Tom Melsheimer is the Managing Principal of the firm’s Dallas office, and head of the office’s trial practice. He has been described as “one of the most sought after trial lawyers in the country” by the publishers of The American Lawyer, and as a “game changing ringer” by another national legal publication.
Mr. Melsheimer tries lawsuits in state and federal courts, emphasizing intellectual property, business torts, and False Claims Act litigation. His trial experience is unusually broad and extensive. On the civil side, he has tried to verdict cases involving patent infringement, insider trading, antitrust, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and False Claims Act violations. On the criminal side, he has tried to verdict cases involving bank fraud, public corruption, copyright infringement and kidnapping. Mr. Melsheimer’s jury trials include successfully representing plaintiffs and defendants on both coasts and throughout Texas.
In 2013, Mr. Melsheimer was lead trial counsel for billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban in the widely publicized insider trading case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The jury cleared Mr. Cuban of any wrongdoing following a three-week trial in Dallas federal court. Mr. Melsheimer has represented Mr. Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks, and other Cuban business interests since 2000.
In 2012, Mr. Melsheimer and co-counsel from the Texas Attorney General’s office helped the state win the largest Medicaid fraud settlement in Texas history. The $158 million payment followed claims of illegal marketing practices associated with the prescription drug Risperdal.
Mr. Melsheimer’s $178 million jury trial win on behalf of the plaintiff in IRCC v. NL Industries, et al., included nearly $150 million in punitive damages. The jury award in the breach of fiduciary duty case was named one of the Top Verdicts of 2009 by The National Law Journal (NLJ), in addition to being recognized as one of the year’s three largest verdicts in Texas and the year’s largest verdict in Dallas County. On four previous occasions, Mr. Melsheimer’s cases have been recognized by the NLJ among the nation’s top cases in 1998, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Mr. Melsheimer and his wife Miki, a playwright and director, have been married more than 30 years, and they have three children.
