Biography

I am an associate in BoyarMiller's Litigation Group and have been practicing since 2005. My practice focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration. Since beginning my practice, I have represented a diverse range of corporate clients and individuals in multiple areas of litigation including closely held corporation disputes, construction, securities, oil and gas, business torts, breach of fiduciary duties and breach of contract.

I graduated from Texas A & M University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and received my Juris Doctor, with honors, from The University of Texas. While in law school, I served as Associate Editor for the Texas Law Review and as an officer in the Board of Advocates. I was named a member of Order of the Barristers and received the Neimann Cup and Stanley P. Wilson Honorarium awarded to the outstanding advocate in each graduating class at The University of Texas. I was also a 2005 Giles Sutherland Rich Intellectual Property Moot Court National and Regional Champion and received the best oral advocate and best appellant's brief awards at the regional championship. Additionally, I received the best oral advocate award at the Giles Rich Regional Competition in 2004.

I am a member of the American and Houston Bar Associations, the Houston Young Lawyers Association and the State Bar of Texas. I also judge moot court and mock trial competitions at the South Texas College of Law and the University of Houston Law Center.

I am admitted to practice law in the State of Texas, in the Southern District of Texas and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Representative Matters

• Successfully represented a United States marine and subsea equipment rental and sales company in suit to recover amounts owed by international entity in which case was adjudicated on summary judgment grounds.
• Represented a minority shareholder of a closely held corporation in lawsuit alleging shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duty by majority shareholder.
• Successfully represented an international company in breach of contract action against United States entity in which international company recovered more than $1.5 million despite claim for offset by United States company in excess of the amounts sought by international company.

Education

• JD, University of Texas (with Honors)
• BBA, Texas A & M University (Cum Laude with Business Honors)

Affiliations

• Houston Bar Association
• Texas Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Houston Young Lawyers Association

Representative Matters

• Successfully represented a Fortune 500 chemical company in appeal of breach of contract claim involving biomanufacturing agreement. Appellate court upheld award of damages awarded in favor of client.
• Successfully defended a multinational energy company in case of first impression in Texas in which lessees asserted claims for breach of fiduciary duty against energy company relating to slant drilling on internally subdivided community lease. All claims against client were dismissed prior to trial, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Successfully represented an international company providing services in the oil and gas industry in multiple international arbitrations involving disputes over the construction of oil and gas platforms.
• Represented a major oil company in series of severance tax cases.
• Successful defense of a major oil company in a AAA-administered arbitration related to preferential rights to purchase several oil and gas fields and the sale of several hundred miles of related seismic data. Although the claimant sought specific performance on its contract claims, which could have resulted in the unwinding of a deal then valued at approximately $600 million, and approximately $30 million in damages related to the seismic data, client prevailed at the arbitration and the claimant took nothing on any of its claims against client.
• Successfully represented a United States marine and subsea equipment rental and sales company in suit to recover amounts owed by international entity in which case was adjudicated on summary judgment grounds.
• Successfully represented an equipment broker/dealer in defense of claims based on alter ego and single enterprise theories.
• Represented a retail energy provider against claims of negligence relating to the maintenance of power lines and transformers.
• Represented an air conditioning services provider in claims misappropriation of trade secrets and violation of non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements by former employees and for breach of trademark licensing agreement.
• Represented an insurance agency with regard to violation of non-solicitation, nondisclosure, and confidentiality agreements by former employee.
• Represented a shareholder, director and officer of closely held corporation in dispute over management of the corporation and unfounded allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and shareholder oppression.
• Represented a minority shareholder of closely held corporation in lawsuit alleging violation of fiduciary duties by corporation's management.
• Represented a minority shareholder of closely held corporation in lawsuit alleging shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duty by majority shareholder.
• Successfully represented an international company in breach of contract action against United States entity in which international company recovered more than $1.5 million despite claim for offset by United States company in excess of the amounts sought by international company.
• Represented an international distribution company against claims for breach of distributor agreement, including successfully compelling the case to arbitration.
• Represented a factoring company in claims for breach of contract and fraud against construction company for intentionally misstating amounts owed pursuant to construction contracts and subcontracts and failing to pay subcontractors.
• Represented a heavy equipment broker/dealer in claims for breach of contract and tortuous interference with contract resulting from attempted purchase of heavy equipment and refusal of seller to complete the transaction due to the interference of a third party broker.
• Represented multiple local companies in breach of contract actions relating to the purchase and sale of products and services.
• Represented a real estate developer to enforce purchase contracts by purchasers of condominiums. Representation involved the enforcement of arbitration provisions and defense of purchase contracts against claims of ambiguity and violations of the statute of frauds.
• Represented a petrochemical company in breach of contract action against construction company who failed to complete construction on petrochemical plant as required by the terms of the contract and who sought payment for work not authorized by petrochemical company.

Publications

Preventing Shareholder Oppression Disputes (article in progress)

Texas Courts of Appeal Update-Substantive, Jennifer L. Hebert and Matthew Morrison, The Appellate Advocate, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (Spring 2007)

Texas Courts of Appeal Update - Substantive, Christian A. Garza, Jennifer L. Hebert & Eric G. Walraven, The Appellate Advocate, Vol. XVIII, No. 4 (Spring 2006)

Mental Health Records in Sexual Assault Cases: Striking a Balance to Ensure a Fair Trial for Victims and Defendants, 83 Texas L. Rev. 1453 (2005)

Presentations

Lawyers and the Obligation Not to Lie
by David Bond and Jennifer Hebert
South Texas College of Law - Just Ethics Continuing Legal Education
presented by David Bond, October 9, 2008