R. Anderson Sessions

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Biography

Anderson Sessions is a courtroom lawyer whose practice focuses on resolving a broad array of complex business disputes. As an experienced litigator, Anderson is able to deliver strategic legal solutions to clients in all aspects of the dispute resolution process. His practice focuses on defending and prosecuting high-stakes business disputes involving breaches of contract, common law and securities, fraud deceptive trade practices, employment disputes, trade-secret litigation, unfair competition and trademark litigation, shareholder and partnership disputes, commercial real estate disputes, oil & gas litigation and other business torts. Anderson also has representative experience counseling oil & gas and energy-related companies with regulatory matters involving the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas General Land Office, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Anderson earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Baylor University in 2010 and his law degree from Baylor University School of Law in 2013. During law school, Anderson excelled in various moot court and mock trial teams and was selected to represent Baylor Law School at the prestigious National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Tournament of Champions. Anderson is a recipient of Baylor Law School’s Fraley & Fraley Mock Trial Award, an award given for excellence in trial advocacy and procedure.

Education

  • Baylor University School of Law – J.D., 2013
  • Baylor University – B.A., 2010

Recognitions & Distinctions

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America (2024 – 2025): Construction Law
  • Named Rising Star by Texas Super Lawyers, a publication of Thomson Reuters®, in the practice area of Business Litigation (2020 – 2024)

Representative Experience

Representative experience includes counseling Fortune 500 companies, closely-held companies and small businesses, and individuals, including:

  • In September 2024, after a week-long(+) complex consolidated jury trial in North Texas, successfully obtained a seven-figure jury award in connection with private investors’ securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duties claims involving a state-wide oil & gas “ponzi scheme.
  • Successfully obtained six-figure judgment and permanent injunction restraining California-based former employee from misappropriating Texas-based company trade secrets.
  • Successfully obtained and defended on appeal, trial court summary judgment granting client more than $350,000 US in contractual damages and awards of attorneys’ fees relating to UCC breach of contract claims (Minchul Ho, et al. v. Benco Machinery, LLC, 2020 WL 7268586 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2020).
  • Successfully negotiated favorable multi-million-dollar settlement for commercial landlord in connection with commercial real estate and beach of lease dispute.
  • Second-chair trial counsel in case resulting in successful no-evidence dismissal of theft and misappropriation of trade-secret claims concerning multi-million-dollar commercial product and favorable jury verdict awarding full recovery of attorneys’ fees under Texas Theft Liability Act;
  • Second-chair trial counsel in five-day jury trial involving complex commercial leasing dispute involving breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to medical cost-sharing associations;
  • Second-chair trial counsel for complex oil & gas case involving fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, and trespass to try title;
  • Conducted single-day trial under Tex. R. Civ. P. 169 ‘expedited actions’ process concerning tortious conversion of commercial rent deposits, resulting in win for client and award of exemplary damages;
  • Successfully obtained injunctive relief and recovery of attorneys’ fees against former company officer for misappropriation of trade-secrets and violation of company non-compete/non-disclosure agreement;
  • Successfully obtained Temporary Restraining Order against municipal governmental entities for breach of contract in relation to proprietary dispute over use of commercial-grade soccer fields in North Texas;
  • Obtained summary judgment on clients’ claim for breach of contract in complex commercial leasing dispute, resulting in liability for $650,000 in lost profits;
  • Obtained summary judgment on client’s claim for breach of contract in multi-party commercial oil & gas “Frac” tank dispute, resulting in severance judgment and over $50,000 in attorneys’ fees;
  • Successfully defended against dual summary judgments resulting in immediate favorable settlement of 5-year litigation standoff between probate beneficiaries and minority shareholders of closely-held oil and gas company;
  • Successfully defended against procedural severance of more than $250,000 in claims wrongfully granted against client in partial-summary judgment proceedings, leading to reconsideration of summary judgment and favorable settlement terms for client;
  • Conducted pre-suit investigation and negotiations pertaining to allegations of employee misappropriation of aviation and aeronautical company assets and trade secrets, leading to favorable enforcement of company’s non-disclosure / non-compete agreement

