People: Karl E. Neudorfer, Of Counsel

Karl E. Neudorfer

Of Counsel

Houston
Direct: (713) 860-0093
Fax: (713) 821-0651
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Mr. Neudorfer is of counsel in the Litigation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.  He is resident in the firm’s Houston office, where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation, arbitration, and appeals.  Mr. Neudorfer has represented business clients of all sizes, from Fortune 100 companies to sole proprietors, in a variety of commercial disputes.  And with every engagement, Mr. Neudorfer’s goal is to provide exceptional advocacy and client service.  He strives not only to deliver the results the client is seeking, but also to meet that objective in a way that delivers exceptional value.

Mr. Neudorfer’s experience spans several substantive areas of the law, and includes proceedings before state courts, federal courts, and arbitration panels across the country.  His work includes commercial class action defense, securities litigation, consumer finance litigation and arbitration, media law matters, privacy and data security litigation, construction law engagements, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, and the defense of mass torts.  Mr. Neudorfer also has represented clients in patent disputes, employment litigation, and general commercial and contract cases.  Outside the litigation context, his pro bono work includes serving as the principal draftsman of legislation intended to strengthen Texas state law against human trafficking.

In addition to working in a number of different legal disciplines, Mr. Neudorfer has partnered closely with clients from a variety of industries and commercial sectors.  For example, he has extensive experience with the representation of financial institutions and financial services firms, energy companies (particularly electric utilities), commercial and industrial contractors, data aggregators and data management companies, insurers and their third-party administrators, media and news outlets, and a number of other enterprises.

Mr. Neudorfer is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio (his Ohio license is presently on inactive status).  Mr. Neudorfer is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Mr. Neudorfer is also a regular author and speaker.  His publications and presentations include articles, book chapters, and lectures on litigation and arbitration procedure, the law of class actions, construction law, and the law governing arbitration.

Mr. Neudorfer received his law degree, with Honors, from The Ohio State University College of Law in 2000.  While in law school, he served as Executive Editor of The Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution and was named Best Advocate at a national moot court competition.  Mr. Neudorfer received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The Ohio State University in 1997.  He graduated summa cum laude and with distinction, and he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies.  While an undergraduate, Mr. Neudorfer also had the privilege of serving as the head Drum Major for The Ohio State University Marching Band.

Mr. Neudorfer is of counsel in the Litigation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.  He is resident in the firm’s Houston office, where he focuses his practice on commercial litigation, arbitration, and appeals.  Mr. Neudorfer has represented business clients of all sizes, from Fortune 100 companies to sole proprietors, in a variety of commercial disputes.  And with every engagement, Mr. Neudorfer’s goal is to provide exceptional advocacy and client service.  He strives not only to deliver the results the client is seeking, but also to meet that objective in a way that delivers exceptional value.

Mr. Neudorfer’s experience spans several substantive areas of the law, and includes proceedings before state courts, federal courts, and arbitration panels across the country.  His work includes commercial class action defense, securities litigation, consumer finance litigation and arbitration, media law matters, privacy and data security litigation, construction law engagements, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, and the defense of mass torts.  Mr. Neudorfer also has represented clients in patent disputes, employment litigation, and general commercial and contract cases.  Outside the litigation context, his pro bono work includes serving as the principal draftsman of legislation intended to strengthen Texas state law against human trafficking.

In addition to working in a number of different legal disciplines, Mr. Neudorfer has partnered closely with clients from a variety of industries and commercial sectors.  For example, he has extensive experience with the representation of financial institutions and financial services firms, energy companies (particularly electric utilities), commercial and industrial contractors, data aggregators and data management companies, insurers and their third-party administrators, media and news outlets, and a number of other enterprises.

Mr. Neudorfer is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio (his Ohio license is presently on inactive status).  Mr. Neudorfer is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Mr. Neudorfer is also a regular author and speaker.  His publications and presentations include articles, book chapters, and lectures on litigation and arbitration procedure, the law of class actions, construction law, and the law governing arbitration.

Mr. Neudorfer received his law degree, with Honors, from The Ohio State University College of Law in 2000.  While in law school, he served as Executive Editor of The Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution and was named Best Advocate at a national moot court competition.  Mr. Neudorfer received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The Ohio State University in 1997.  He graduated summa cum laude and with distinction, and he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies.  While an undergraduate, Mr. Neudorfer also had the privilege of serving as the head Drum Major for The Ohio State University Marching Band.

Education

  • J.D., Ohio State University College of Law (2000)
    with Honors in Law
  • B.A., Ohio State University (1997)
    summa cum laude with distinction

Admissions

  • Texas

Courts

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Affiliations

  • American Bar Association and its Litigation Section
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Texas Bar Association and its Appellate Section
  • Houston Bar Association and its Appellate Practice Section
  • Federalist Society, Houston Chapter
  • Trustee, Board of Trustees of the Political Action Committee for the Houston Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, 2008–2009 term
  • Legislative Fellow, Children at Risk, 2008 (pro bono work for children’s advocacy organization in Houston, Texas)
  • Witherspoon Fellow, Family Research Council, 1998 (fellowship position doing public policy research, analysis, and writing for Washington, D.C. think tank)

Representative Engagements

  • Successfully defended a major financial institution while acting as first chair trial counsel in case seeking to overturn an arbitration award in the financial institution’s favor
  • Successfully obtained the complete dismissal of a multi-billion dollar data security class action involving issues of first impression under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act
  • Successfully defeated plaintiff’s motion for certification of a nationwide consumer class action against a retail grocer
  • Successfully coordinated and defended approximately eighty related cases (both litigation and arbitration proceedings) against a major financial institution
  • Successfully secured payment from a governmental entity for a multi-million dollar construction project in part by defeating the government’s claim of sovereign immunity
  • Acted as principal author of legislation intended to strengthen state laws against human trafficking while working on a pro bono basis for a children’s advocacy organization
  • Represented electricity generation facility in multi-million dollar dispute concerning property insurance coverage for damage to one of the facility’s generators
  • Defended a large regional electric utility against a series of related securities fraud class actions and derivative suits
  • Prepared certain corporate policies and procedures for a Fortune 500 data-management company, and worked with its in-house legal department on the most effective method for implementing those policies
  • Successfully obtained a complete summary judgment in favor of a large corporate employer in a wrongful termination suit brought by one of its mid-level managers, and then persuaded the court of appeals to affirm that judgment
  • Played integral role on team of attorneys that conducted an internal investigation of alleged violations of data security laws by a Fortune 500 company
  • Successfully obtained a complete summary judgment for media company in a defamation action
  • Successfully obtained favorable precedent in the Ohio Supreme Court regarding public access to court records on behalf of a media company

Presentations

  • Co-speaker with Erika Birg et al., Class Certification in RICO Litigation:  Leveraging the New Reliance Standard, Stafford Continuing Legal Education (September 2009)
  • "The Reporter's Privilege and Unnamed News Sources," Panel Discussion, Dayton, Ohio (2005)

Publications

  • Co-Author, "After Bridge: RICO Class Actions at a Crossing," Class Action Watch (May 2009)
  • "Defining Due Process Down: Punitive Awards and Mandatory Arbitration of Securities Disputes," Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 15 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 207 (1999)