Brandon Duke is an experienced trial and appellate litigator who focuses on appeals and high-stakes business disputes in the energy sector. He has authored and argued winning trial and appellate briefs in state and federal courts across the country, including the US Supreme Court. And as a Texas-based appellate specialist, he has argued cases before US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Texas.
Brandon has substantial experience at all stages of trial-court litigation, including briefing and arguing dispositive and other critical motions, shaping trial strategy, and preserving issues for appeals. His practice encompasses a wide range of issues and industries, with a particular focus on the energy and technology sectors and disputes involving administrative law, antitrust and competition law, constitutional law, federal preemption, and state and federal jurisdiction and procedure.
Brandon has an extensive pro bono practice focused on impact civil rights litigation and appeals. He has a special interest advocating for disability rights and was named the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year and a Lone Star Champion of Access by Disability Rights Texas.
Brandon also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, where he teaches Administrative Law each spring, covering topics including separation of powers, regulatory authority, and the regulation of natural resource development, electric generation, and the energy industry.
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- New York
- Texas
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern District of Michigan; Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas; and Western District of Oklahoma
- US Court of Appeals, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits
- US Supreme Court
Education
- Columbia Law School, J.D.: Managing Editor, Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems
- Texas A&M University, B.A., History and Philosophy: magna cum laude
Professional Activities
Former Chair
- Board of Directors, Disability Rights Texas
- State Bar of Texas, Antitrust and Business Litigation Section
Member
- State Bar of Texas, Appellate Section
- Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
- Institute for Energy Law, Advisory Board and 2023/2024 Leadership Class
Fellow
- Texas Bar Foundation
- Houston Bar Foundation
Author
- “Inland Litigation under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law (Fall 2023)
- “Confronting Qualified Immunity,” The Houston Lawyer (March/April 2023)
- “Fifth Circuit Review-Reviewed,” Yale Journal of Regulation (2022)
- “When Textualism Divides the Texas Court, The Texas Law Book (July 2021)
- “Chapter VIII: Compliance,” International Antitrust Cartel Handbook (ABA) (2019)
- “The Policy Case for Eliminating the Public Identification of Carve-Outs in Antitrust Plea Agreements,” Bloomberg BNA Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report (March 2013)
- “The Indirect Bump: Indirect Commerce and Corporate Cartel Plea Agreements,” Antitrust Law Committee Newsletter (Spring 2013)
Panelist & Speaker
- “2024 Appellate Advocacy Seminar – Current Issues in Civil Law” (October 2024)
- “Litigating Energy Disputes in Federal Court” TJOGEL Symposium (February 2024)
- “Crisis Management and Emergency Response in the Energy Industry,” with Denise Scofield, TJOGEL Symposium (February 2023)
- “Contracts, Mergers, & Acquisitions,” Petroleum Connection 10th Annual Frac Sand Supply Conference (September 2021)