Paul D. Clote

Bar / Professional Activity

• Member, The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
• Chair Elect, State Bar of Texas ADR Section.
• Houston Bar Foundation (Sustaining Life Member)
• American Board of Trial Advocates (Associate, Senior Life Fellow)
• Texas Bar Foundation (Sustaining Life Member)
• United States District Courts for the Northern, Western and Eastern Districts of Texas
• U.S. Supreme Court, 2003
• Board of Disciplinary Appeals (Chair 2008, Vice Chair 2007)
• Member, American Bar Association (1977-Present)
• Association of Attorney Mediators (President - 2018; President-Elect, 2017; Past Treasurer)
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1981
• Texas Mediator Credentialing Association (Credentialed Distinguished Mediator)
• Member, Houston Bar Association (1977-present)
• Member, Board of Disciplinary Appeals Appointed by Texas Supreme Court, 2002 - 2008
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 1979
• Colorado State Bar, 2006
• Supreme Court of the United States of America 
• Member, State Bar of Texas, Grievance Committee 4-A, 1993-1999
• Texas State Bar, 1977
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1981

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• Represented plaintiffs in litigation involving physical and sexual assaults by defendant. The case was tried in Harris County state district court, resulting in a jury verdict of more than $20 million for plaintiffs. 
• Represented plaintiff in civil RICO lawsuit based on multi-million dollar fraudulent invoices sold to plaintiff. The case abated pending criminal investigation.
• Represented executor and sole beneficiary in will contest matter where adoption by estoppel was alleged by putative adoptee. The case settled after jury selection
• Represented ranch owner plaintiff against family members in a dispute involving transfers of family limited partnership interests involving tens of millions of dollars.  Judgment entered rescinding transfers and restoring ownership of the ranch and business to plaintiff.
• Represented plaintiff in a long term disability claim against an insurance company where ERISA law required proof of abuse of discretion. Verdict found for plaintiff for wrongfully refusing to pay disability benefits and the case was affirmed by 5th Circuit on appeal.
• Represented plaintiff in probate court litigation involving ownership of trust account funds. Jury verdict found for plaintiff and affirmed on appeal. Appeals argued in Texas Supreme Court and First Court of Appeals.
• Represented plaintiff in breach of fiduciary duty/fraud litigation against former attorneys; plaintiff was awarded a $6 million jury verdict and a $3 million judgment entered on behalf of the plaintiff based on breach of fiduciary duty and fee forfeiture.

Representative Clients

• 750+ mediations in complex business and commercial cases.  Representative cases include: Oil/Gas (claims of defective pipe, operator and/or drilling errors; title issues; P&A and decommissioning costs; insurance coverages; farmout agreement disputes; audits and other JOA disputes; cost and quality issues of oilfield service providers’ work) Construction Contracts (claims of cost overruns and time delays; claims of defective materials and/or workmanship; surety bond claims; indemnity claims against subcontractors; liability of owners, builders, subs, architects and engineers) Landlord/Tenant & Real Estate (lease disputes, especially after March 2020 COVID lockdown; option contracts; claims of improper/inadequate disclosures by property sellers; title disputes) Labor/Employment (covenant not-to-compete claims; alleged breach of non-solicitation and/or confidentiality agreements; FLSA claims; discrimination and retaliatory discharge claims; FMLA claims) Intellectual Property (patent infringement claims; claim construction issues) Trade Secrets (state TUTSA and federal DTSA) Securities/Derivative Plaintiff Claims (state and federal fraud & misrepresentation claims) Health Care (physician contract disputes; surgical centers, dialysis centers and hospital disputes with co-owners; over-billing claims by insurers) Professional Negligence (claims against lawyers, engineers, architects, insurance brokers) Probate/Estate (undue influence; mental competence; trust agreement disputes; fiduciary claims) Business Divorces (for owners of law firms, restaurants and a plethora of service companies)
• Lain v. UNUM Life Insurance Company of America, 279 F.3d 337, 5th Cir. 2002
• Westwind Exploration, Inc. v. Homestate Savings Assoc, 696 S.W.2d 378, Tex. 1985
• Southland Life Insurance Co. v. Estate of Martha Small, 806 S.W.2d 800, Tex. 1991
• Stegall v. Oadra, 868 S.W.2d 290, Tex. 1993

Special Licenses / Certifications

• State of Colorado law license, 2006
• American Board of Trial Advocates (Associate, Senior Life Fellow)

Pro bono / Community Service

• Attorney representative for student in Title IX contested hearing at Rice University.
• Member, Board of Directors, James Dick Foundation for Performing Arts, Round Top, Texas. 

