Peter Jonathan Ross

I joined Susman Godfrey in 1994, becoming a partner in 1998. Along with my colleagues at the firm, I specialize in winning trials: both the preparation involved in positioning a case for trial, and the ability to convince the fact finder, be it jury, judge, or arbitration panel, of the merit of my clients case. I am equally adept at representing plaintiffs and defendants, and believe that an active practice for both plaintiffs and defendants makes me a more effective lawyer than one who concentrates solely on the plaintiffs or defendants side. In todays world of complex business litigation, clients have become risk-adverse, and more cases settle after extensive pre-trial maneuvers then used to. Why then the need for business litigation trial lawyers? There are two reasons. First, better than expected settlements only happen when the attorney handling the case prepares the case for trial, regardless of any settlement expectations. Only when the case is managed to be tried from the first day forward will these settlements happen. I believe in answering the following question in the first weeks of any engagement: what do I need to prove to obtain the verdict my client desires? How the case is managed from that point on flows from that question. I do not waste time trying to win discovery disputes. The only win that interests me is having the fact finder find for my client. My experience is as varied as one would expect from an attorney who focuses on litigating cases, and refuses to specialize in anything but trial advocacy. Below is a representative sampling of cases I am currently involved in, as well as past results (weighted to the recent past).