Tim Durst is a Chambers-ranked, first-chair trial lawyer with years of courtroom experience handling complex and high-stakes disputes. He has taken to trial a wide range of cases including contract, fraud, patent, trade secrets, and fiduciary duty disputes. He has handled litigation in more than 20 states and tried cases in a number of those, including Texas, Delaware, California, and Colorado. Tim’s trials have been in state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels. He has worked within a variety of industries, including technology, energy, financial services, retail, pharma, and healthcare.
Tim leads high-performing litigation teams from start to finish by focusing on the client's objectives and mapping out an effective trial strategy, which then guides development of the case through discovery and trial. This yields a trial-ready case and frequently presents opportunities for litigated or negotiated business resolutions short of trial. He also has been called to join teams later in the process, as the realities of a looming trial emerge.
Tim is consistently recognized in the legal press and in Chambers USA, citing his handling of “high-stakes commercial litigation, with noted experience in intellectual property and contractual disputes.” Clients say “He is a top lawyer,” and “He has an excellent reputation.”
A recognized leader in the community service sphere, he enjoys being active in several different community and professional groups, including having served as chair of the national board of directors of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, chairing his college’s foundation board, and serving as trial counsel for court-appointed and pro bono cases, including for prisoner, indigent, and homeless litigants.
Tim has been a regular speaker and writer on litigation, intellectual property, and business topics, including trial skills, professionalism, litigation strategy, evidentiary and pleading matters, sealing of courtrooms for trade secret litigation, and the litigation realities of partnership and joint venture formation.
Get to Know Tim
Get to Know Tim
Select Trial Experience
- Branded drug company against generic drug competitor in pharmaceutical patent jury trial (Colorado)
- JV partnership dispute over valuation of complex real estate investment structure, in arbitration before former Chief Justice of Delaware Supreme Court
- Complex commercial disputes in jury trial and chancery court involving breach of contract, business torts, and fraud issues (Texas and Delaware)
- Failed joint venture/business deal for multinational oil and gas company (Texas jury trial)
- Trade secret and business deal dispute for a start-up medical device company (Texas jury trial)
- Arbitration for publicly-traded natural gas company against partner/supplier related to gas plant
- Multiple patent jury trials related to telecommunication networks and devices, manufacturing processes, consumer products, software, and financial services (California, Delaware, Texas)
- Multiple substantive, live-evidence, hearings on injunction and other requests – related to intellectual property rights, preservation of financial situations, environmental conditions, government takeover of financial institutions, and municipal obligations to a homeless population
- Trials related to financial institutions and investment firms, including cases involving solvency, fiduciary duty, and fraud claims
- Start-up international energy exploration company against alleged partner over South American oil assets, in arbitration before panel of former judges
- Trade secrets jury trial relating to telecommunications network technology
Additional Litigation Experience
- Manufacturer of Oil Field Equipment – patent and trade secret litigation between two private-equity backed competitors related to oil field services technology
- Issuer of Publicly Traded Bonds – defense of independent directors in class action securities litigation, government investigations, and bankruptcy litigation
- Retail Electricity Provider – patent infringement litigation related to pollution reduction technology, and commercial litigation related to post-merger indemnity disputes
- Developer of Wearable Medical Devices – competitor patent litigation related to wearable breast milk pumps
- International Auto-Racing Organization – patent infringement litigation related to driver-safety technology
- Multinational Communications Company – defense verdict in patent jury trial, trade secrets defense related to dissolved JV, and multiple other patent infringement cases (including declaratory judgment actions), including claims related to network operations, internet search and online directory services, location services, content filtering, wi-fi equipment, home automation, video processing, and content streaming, including favorable dispositive motion results
- Multinational Consumer Electronics Company – defense of patent, trade secrets, and copyright claims in several cases involving a variety of technological areas related to mobile phones and other devices, smart-home, and virtual reality technologies, including favorable dispositive motion results and proactive declaratory judgment proceedings
- Leading Online and On-air Retailer – defense of numerous patent infringement cases and claims related to e-commerce, online sales and retail products; indemnity-related commercial disputes