Memberships & Affiliations

  • DAYL 2017 Leadership Class
  • Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court
  • Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
  • Dallas Bar Association Mock Trial Committee
  • Dallas Bar Association Judiciary Committee
  • Dallas Bar Association, Litigation and Trial Skills Section (Member)

Admissions

  • State Bar of Texas (2014)
  • United States District Court: Northern, Eastern & Western Districts of Texas

Amy N. Rauch

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Biography

Amy Rauch is a Principal in the Dallas office of Cokinos | Young. Amy’s practice focuses primarily on insurance coverage issues. In that regard, she regularly provides insurance advice to clients in the construction industry, including contractors, owners, and subcontractors. This includes advising clients on insurance and indemnity provisions in contract documents at the outset of their projects to help them manage and transfer risk, as well as advising them in disputes with their insurance companies following a claim. She frequently leads the pursuit of defense and indemnity from additional insured carriers on behalf of general contractor and subcontractor clients and has successfully obtained a defense from one or more additional insured carriers for those clients in multiple construction defect and employee injury cases.

However, Amy also provides insurance coverage advice to individuals and businesses outside of the construction context to help ensure that their insurers honor their obligations under a wide range of insurance policies, including professional liability policies, crime policies, inland marine policies, commercial property and auto policies, and homeowners policies.

In addition, she was the presenter of “Insurance Basics for the Construction Lawyer” at The Basic Course in Texas Construction Law 2024, Dallas, Texas on November 22, 2024, and she co-authored the Legal Foundations of Professional Liability article in Professional Liability Insurance, which was published by International Risk Management Institute in 2019, and the “Construction Update” article for the State Bar of Texas 18th Annual Advanced Insurance Law CLE (Webcast) on October 1, 2021.

Education

  • Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law – J.D., cum laude, 2015
    – Articles Editor, SMU Law Review
  • Ohio State University – B.A., magna cum laude, 2007

Recognitions & Distinctions

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2025: Insurance Law

Representative Experience

  • Developed arguments and acted as primary briefing attorney for a motion for partial summary judgment on the duty to defend in a Texas state court declaratory judgment action filed by a commercial general liability (CGL) carrier against its named insured subcontractor, in which the carrier sought a declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured in the underlying construction defect lawsuit. The court found that the carrier had a duty to defend the subcontractor, which resulted in the carrier’s participation in settling the underlying claims against the subcontractor and the subcontractor’s dismissal from the underlying lawsuit, as well as the dismissal of the state court declaratory judgment action. In connection with that same subcontractor and underlying lawsuit, developed arguments and acted as primary briefing attorney for a motion to dismiss the claims filed by the general contractor’s CGL carrier against the subcontractor in a federal declaratory judgment action. The court granted the subcontractor’s motion to dismiss in early 2022, ending the subcontractor’s involvement in the federal declaratory judgment action.
  • Work with construction clients to ensure that the clients’ own insurance carriers and their additional insured carriers are properly defending their insureds and contributing to settlement of covered property damage and bodily injury claims.
  • Work with homeowners to ensure that insurance carriers are properly paying first party claims or defending liability claims under homeowners policies.
  • Developed arguments and acted as primary briefing attorney on lawsuit against carrier that denied coverage under client’s first-party property policy for Hurricane Harvey loss. Case resulted in seven figure settlement for client.

Memberships & Affiliations

  • Dallas Bar Association: Construction Law, Environmental Law, and Tort & Insurance Practice Sections
  • State Bar of Texas
    • Construction Law Section
    • Insurance Law Section, serving a two-year term (expiring 2026) on the Young Lawyer Subcommittee of the Insurance Council of the Insurance Law Section

Certifications

  • Board Certified, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Insurance Law

Admissions

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Courts: Northern, Eastern, Southern & Western Districts of Texas

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