Barry C. Barnett

Clients and colleagues call Barry Barnett an “incredibly gifted lawyer” (Chambers and Partners) who is “magic in the courtroom” (Who’s Who Legal), “the top antitrust lawyer in Texas” (Chambers and Partners), and “a person of unquestioned integrity” (David J. Beck, founder of Beck Redden).

Barnett is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and Lawdragon has named him one of the top 500 lawyers in the United States three years in a row. Best Lawyers in America has honored him as “Lawyer of the Year” for Bet-the-Company Litigation (2019 and 2017) and Patent Litigation (2020) in Houston. Based in Texas and New York, Barnett has tried complex business disputes across the United States.

Barnett focuses on complex matters, particularly ones involving antitrust, energy, or intellectual property. He has represented major corporations like Alaska Airlines, Cisco Systems, Hinduja Global, Texas Instruments, KKR & Co. Inc., and Vistra Corp. He’s also battled for his clients against behemoths like Abbott Labs, AmerisourceBergen, Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, BlackBerry, Comcast, Samsung, and Visa.

Barnett projects a compelling courtroom presence. His performance before the Supreme Court in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend prompted the Court to withdraw the question on which it had granted review. The judge in a patent infringement trial called him “one of the best” and his opening statement the finest he had ever seen. Another trial judge said Barnett was one of the two best trial lawyers he’d ever come across. The other one was dead, he said.

Complete package
Barnett can handle a case from start to finish. He’s tried cases to verdict and then briefed and argued them when they went before the Second, Third, Fifth, and Tenth Circuits, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, and (in the case of Comcast Corp. v. Behrend) even the Supreme Court of the United States.

Harvard University

J.D. (1984)

1981 - 1984

Honors: Cum laude

Yale University

B.A. (1981) | History and Economics

1977 - 1981

Honors: Magna cum laude and honors in History

Partner

Susman Godfrey LLP

1985 - Current

Law Clerk, The Honorable Jerre S. Williams

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

1984 - 1985

Fee Arrangements

Thomson West

2022

How Antitrust Enforcers Might Think Like Plaintiffs Lawyers

Law360

April 7, 2022

Lawyer of the Year, Patent Litigation, Houston

Best Lawyers

2020

Lawyer of the Year for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Houston

Best Lawyers

2019

Lawyer of the Year, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Houston

Best Lawyers

2017

American College of Trial Lawyers

Fellow

2015 - Current

Center for American and International Law

Trustee

2011 - Current

American Law Institute

Elected Member

2006 - Current

New York

New York State Office of Court Administration

ID Number: 5337001

Since 2015

Texas

State Bar of Texas

ID Number: 01778700

Since 1985

2nd Circuit

3rd Circuit

5th Circuit

Since 1985

10th Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court

Since 1987

• Free Consultation
• Contingent Fees
  My firm and I prefer contingent-fee and flat-fee arrangements because they reward results and efficiency. Contingent-fee arrangements can also make litigation affordable, and flat fees provide greater certainty for cash needs.