Texas

Firm overview

Firm overview

Creative and Skilled Courtroom Advocates

Our litigation team has extensive experience in virtually every type of commercial dispute. We bring in-depth, industry-specific knowledge to every engagement and excel in finding effective solutions before, during and after trial. Our courtroom advocacy, creativity and grit are highly respected in the legal industry. Our litigators function as a litigation boutique within a multinational law firm, collaborating across practices and offices to find creative solutions to our clients’ litigation needs. The results speak for themselves, as seen in our recent successes on behalf of Apache, Equinor Wind, Hilcorp Energy, Kinder Morgan and Southern Copper, to name but a few.

We represent large national and multinational corporations, mid-sized companies, small businesses and individuals in cases with impact outside the courtroom. This includes complex matters across a range of industries, such as construction, energy, finance, healthcare and real estate.

We represent defendants and plaintiffs in trials, appeals and other contested matters throughout the United States.

Our London-based disputes team handles matters in the courts of the United Kingdom. Our combined team routinely handles arbitrations throughout the world under all major arbitration regimes.

Our US-based government investigations specialists regularly appear before various federal departments and agencies, including, most commonly, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Office of the Inspector General, as well as state investigatory and enforcement agencies.

Updated January 2025

Firm overview

Reid Collins & Tsai LLP (Reid Collins) is a trial boutique handling complex commercial litigation and bankruptcy-related litigation, particularly claims involving fiduciary liability, professional negligence, and financial fraud. Key clients include hedge funds, private equity funds, corporations, offshore liquidators, receivers, and bankruptcy trustees. Reid Collins has secured more than $2 billion in total judgments and settlements for its clients in the past several years alone.

Reid Collins is unique in several respects, including: (1) its extensive experience with high-profile cases involving large-scale financial fraud or insolvency; (2) its expertise in successfully pursuing claims against officers, directors, accountants, lawyers, and investment banks relating to the underlying fraud or misconduct; and (3) its willingness to pursue those claims on an alternative fee basis.

Reid Collins has earned many professional accolades for its achievements, including being named: 2024 U.S. Bankruptcy Firm of the Year by Benchmark Litigation; 2021 and 2022 U.S. Business Torts Law Firm of the Year (and 2023 and 2024 finalist) by The National Law Journal; the 2022 Texas Business Litigation Department of the Year (and 2024 finalist) by Law.com/Texas Lawyer; a 2021 and 2024 finalist for National Boutique/Specialty Department of the Year by The American Lawyer; a 2019-2024 finalist for U.S. Plaintiff Firm of the Year by Benchmark Litigation; listed as a “Recommended Firm” in Chambers USA; the 2020 U.S. Bankruptcy and Commercial Litigation Law Firm of the Year by The National Law Journal, and both a “Top 10 Plaintiffs Firm in America” and one of the Top U.S. Boutique Firms by Benchmark Litigation, among numerous other accolades.

Complex Commercial Litigation

Reid Collins has achieved numerous victories in complex commercial litigation, including:

• Obtained one of the largest shareholder derivative settlements in history – a $300 million “direct pay” settlement in the Renren Derivative Litigation – in a case which also set important jurisdictional precedents establishing the right of aggrieved minority shareholders to derivative standing under Cayman law and holding foreign individual and corporate defendants accountable for wrongdoing and fraud in U.S. courts
• Won multiple appeals and obtained judgment of more than $64 million for Claymore Holdings/Highland Capital against Credit Suisse following a five-week trial (and subsequent bench trial) on fraud and breach of contract claims related to a loan for the Lake Las Vegas resort; and
• Recovered nearly $100 million for state pension fund clients resolving claims under the Fraud Against Taxpayers Acts of multiple states against large Wall Street banks related to financial crisis-era sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Bankruptcy-Related Litigation

Reid Collins has prevailed in many important bankruptcy-related litigation matters, including:

• Won a landmark decision before the U.S. Supreme Court, restricting the scope of the section 546(e) “safe harbor” defense to fraudulent transfer claims, thereby overturning long-standing interpretations of that defense by five circuit courts;
• Defeated a motion to dismiss a $1 billion lawsuit by the GTAT Litigation Trust against the former officers of GT Advanced Technologies Inc., a former publicly traded company, related to its failed contract with Apple to manufacture sapphire display screens for the iPhone; and
• Achieved a $21.5 million settlement on behalf of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Fresh & Easy, LLC, with respect to claims against the former insiders – including billionaire Ronald Burkle – for breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent transfer of certain assets.

Reid Collins has also become a national leader in the pursuit of legal malpractice claims. Over the past decade, the firm has pursued dozens of claims against more than 20 of the Am Law 100 firms, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for its clients. While many of these claims arose out of financial frauds, the firm also has asserted claims against law firms for negligently documenting multimillion-dollar transactions, providing negligent tax advice, and failing to properly advise their corporate clients on securities laws or key government regulations.

Practice Areas:

Complex Commercial Litigation
Fiduciary Liability
Professional Liability
Financial Fraud
Bankruptcy-Related Litigation

Office Locations:

Dallas

Thanksgiving Tower
1601 Elm Street, Suite 4200
Dallas, TX 75201
T: +1 214 420 8900
F: +1 214 420 8909

New York

420 Lexington Avenue
Suite 2731
New York, New York 10170
T: +1 212 344 5200
F: +1 212 344 5299

Washington, DC

1775 Eye Street, NW, Suite 1150
Washington, DC 20006
T: +1 202 729 9890
F: +1 202 747 7674

Wilmington

1007 N. Orange St. Nemours Bldg - 4th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801
T: +1 302 467 1765

www.reidcollins.com

Updated Sep 2024

Firm overview

Lightfoot is a litigation boutique with offices in Birmingham, AL and Houston, TX that represents clients across the country in matters ranging from catastrophic injury and complex, “bet the company” litigation to internal and government investigations, risk management, and compliance.

Lightfoot has continued expanding our relationship with high-profile clients and now serves as national or regional counsel for 14 companies across the country. Lightfoot is proud to have handled matters in 47 states.