R. Laurence Macon has more than 30 years of first-chair trial experience and has tried more than 100 jury cases, representing plaintiffs and defendants in all phases of litigation in state and federal court, and in national and international arbitration proceedings.

Practice & Background

Mr. Macon is board certified in both Civil Trial Law and Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Macon received his B.A. in American studies in 1967 from Yale University and his J.D. with honors in 1970 from the University of Texas, where he was a member of Order of the Coif and Phi Delta Phi. He is a member of the Texas and Georgia bars.

Representative Matters

Mr. Macon has represented clients as lead trial counsel in cases across the country, including:

• A large medical device company in 2016-2018 in an antitrust action against the largest company in the industry.
• A large petroleum producer in 2015 in a fraud action against its former CEO.
• An international medical technology company in 2013-2015 in a month-long arbitration concerning alleged patent infringement.
• A global medical technology company in 2011 in obtaining dismissal of multiple shareholder class action suits seeking to halt a merger transaction valued at $6.3 billion.
• A Canadian software development company in 2009 in bringing a patent infringement suit in the data integration field against 21 defendants in the Eastern District of Texas, including some of the largest companies in the computer industry.
• An international media company in nine class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits in 2009, defending against claims of violations of securities laws and breach of fiduciary duties in connection with a merger transaction valued at $26 billion.
• A major bus manufacturer in defending against claims arising out of a bus rollover that resulted in 2 deaths and 20 persons with severe injuries.
• A nationwide plaintiff class of hospitals, nursing homes and other customers in an antitrust class action suit brought in federal court in Spartanburg, South Carolina against the nation’s largest hospital bed manufacturer for alleged monopoly bundling; in 2006, Modern Healthcare identified the settlement as the sixth largest ever in an antitrust suit lawsuit of this
• A medical technology company in a suit against a larger competitor in federal court in San Antonio Texas, alleging antitrust violations; The National Law Journal identified the verdict for $170 million, to be trebled, as the third largest in the United States in 2002.
• An international electronics and telecommunications conglomerate in defending a case filed by a competitor in state court in Dallas, Texas seeking more than $1 billion in damages for alleged theft of trade secrets. The case was closely followed by the business and legal press and, as reported by Texas Lawyer in 2000, settled during jury trial after the Texas Supreme Court rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt to depose top-level executives of the defendants.  See In Re Alcatel USA, Inc., 11 W.3d 173 (Tex.  2000).
• A global medical technology company and top-ranked university in patent infringement suits against competing global medical device manufacturers.
• An international telecommunications company in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, defending against claims of alleged theft of trade secrets and breach of contract involving computer software.
• A medical device company in bringing a patent infringement case that resulted in the then largest settlement ever entered in the Western District of Texas, as reported by Texas Lawyer in 1994.
• The president of the largest Texas Savings and Loan association to go into receivership in a criminal fraud trial that ended in acquittal; the case was included in Texas Lawyer’s “The Best of Big Suits” list for 1993.
• A professional basketball team in litigation involving the acquisition of an all-star A former mayor of the city of San Antonio defending against a slander suit.
• Plaintiffs in various antitrust class action suits New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
• Plaintiffs and defendants in multiple large patent infringement lawsuits in federal court throughout the country.

Awards & Accolades

• Listed in numerous editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the Bet-the-Company Litigation (2008-2018), Commercial Litigation (2006-2018), Antitrust Law (2011-2018), Intellectual Property Law (2011-2018), Patent Law (2011-2018) and Securities Law (2011-2018) categories
• Named as the best lawyer in San Antonio by The Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year in Bet-the Company Litigation (2010), Intellectual Property Law (2012, 2015 and 2017), Antitrust Law (2013 and 2018) and Patent Law (2014 and 2016)
• Recognized in a survey of his peers as a Top 50 “Texas Super Lawyer” in Central/West Texas (2003-2018)
• Selected as one of 125 Extraordinary Texas Exes by The Alcade (2010)
• Named as a Member of Lawyers of Distinction (2016)

Broke the Guinness Book of World Records record for Most Marathons Run in One Year by a Man five times and is the First American to run his 2,000 marathon in a life time.

Articles

January 2003 –

“An Antitrust Saga – Taking On Goliath And Winning – Big!”

The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel