Scott D. Marrs

Houston, TX
Partner

Scott Marrs has over 20 years of experience in litigation in state and federal courts and arbitration in national and international arbitral tribunals. He provides pre-dispute, pretrial, trial, post-trial, and arbitration counseling to clients on intellectual property, international law, energy, product liability, toxic tort, and other commercial matters.

• South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas, 1989, J.D., Cum Laude
  Honors: 
  -Board of Advocates, Order of the Lytae
  -Phi Delta Phi
  -Law Review: South Texas Law Review
  -Intern: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  
• University of Texas, 1983, B.B.A.

• Arbitrator - American Arbitration Association
• AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell

• Arbitrated multi-million dollar intellectual property disputes between an international medical device company and an inventor/surgeon
• Arbitrated a major investment matter for an international brokerage house involving alleged losses by a group of high net worth businessmen
• Retained as intellectual property expert in a copyright and trademark arbitration involving two competing international chair manufacturers
• Federal jury trial of a construction case involving fraud and breach of contract contentions on behalf of a French supplier of industrial gases
• Represented a Dutch equipment manufacturer to establish their presence in the U.S.A.
• State jury trial of a seminal Texas trade secret case involving a client's former employees, obtained clarification of Texas law from the appellate court
• Represented independent oil and gas producers in a multi-million dollar arbitration against drilling companies in commercial transaction disputes
• Arbitrated an employee discrimination case among an international brokerage house and manager of the U.S. division
• Obtained the first jury verdict in American jurisprudence involving infringement of a foreign patent, involving Chinese counterfeiters, as part of the trial team in a lengthy Beaumont, Texas federal trial
• Represented NFL coaches in a copyright and trade secret case against coaches who posted confidential NFL playbooks on the Internet
• State jury trial on behalf of an international paint manufacturer in a breach of contract case
• Federal jury trial of a trademark and trade dress case against an industrial valve counterfeiters involving the illegal sourcing of valves from Iraq
• Represented an Italian manufacturer in various product liability matters in the U.S.A.
• Federal jury trial of a patent infringement case in Tulsa, Oklahoma on behalf of a German manufacturer, gave oral arguments on appeal to the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C.
• State jury trial of a hotly-contested defamation and tortious interference case in Houston, Texas on behalf of an international pharmacy chain
• Represented a pipeline partnership in its condemnation proceedings aimed at expanding the scope of earlier pipeline easement grants, in its successful effort to convert a major pipeline from crude oil service (from West Texas to the Gulf Coast) to a pipeline transporting refined petroleum products (from Texas Gulf Coast refineries to the El Paso gateway to the west)
• State jury trial against competitors for the misappropriation of trade secrets and contempt of prior court order on behalf of an international oil and gas services company
• State jury trial of a major construction case involving alleged improper liens and bonds
• Various state jury trials and commissioners’ hearings on behalf of condemnors and comdemnees in an eminent domain/condemnation cases
• State jury trial of a zoning and nuisance case on behalf of a prominent Houston school
• State jury trial of a wrongful termination case involving environmental dumping allegations on behalf of an international chemical company
• State jury trial of a fraud and breach of fiduciary duty case in Houston, Texas involving claims between business partners in a technical school, oral arguments to the state court of appeals

• All Texas Courts
• U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
• U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits
• Supreme Court of the United States

• International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
  Business Litigation Committee
  -Chair (2009-2010)
  -ViceChair (2007-2009)
  Arbitration Committee
• State Bar of Texas
  -Intellectual Property Law Section
• American Bar Association
  - TIPS (Tort and Insurance Practice Section)
• Texas Board of Law Examiners
  -Admission Subcommittee (1989-1991)