Educational Background

• University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1977 (with honors)
• Northwestern University, B.A., 1974

White Papers

• Co-author with Michael A. Hawash of An Introduction to Early Dispute Resolution: A Proven Method for Resolving Disputes in 30 - 60 Days," presented at University of Texas Law CLE's 2022 Labor & Employment Law Conference; May 5-6, 2022; Austin, Texas., An Introduction to Early Dispute Resolution, Mediation, 2022
• "Tips for Mediating Your Next Oil & Gas Dispute," co-authored with Austin Brister., Producer’s Edge (McGinnis Lochridge Oil & Gas newsletter), – Vol. 4, Issue 1., Oil/gas, 2022

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Co-Presenter with Ashley Kaper and Cindy Diggs, Negotiation Tactics, Beaumont Inns of Court March 25, 2021
• Presenter, Selecting the Mediator, 4th Annual Institute for Responsible Dispute Resolution, Resolution Forum, Inc. & Center for Legal Responsibility, Houston, Texas October 30, 2003  
• Presenter, Practice Tips for Arbitration & Mediation, Center for International Legal Studies, Steamboat, CO December 7, 2007
• Presenter, Ten Tips for Successful Mediation, International Mediation Symposium, Center for International Legal Studies, Salzburg, Austria 06.11.2015
• Presenter, Ethical Issues in Mediation, Advanced Attorney-Mediator Training and CLE Seminar, Association of Attorney-Mediators, Houston, Texas September 16, 2016
• Co-Presenter with Kirk Crutcher and David Russell, Maximizing the Value of Mediation, ADR Section Roadshow, Texas State Bar co-hosted by the Amarillo Area Bar Association October 11, 2018
• Co-Presenter with Kris Donley, Beth Krugler, John Palmer & Pattie Porter, I Can’t Get No Satisfaction . . . Or Can I?, TMCA 14th Annual Symposium, Austin, Texas November 10, 2018
• Co-Presenter with Burgess Wade and David Lauritzen, Mediation - Conflicts, Conflabs, and Craftiness, ADR Section Roadshow, Texas State Bar co-hosted by the Midland County Bar Association March 26, 2019
• Presenter, Mediation Update, State Bar of Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, Austin, Texas January 24, 2020
• Presenter, Tips for Successful Mediations, Camara Basileira de Resolucao de Conflitos em Energiae Mineracao, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (virtual) April 24, 2020
• Course Director, Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution, co-sponsored by Texas Bar CLE and ADR Section of State Bar of Texas January 8, 2021
• Co-Presenter with David E. Sharp, How to Be Effective in Arbitration, HBA ADR Section, February 9, 2021
• Co-Presenter with Burgess Wade and David Lauritzen, Mediation - Conflicts, Conflabs, andCraftiness, ADR Section Roadshow, Texas State Bar co-hosted by the Midland County BarAssociation (March 26, 2019)
• Co-Presenter with Kris Donley, Beth Krugler, John Palmer & Pattie Porter, I Can’t Get NoSatisfaction . . . Or Can I?, TMCA 14th Annual Symposium, Austin, Texas (November 10, 2018)
• Co-Presenter with Kirk Crutcher and David Russell, Maximizing the Value of Mediation, ADRSection Roadshow, Texas State Bar co-hosted by the Amarillo Area Bar Association (October 11,2018)
• Presenter, Ethical Issues in Mediation, Advanced Attorney-Mediator Training and CLE Seminar,Association of Attorney-Mediators, Houston, Texas (September 16, 2016)
• Presenter, Ten Tips for Successful Mediation, International Mediation Symposium, Center for International Legal Studies, Salzburg, Austria (June 11-14, 2015)
• Presenter, Practice Tips for Arbitration & Mediation, Center for International Legal Studies, Steamboat, CO (December 7, 2007)
• Presenter, Selecting the Mediator, 4th Annual Institute for Responsible Dispute Resolution, Resolution Forum, Inc. & Center for Legal Responsibility, Houston, Texas (October 30, 2003)
• Rice University, Adjunct Professor, Mediation and Conflict Resolution, 2002, National
• Visiting Professor, Commercial Arbitration, 2008; National Law Academy of Odessa, Ukraine
• Visiting Professor, Commercial Arbitration, 2010; University of Debrecen (Hungary) School of Law
• Speaker at the Center for International Legal Studies' International Mediation Symposium in Salzburg, Austria, 2015.
• Panel Member, Ethical Solutions for Moving Past Impasse, Advanced Attorney-Mediator Training and CLE Seminar, Association of Attorney-Mediators, Houston, Texas

Other Outstanding Achievements

• Association of Attorney-Mediators "President's Award" for excellence in service., 2021

Honors

• Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
• Phi Delta Phi
• President, Association of Attorney Mediators, 2018
• Life Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
• Order of Barristers (1975-1976)
• Texas Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters service, Business Litigation and ADR (2007- 2022) , Thomson Reuters' Texas Super Lawyers
• Associate, American Board of Trial Advocates
• Graduate with Honors, The University of Texas School of Law, 1977
• Listed in Best Lawyers©, Commercial Litigation and Arbitration (2015-2022) , Best Lawyers

Industry Groups

• Oil/Gas; Construction (commercial & residential); Landlord/Tenant & Real Estate; Labor/Empl
• architects & engineers); Probate/Estate; Business Divorces. 

“I mediated with Paul Clote in November 2019 and he was fantastic! He helped guide the people involved to more clearly communicate their feelings without regard to legal posturing. As a result, the people negotiated faster and more satisfyingly.”

“Paul is a trusted advisor, a scholarly advocate and a consummate professional.”