Home :: Our Team :: W. Craig Stokley

W. CRAIG STOKLEY   Craig Stokley is a commercial litigation attorney who has significant experience working with large complex joint defense groups. Mr. Stokley's diverse trial practice encompasses a wide variety of complex commercial disputes and jury trials including trade secrets, contract claims, intellectual property litigation, construction litigation, business tort claims, adversary proceedings in bankruptcy court, DTPA litigation, employment matters, toxic tort litigation, white collar criminal defense, professional malpractice litigation and pro bono work. Mr. Stokley was a trial attorney in the Dallas office of Baker Botts, LLP until he joined Riney Palter in 2009.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Stokley served as a law clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge A. Joe Fish of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. As a law clerk to Judge Fish, Mr. Stokley drafted opinions on motions for summary judgment, findings of fact, and conclusions of law from bench trials, motions to dismiss, motions to transfer, and other motions filed in federal court. He also worked closely with the federal sentencing guidelines and made recommendations to Judge Fish regarding appropriate sentences for convicted criminal defendants.

While serving as law clerk, Mr. Stokley was responsible for advising Judge Fish on issues relating to the U.S.A. v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development case. This additional responsibility required him to undergo a top-secret background clearance check from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

While in law school, Mr. Stokley served as a judicial intern to the Honorable David Hittner and the Honorable Sim Lake.

Before law school, Mr. Stokley worked as a chemical engineer and contracts manager for Fluor Corporation, a large engineering, procurement, and construction company. In that capacity, he designed and tested combined-cycle power plants that were constructed all over the United States. He was also responsible for awarding and administering large subcontracts for construction of large combined-cycle power plants. These subcontracts included, among others: heavy lifting, electrical, control systems, water cooling systems, and construction of a heat recovery steam generator. Mr. Stokley also assisted with a companywide organizational change initiative, during which he worked at the company’s offices in Manila; Jakarta; Shanghai; Houston, Texas; Aliso Viegjo, California; and Greenville, South Carolina.

Selected client representations

	Obtained a favorable result in an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court for a large copper mining and smelting company who asserted a constructive fraudulent transfer claim arising from the sale of a large copper mining property;
	Successfully defended large accounting firm against fraud and malpractice claims in state court;
	Obtained a favorable result for a regional bank in a patent infringement case before Judge Folsom in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This representation included working with a large joint defense group to coordinate defenses for numerous national and regional banks;
	Defended a large telecommunications company in a patent infringement case before Judge Folsom in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This representation successfully challenged the courts jurisdiction over the clients’ parent company;
	Represented client in a full jury trial before Judge Solis on breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation claim winning summary judgment before trial on the breach of contract claim;
	Defeated class certification by large labor organization on behalf of a national trucking company; and
	Obtained a favorable settlement for a client involving DTPA claims.

Judicial Clerkship

Law Clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge A. Joe Fish, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (2005-2006).

Education

	J.D. (cum laude) Georgetown University Law Center, 2005
	B.S., Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, 1999

Admitted to Practice

State Bar of Texas; U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas.

Professional Affiliations

	Dallas Bar Association
	Dallas Association of Young Lawyers