J. Eric Gambrell serves as a leader for the complex litigation national practice and on the Dallas Practice Committee.

Practice & Background

Eric Gambrell represents businesses in aggressively prosecuting their claims and defending their interests. Mr. Gambrell is a courtroom lawyer, regularly appearing for trials, hearings and depositions in both state and federal courts and at arbitration. While his practice intentionally includes varied areas of high-stakes commercial trial work, he focuses on fiduciary duty and fraud matters arising from failed business and family relationships, including in disputes involving transactions involving founders and equity funds.
Representative Matters

Mr. Gambrell’s recent engagements include:

defending a leading handset manufacturer in an attempted national class action seeking $250 million in damages
prosecuting a worldwide geotechnical engineering firm for breaches of fiduciary duties and negligence allegedly resulting in widespread catastrophe to a residential neighborhood
prosecuting a former fund manager for breach of fiduciary duties and fraud involving investments in excess of $50 million
defending a hospital CEO against purported breaches of fiduciary duties under ERISA
defending an international media and publishing conglomerate in an attempted national class action
defending high-profile individuals against attempted extortion
prosecuting a national restaurant chain for its failure to pay a leading foodservice provider millions of dollars
defending breach of fiduciary duty claims by limited partners of a restaurant chain
prosecuting numerous former executives and their co-conspirators who have raided their former companies’ information and talent
prosecuting a bank for breach of fiduciary duties relating to its refusal to sell assets
prosecuting a national homebuilding company for failure to pay millions
prosecuting breaches of fiduciary duties by a temporary guardian
prosecuting a repeat drunk driver for injuries to a child (pro bono).

Community Involvement

Mr. Gambrell’s community, civic and charitable activities include:

Appointed by the Governor, Mr. Gambrell has served since 2007 on the nine-member Texas Board of Criminal Justice that oversees the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the organization that provides confinement, supervision, rehabilitation and reintegration of the state’s convicted felons.
Mr. Gambrell serves as a Council Member for the town of Highland Park, Texas. Mr. Gambrell previously served as Chairman of the Town’s Zoning Commission.
Mr. Gambrell is a former member of the Board and Executive Committee of the Visiting Nurses Association of Texas (Meals on Wheels) and is a former member of multiple United Way campaign cabinets.
Mr. Gambrell is very active in numerous political campaigns/groups as well as the local bar (former Judiciary Committee chair and Memorial/History Committee chair, former barrister of the Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court, Texas Bar Foundation Nominating Committee and Dallas Bar Foundation fellow). He is a member of Leadership Dallas Class of 2004.

Awards & Accolades

Mr. Gambrell is the recipient of multiple honors including having been:

named one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” by D Magazine (2011, 2012, 2013)
named one of the top 15 business defense lawyers in Dallas by The Dallas Business Journal
consistently named as a Texas “Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly
ranked #1 in “The Best Lawyers Under 40 in Dallas” by D Magazine
awarded in 2006 with Akin Gump’s “& Feld” Award, given annually for exemplary client service.