Erica Harris

Susman Godfrey - Texas

Partner

1000 Louisiana, Suite 5100
Houston, TX 77002

+1 713 653 7810

Litigation Star

National Practice Area Star

Top 250 Women in Litigation


Practice area:

Commercial


“To observe Erica in a courtroom setting is an opportunity to watch genius at work.” – Dave Spray, President, Tax Export Advisors, Inc. 


Erica Harris litigates and tries bet-the-company cases for clients in federal and state courts around the country and in international arbitrations. A go-to lawyer known for her ability to distill complex information into clear and convincing arguments for judges and juries, Ms. Harris achieves significant results by developing expert knowledge of her clients’ businesses. Her practice includes the full breadth of commercial litigation from contract disputes to intellectual property to environmental litigation. 


Ms. Harris’ clients include Fortune 100 companies as well as small businesses and individuals. As lead counsel for Chevron, she regularly litigates cases where the amount in controversy is hundreds of millions of dollars. She is currently representing Chevron in nearly twenty climate change related matters and Total in a multi-million dollar dispute arising from a 2019 tank farm fire and in an antitrust case against the four major US railroads. She has previously represented other industry leaders such as Marathon, KBR, Lyondell-Citgo, Clear Channel Communications and Ace Bermuda. Throughout her career, however, Ms. Harris has represented individuals and small companies as well; smaller clients frequently seek her out in David versus Goliath situations that lend themselves to the type of alternative fee arrangements Ms. Harris and her firm offer. 


This is Ms. Harris’ second year on Benchmark’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list. Lawdragon has also named her one of the “Top 500 Lawyers in the United States” for the past several years, and she is a “recommended lawyer” for Oil and Gas Litigation by The Legal 500 and “a leader” in Antitrust Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation according to the Best Lawyers in America. The National Law Journal has named Ms. Harris a “Litigation Trailblazer” and Houston Business Journal counted her among their prestigious “Women Who Mean Business” list. Ms. Harris has also been named one of the 20 “Winning Women” by Texas Lawyer, a list honoring women who, “have achieved significant recent victories as well as displayed a track record of wins in which they prevailed in high-stakes cases; won large monetary awards; successfully defended against actions seeking substantial damages; handled first-of-their-kind or bet-the-company cases; or claimed victory in cases that had a national or state-wide impact.” Texas Super Lawyers repeatedly includes her in their “Top 100 in Houston Region” and “Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas” lists, and Chambers USA shortlisted her for “Outstanding Contribution to Furthering the Advancement of Diversity in the Legal Profession”. 


In addition to her commercial work, Ms. Harris regularly represents nonprofits and individuals on a pro bono basis, serves on Susman Godfrey’s Executive Committee, and mentors lawyers within and outside her law firm through the Houston Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee and CareerSpring. 

 

Updated Sep 2022