Jamie A. Aycock

Jamie is a business trial lawyer who represents clients in high-stakes complex commercial and restructuring related litigation.

Jamie tries complicated cases, including where control of a company, its value, or its leaders’ conduct is on the line. With significant experience in the energy industry, he has repeatedly served as lead trial counsel in complex commercial disputes, including fights related to some of the country’s most hotly contested Chapter 11 proceedings. Whether addressing a nuanced question of law to be decided by a court or preparing a witness to maximize credibility with a factfinder, Jamie’s advocacy cuts through complicated legal and factual matters to focus on what is key to winning and presents those issues with clarity.

Restructuring litigation is courtroom work involving compressed schedules, sophisticated adversaries, multi-dimensional disputes, and a trial date that will not move. Jamie thrives there, representing debtors, trustees, creditors, and officers and directors in fast-moving contested confirmations, fiduciary duty and fraudulent transfer claims, and post-bankruptcy disputes.

Energy runs through his practice — upstream, midstream, and oilfield services. This has included successful jurisdictional challenges, trial and summary judgment wins in contract and business tort disputes, and favorable settlements after successfully setting the stage for a case.

Jamie clerked for Justice Nathan L. Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court and is recognized by:

• Law Dragon 500 Leading Litigators in America 2026, 2027;
• Best Lawyers in America in commercial and bankruptcy litigation 2023-2027; and
• Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers in business litigation 2023-2027.

Prior to joining the firm, Jamie practiced with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and AZA in Houston.

Pro bono work focused on free speech and religious liberty is a fixture of his practice and he serves on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. His cases have drawn national attention, including serving as lead trial counsel, working with the ACLU, for Texas A&M professors challenging a censorship policy that restricts teaching on race, gender, and sexuality and for winning an injunction, affirmed by the Fifth Circuit, for two brothers banned from school activities for keeping a childhood religious promesa.

He also heads the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Committee, working to ensure we meet the highest ethical standards while deploying the best tools in our clients’ interests.

Outside the courtroom, Jamie comes by his ability to juggle competing demands with grace: he is the father of seven children, ages 9 to 24. He and his partner Matt live in the Houston Heights with Jasper, a goofy but sweet silver Lab. When he is not helping clients or with his kids, he is often on the volleyball court.

