first impression under the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (Texas' version of CERCLA).

• Successfully defended Neal Adams International, an international oil field fire fighter, in a trial involving putting out the fires in Kuwait in the aftermath of the Gulf War; the jury returned a complete defense verdict.

• Successfully defended Georgia-Pacific, a Fortune 25 forest products company, in a defamation and age discrimination trial; the jury returned a complete defense verdict.

• Successfully prosecuted for a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, a major international integrated energy company, a breach of a gas transportation agreement that was tied to a long-term take or pay gas purchase agreement; obtained a multimillion dollar settlement for the client.

• Argued several cases before appellate courts, including the Penn Central Bankruptcy on behalf of Bankers Trust before the Third Circuit.

In addition to his oil and gas work, Tom has successfully prosecuted and defended numerous lawsuits involving breach of contract; Deceptive Trade Practice Act; fraud and securities fraud; antitrust; insurance coverage; defamation; trade disparagement; personal injury and wrongful death; UCC articles 2, 3, 4, and 9; corporate takeover; shareholder derivative; trademark, copyright, and patent infringement; and covenant not to compete and employment-related matters.

Tom is featured in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law. He is a featured speaker at CLE conferences on international arbitration and litigation, including "The Asian M&A Forum 2005" held in Hong Kong in 2005, "Cross Border Arbitration and Litigation of Disputes in the ‘Oil Patch’" held in Bangkok in 2006, "Arbitrating and Litigating Against State-Owned Enterprises" held in Colorado in 2007, and "International Commercial Arbitration" to be held twice in New York City in 2008. He is admitted to practice before numerous U.S. courts and has authored or co-authored several articles. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the District of Columbia Bar, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the Houston, Chicago, and American Bar Associations.

Areas of Practice

• Energy
• Energy Dispute Resolution
• Trial Practice
• Alternative Dispute Resolution & Mediation
• International Litigation & Arbitration
• Construction

Representative Cases

• Kellogg Brown & Root, S. de R.L. v. Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Limited
• ICC Arbitration in France

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Litigation, Class Actions, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, International Trade Litigation, Litigation & Appeals, Military & Veterans Appeals, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Illinois
• New York
• Texas

Address

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Suite 3300
Houston, TX 77002-2712

Phones

1.832.239.3700 (Business Phone)

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Websites

http://www.jonesday.com