- Multinational Engineering and Construction Firm – defended in qui tam false claims act case where court granted motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim; prosecution of declaratory judgment action against hedge fund related to convertible indentures, with summary judgment ruling in client’s favor and appellate court affirmance (plus fees recovery) and defense of commercial, tort, and intellectual property litigation
- Multinational Food and Beverage Company and its affiliates – defense of trade dress and patent infringement claims, assertion of claims against store-brand snack manufacturer, and multiple injunction proceedings regarding new product launches
- Major Multinational Petroleum Companies – commercial litigation related to corporate governance issues and the domestic and international exploration, production, processing, and marketing of natural gas and oil, including favorable trial and dispositive motion results and seven figure recoveries of defense fees; prosecution of litigation against Chinese National Offshore Oil Co. resulting in the client securing rights in substantial Indonesian LNG facility; misappropriation of trade secrets lawsuit against former employees and a start-up company, resulting in an injunction limiting the scope of the new business
- Telecommunications Equipment Company – prosecution and defense of various commercial and intellectual property claims, including prosecution and defense of trade secrets and patent claims at trial
- Telecommunications Network and Equipment Company – defense and favorable resolution of patent holding company patent infringement suits targeting online directories and other service offerings
- Global Medical Device Company – patent and trade secret litigation and arbitration against Boston Scientific
Experience with Substantive Topics
- Complex commercial disputes – contract and tort matters, post-merger issues, corporate governance, licensing, failed business deals, fraud, convertible indentures, private equity investments, regulatory enforcement, environmental damages, construction projects, and investment JV disputes
- Patent owners and alleged infringers – prosecution and defense of patent infringement claims, including related to the internet of things, telecom, software, medical device, commodities trading, e-commerce, food and beverage, automotive, and consumer goods industries
- Energy litigation – international and domestic disputes related to exploration and production, AMI clauses, investments, production sharing contracts, joint ventures, LNG facilities, and other contracts and plant issues; counseling and litigation strategy advising related to 2021 Texas winter storm disruptions; disputes involving assets in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Central and South America
- Trade secret litigation – assertion and defense of misappropriation claims and injunction proceedings in a variety of industries and contexts (including theft of secrets in China and cases involving movement of employees and non-compete agreements)
- Environmental claims – defense of clean-up cost recovery actions and MTBE litigation; strategic analysis of climate change tort suits
- Publicly traded companies – change of control litigation, hedge fund litigation, class action securities litigation, shareholder derivative litigation, state securities law claims, and internal and government investigations
- Professional liability defense – representation of two major law firms in defense of claims arising from their handling of patent litigation
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Texas
Court Admissions
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Federal, Third, Fifth, Tenth and District of Columbia Circuits
- United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States Supreme Court
Education
- Northwestern University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- Washburn University of Topeka, B.A., summa cum laude
Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Litigation – Securities, and Trade Secrets Law in Dallas, Texas (2007-2025)
- Ranked in Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial (2018-2024)
- Named “Lawyer of the Year – Trade Secrets Law” by US News & World Reports (2023)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for General Commercial Disputes and Patents: Litigation (Full Coverage) (2023)
- Recommended by Who's Who Legal for Corporate Governance (2023)
- Recognized as a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation in Intellectual Property, Commercial and Advertising (2023)
- Named “Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.), 2020, 2021, and 2024
- Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer (Thomson Reuters), 2004-2023
- Named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas” list, 2024 and preceding years
- Recognized by Dallas 500, The 500 Most Influential Business Leaders In Dallas-Fort Worth, 2017-2022
- Nonprofit Board Leader of the Year, Center for Non-Profit Management, 2014 (Excellence in Board Leadership, Finalist 2008)
- Washburn University Alumni Fellow, 2010 (distinguished alumni award)
- Recognized by Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in the area of IP litigation, 2007
Professional Activities
Affiliations
- American Bar Association, Litigation and Intellectual Property Law Sections
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Dallas Bar Association, Litigation and Intellectual Property Law Sections
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, National Board of Directors, Past Chair; North Texas Chapter Trustee and Past President
- Washburn University Foundation, Past Chair of Board of Directors and Trustees