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Representative Experience

• Defending former officer and director of Orbital Infrastructure Group against claims by a Chapter 11 trustee in the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court alleging he breached his fiduciary duties by causing the company to enter into a series of transactions that allegedly furthered his self-interest.
• Representing Elaine Marshall in ongoing, multi-jurisdictional litigation over control of the Marshall family estate, valued at more than $15 billion. The team is defending against claims by Marshall’s youngest son seeking control of trusts holding the family’s wealth and has secured significant victories, including defeating claims that would have disinherited Elaine Marshall and her older son.
• Serving as lead trial counsel, working with the ACLU, on behalf of a group of professors suing the Texas A&M Board of Regents for enacting and enforcing a censorship policy that restricts their ability to teach about and discuss issues related to race, gender, and sexuality in violation of the First Amendment.
• Represented the largest group of unsecured creditors in various aspects of complex litigation in Sanchez Energy Corporation’s Chapter 11 case, including adversary proceedings alleging breaches of fiduciary duty against a creditor representative who had traded away the bulk of the creditors’ interests in a secret deal.
• Obtained a favorable settlement for a subcontractor that brought and defended claims in international arbitration against a contractor related to construction of a multi-billion-dollar chemical plant.
• Achieved favorable settlement for former director of oil and gas company who was sued for alleged breaches of fiduciary
• Secured seven-figure settlement for Chapter 11 trustee against former officers and directors alleged to have breached fiduciary
• Co-lead trial counsel for Extraction Oil & Gas in Chapter 11 proceedings before Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Delaware. Following extensive discovery, briefing, and trials prevailed in stopping attempt by multiple midstream counterparties to institute FERC proceedings andprevailed in rejecting numerous midstream contracts by establishing that rejection was a reasonable exercise of Extraction’s business judgment, was in the public interest, and the contracts did not contain real covenants that precluded rejection. Courtroom victories ensured multi-million- dollar savings to the company.
• Successfully defended Bayou City Energy in litigation challenging its purchase of Alta Mesa Resources and then subsequently defended against attempt to enforce specific performance after the market shifted but before closing took
• Co-lead trial counsel at successful contested confirmation trial for McDermott International and oversaw investigation conducted by independent directors into potential claims.
• Lead trial counsel for Primexx in three lawsuits in Oklahoma state court alleging injection of wastewater from fracking at disposal wells caused seismic Achieved settlement to client’s satisfaction.
• Trial counsel for international tire manufacturer in high exposure wrongful death case when the defendant faced a forced inspection of its Chinese manufacturing plant with implications for other cases pending across the Helped the client avoid the inspection and obtain a favorable settlement.
• Co-lead trial counsel for Exco in contested confirmation hearing that reached favorable settlement following the close of
• Obtained injunction and summary judgment in Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas affirmed by the Fifth Circuit for two brothers banned from extracurricular activities by their school district based on their adherence to a religious The boys have long kept a small strand of hair uncut, which they braid and tuck into their shirts, as part of a religious promesa, a practice familiar to Mexican Catholics, related to a promise made to God because one of the brothers recovered from bacterial meningitis as an infant. The case received substantial media attention from outlets, including Newsweek, the New York Post, the Washington Examiner, and Fox News, as well as local Corpus Christi news stations.
• Trial counsel for Nine West Holdings, during its Chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of New York in successfully settling contested confirmation trial over value of claims breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer and other causes of action in connection with the 2014 leveraged buyout of the company. Case settled favorably after one week of trial.
• Trial counsel for Victory Park Capital in connection with Think Finance’s Chapter 11 cases in the Northern District of Texas.
• Served as trial counsel for Cobalt International Energy, and its subsidiaries, achieved confirmation of Chapter 11 plan of over multiple objections after hotly contested plan process and argued and won dismissal of appeal on equitable mootness grounds.
• Served as lead trial counsel for Gastar Exploration, in obtaining confirmation of Chapter 11 plan over equity holder’s objections.
• Won dismissal of fraud and Eleventh Amendment challenges to confirmation of Chapter 11 plan of Sherwin Alumina Company, LLC and Sherwin Pipeline, by Port of Corpus Christi Authority, which had sought to recover a significant easement, and successfully defended dismissal in appeals both to the district court and the Fifth Circuit.
• Obtained subordination of breach of contract and tort claims of over $9 million on behalf of Linn Energy, LLC in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, and successfully defended subordination decision on
• Served as trial counsel for GenOn Energy, Inc. successfully defending against over $600 million in claims for fraudulent transfer and other business At the end of the estimation trial, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas estimated the value of all claims at $0, which paved the way for confirmation of the Chapter 11 plan.
• Currently representing, pro bono, a Native American inmate whose hair was cut in violation of a judgment of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in a contempt proceeding.
• Authored amicus brief on behalf of Congregation Torah Vachesed synagogue and Jews for Religious Liberty challenging FEMA policy that had prohibited religious organizations from obtaining post-Hurricane Harvey During the pendency of the case, FEMA revised its policy to allow religious organizations to receive aid on a non- discriminatory basis.
• On behalf of international energy company, argued and won jurisdictional challenge at the trial court and on appeal against a $6.4 billion claim for the value of an oil and gas concession off the coast of West
• Prosecuted patent infringement lawsuit against major cellular phone manufacturer involving Bluetooth™ EDR technology and successfully developed and defended patent damages model resulting in $15.7 million verdict for the client that was upheld by the Federal
• Part of trial team that achieved $9.2 million trial verdict against smartphone manufacturer for willful infringement of five patents related to HD Voice™
• Achieved favorable de minimis settlement at the close of discovery in defending petrochemical storage company in $50 million environmental mass action arising from allegations of polluting the city’s water supply.
• Successfully compelled to arbitration catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases brought against international specialty gas company arising out of plant explosion and then achieved favorable settlement.
• Represented international petrochemical storage company in dispute with competitor over railway access that resulted in favorable settlement.

• Authored amicus brief to the S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Church in America arguing courts should defer to church authorities in property disputes involving hierarchical churches to avoid entanglement.
• Part of team that obtained settlement of $277 million and contract extension valued at over $1 billion for major government contractor in one of the largest and most factually complex suits ever brought before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.

Presentations & Publications

• “$400M Serta Ruling Offers Warning on Uptier Deal Risks,” Law360, July 22, 2026
• “How Documenting Corporate Decision-Making Helps Defend Against Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims,” Corporate Counsel, September 18, 2025
• “Virtual Presentations: Please Stand Up,” The Texas Lawbook, September 1, 2021
• “Contracting Out of the Culture Wars: How the Law Should Enforce and Communities of Faith Should Encourage More Enduring Marital Commitments,” 30 HARV. J.L. & PUB. POL’Y 231, 2006