• Co-Author, "10 Major Arbitration Issues Recently Addressed By Courts," Dispute Resolution Journal, Aug/Oct 2009
• "How Can Cybersquatters Affect My Business?" Texas Monthly, October 2007
• Co-author, "Deadly Weapons Part I and II: How the Law Really Views the Hands and Feet of a Martial Artist," Black Belt magazine, August, September 2007
• Co-Author, "Technology on Trial: Put on Your Parachute," Law Technology News, November 2006
• Co-Author, "Viral videos publicize - but infringe," National Law Journal, May 8, 2006
• Co-author, "The Art of War and Public Relations: Strategies for Successful Litigation PR," Houston Business Journal, Business Survival Guide, April 2006
• "When It's None of Thier Business," Legal Times, June 2005
• Co-Author, "Protecting Your Company's Crown Jewels: What Every Corporate Counsel Should Know About Trade Secrets and Corporate Espionage," IP Litigator, March/April 2005
• Co-author, "Judicial Control Over Questionable Jury Verdicts," Federal Lawyer, June 2004
• "Trade Secrets & Corporate Espionage, Protecting Your Company's Crown Jewels," Association of Corporate Counsel, ACC Docket, April 2004
• "When Advertising Messages Cross the Legal Line," Houston Business Journal, November 2003
• "Protect Your Firm's Intellectual Capital," Houston Business Journal, January 2003
• "Get With The Program," Texas Lawyer, March 2001
• "Inside Story On Trade Secrets," American Bar Journal, October 2000
• "Can You Keep A (Trade) Secret?" Corporate Legal Times, September 2000
• "What Insureds Should Know About Protecting Products," Claims Magazine, April 2000
• "Geophysical Trespass in Texas - An Overview," Texas Bar Journal, February 1995
• "The Legislative Continuance," Houston Lawyer, November 1992
• "Mind Over Body: The Physical Injury Requirement," Tort & Insurance Law Journal, Fall 1992
        -Referenced by Supreme Court of Florida, Gracey v.
         Eaker, 837 So.2d 348 (Florida 2002)
        -Referenced by Supreme Court of Alaska, Chizmar v.
         Chizmar, 896 P.2d 196 (Alaska 1995)
        -Referenced by Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Bower v.
         Lumbermans, 517 N.W.2d 432 (Wisconsin
         1994)
• "Reasonable Medical Probability - Meeting the Standard," Houston Lawyer, July 1991
• "Recovering Lost Profits Damages in Texas," Texas Bar Journal, July 1991
• "Pollution Exclusion Clauses - Validity and Enforceability," Tort & Insurance Law Journal, Spring 1991
• "FERC Order 500: Net For Our Natural Gas Industry Or Web Of Confusion?" 2 Texas O&G Jrnl 5, May, 1988

• Named one of "Houston's Top Lawyers," H Magazine, 2007, 2008, 2009
• Named "Texas Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, 2008, 2009, 2010 
• Named "Texas Super Lawyer," Texas Monthly, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• Top 40 Texas Lawyers Under 40, Texas Lawyer, 2001
• Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
• Houston Lawyer Award, Outstanding Legal Article of the Year, 1993
• Hirsch, Glover, Robinson & Sheiness Award, Excellence in Insurance Law, 1989
• Cecil Cook Award, Best Article on Real Property Law, 1988

• Standard Oil/British Petroleum, Houston, Texas, Petroleum Landman, Natural Gas Marketer, Legal Department
• Union Texas Petroleum, Houston, Texas and Denver, Colorado, Land Department
• Coventry Development, Inc., Houston, Texas, commercial real estate developer

• Panelist, Law Firm Marketing and Business Development Leadership Forum, "Going, Going...Gone Global," The Harvard Club, NYC, May 2010
• Guest Speaker, "Burden of Proof," with Greta Van Susteren, CNN
• Guest Speaker, "Pros and Cons," CourtTV
• Speaker, 2009, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), “Business Courts - Coming to a State Near You," Colorado Springs, 2009
• Speaker, 2008 Texas General Counsel Forum, "Legal Transformation - 2020" (San Antonio, Texas)
• Serves as faculty member for the Beecher Carlson TopBoards^TM program, ISS-accredited training for corporate board members
• Speaker, 2008, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), “What Should U.S. Lawyers Expect When Hiring Foreign Counsel,"  2008
• Speaker, 2007 General Counsel West Coast Conference, "Sins of IP Strategy - Why Winning IP Cases Are Lost," San Francisco, 2007
• Speaker, 2007 Trial Tactics & Technology Conference, “Amendments to the FRCP, Exploring the Day-to-Day Impact for Legal Teams," New York City, 2007
• Speaker, 2007 Legal Tech Conference, “Leveraging Technology For Case Assessment,” New York City, 2007
• Speaker, "Corporate Lawyers - The New Whistleblowers Under Sarbanes-Oxley?" IADC Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy, 2006
• Speaker, "Protecting Your IP Portfolio,"  2004 AmLaw IP Conference, Washington, D.C., 2004
• Speaker, "Presentation of the Corporate Plaintiff's IP Case,"  2004 Association of Corporate Counsel, Houston, 2004
• Speaker, "Effectively Managing Public Relations for High-Profile Litigation,"  San Francisco, 2003
• Speaker, "Presenting the Corporate Plaintiff's Trade Secret Case,"  2001 Network of Trial Law Firms, San Diego, 2001