Jane Langdell Robinson

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Jane Langdell Robinson

Partner

P: 713-600-4916
F: 713-655-0062
jrobinson@azalaw.com
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Jane Langdell Robinson leads AZA’s appellate practice group. Ms. Robinson offers extensive experience in state and federal appeals, having represented clients in mandamus proceedings, interlocutory appeals, and appeals of final judgments in Texas and other state appellate courts as well as numerous federal circuits, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the United States Supreme Court. Trial lawyers often rely on Ms. Robinson for legal analysis and strategy in complex civil matters as well as error preservation, trial consulting, and dispositive motions.

Ms. Robinson has been a co-author of O’Connor’s Texas Rules * Civil Trials, the premiere civil trial rules guide for Texas lawyers and judges, since 2018. She is also recognized in the Best Lawyers in America and Texas Super Lawyers for her appellate work.

Ms. Robinson has been board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2016. She has argued appeals before the Texas Supreme Court, Texas intermediate appellate courts, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Robinson has also prepared several amicus curiae briefs in state and federal court.

Ms. Robinson has extensive litigation experience in state and federal courts, including complex contract and commercial disputes and matters involving trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.

Ms. Robinson enjoys engagement in the bar and in her community. She serves on the boards of directors for the Montrose Center and the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists (TACTAS), on the Council of the Houston Bar Association’s Appellate Section, on the HBA LGBTQ+ Committee, and on Lambda Legal’s Houston Leadership Committee. Ms. Robinson is a member of the Texas Bar Foundation, the Houston Bar Foundation, and the Texas Bar College. Ms. Robinson also volunteers for the Houston Food Bank’s Senior Box delivery program.

Some of Ms. Robinson’s recent CLE presentations and papers include:

October 2022: The Janes—Today’s Post-Roe Reality (Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association CLE)
October 2022: Trans & Other LGBTQ+ Children in Custody Evaluations (Texas Association of Domestic Relations Officers CLE)
June 2022: 2 Years After Bostock: LGBTQ+ Plaintiffs in Employment Cases (Houston Bar Association Labor & Employment Section CLE)
May 2022: Recent Developments in Anti-Discrimination Law for Transgender People (University of Texas CLE)
February 2022: Texas Supreme Court Procedures and Update (Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association)
December 2021: Equal Protection for Transgender People (Texas Bar Journal)
September 2021: Supreme Court of Texas Update (Texas Lawbook)

Before joining AZA in 2007, Ms. Robinson worked at Baker Botts in Houston, Sheppard Mullin in Los Angeles, and Smith Anderson in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ms. Robinson is admitted in Texas, California, North Carolina (inactive), all Texas federal courts, federal district courts in North Carolina, California, and Michigan, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the Fifth, Ninth, and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Robinson graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1995 and with honors from Duke University School of Law in 1998.

Some of Ms. Robinson’s recent CLE presentations and papers include:

October 2022: The Janes—Today’s Post-Roe Reality (Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association CLE)
October 2022: Trans & Other LGBTQ+ Children in Custody Evaluations (Texas Association of Domestic Relations Officers CLE)
June 2022: 2 Years After Bostock: LGBTQ+ Plaintiffs in Employment Cases (Houston Bar Association Labor & Employment Section CLE)
May 2022: Recent Developments in Anti-Discrimination Law for Transgender People (University of Texas CLE)
February 2022: Texas Supreme Court Procedures and Update (Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association)
December 2021: Equal Protection for Transgender People (Texas Bar Journal)
September 2021: Supreme Court of Texas Update (Texas Lawbook)

Before joining AZA in 2007, Ms. Robinson worked at Baker Botts in Houston, Sheppard Mullin in Los Angeles, and Smith Anderson in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ms. Robinson graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1995 and with honors from Duke University School of Law in 1998.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Won a $62.65 million verdict from a Nevada jury in a nationally watched case for emergency room physician group clients who were underpaid by United Healthcare, the largest insurer in the nation. The jury in this seven-week trial unanimously found malice, oppression, and fraud in the underpayment of the doctors. This verdict against a cluster of United Healthcare affiliates will serve as a bellwether for more than two dozen similar cases around the nation against various insurers.
Successfully represented emergency room physicians in obtaining a $19.1 million Houston jury verdict against a large insurance company in the first case in the nation to litigate emergency room physicians’ out-of-network pay from private insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act.
Successfully briefed and argued mandamus petition before Texas Supreme Court and obtained first-ever recognition of privilege for communications between patent agents and their clients in a state appellate court.
Successfully defended appeal of summary judgment for client in employment discrimination case.
Won appeal for officer of business who had been held personally liable on a corporate debt under a Tax Code provision.
Successfully opposed petition for writ of mandamus in Federal Circuit seeking to reverse district court’s denial of motion to transfer venue.
Led briefing and argument of successful judgment as a matter of law on trademark infringement claim against our client after eight-day federal jury trial.
Successfully obtained summary judgment in copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit on behalf of outdoors magazine.
Won appeal and obtained attorneys’ fees award on behalf of whistle-blower client before federal Administrative Review Board.
Argued and briefed critical aspects of successful motion for summary judgment in complex Uniform Commercial Code Article 2 case in Delaware bankruptcy court.
Obtained dismissal for failure to state a claim of multiple counts in favor of client in trademark lawsuit brought in Southern District of New York.
Represented the American Automobile Association (AAA) in multiple trademark actions against infringers.
Successfully obtained dismissal of federal discrimination lawsuit on behalf of three Fortune-500 companies based in Houston.
Represented major telecommunications equipment company in briefing and arguing monopolization claim against a competitor in arbitration resulting in favorable award for client.
Briefed and obtained temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in bet-the-company case for major provider of healthcare analytics threatened with loss of critical data source.
Apache Corp. v. Davis, 627 S.W.3d 324 (Tex. 2021) (successful appeal on behalf of an employer defending against an employment discrimination claim)
In re Molina Healthcare, Inc., No. 01-20-00582-CV, 2021 WL 2096727 (Tex. 2021) (successful defense of mandamus petition seeking to prevent compelled disclosure of documents claimed to be privileged)
Wagner v. Apache Corporation, 627 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. 2021) (successfully argued on behalf of Apache before Texas Supreme Court to compel arbitration pursuant to parties’ contract)
In re Silver, 540 S.W.3d 530 (Tex. 2018) (successful petition for writ of mandamus recognizing privilege for confidential communications between patent agents and their clients)
Okpere v. National Oilwell Varco, L.P., 524 S.W.3d 818 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, pet. denied) (successfully defended summary judgment granted for client in employment discrimination case)
Gessner Engineering, LLC v. St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Monastery, Inc., 507 S.W.3d 865 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, pet. denied)
Willis v. BPMT, LLC, 471 S.W.3d 27 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015, no pet.) (successful appeal for officer of business who had been held personally liable on a corporate debt under a Tax Code provision)
Plains Gas Solutions, LLC v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, 47 F. Supp. 3d 701 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (remand to state court of action which defendants removed based on allegation of federal jurisdiction under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act on behalf of client Plains Gas Solutions)
Bowers v. ConocoPhillips Co. et al., 2014 WL 2949446 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (dismissal of plaintiff’s discrimination claim on behalf of three defendants)
Stutts v. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, 2014 WL 1572736 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (summary judgment on behalf of client Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine in copyright infringement action)
Sentinel Integrity Solutions, Inc. v. Mistras Group, Inc., 2012 WL 2994661 (S.D. Tex. 2012) (judgment as a matter of law in favor of client Mistras Group, Inc. on Sentinel’s trademark infringement claim)
In re Crown Vantage, Inc., 2007 WL 128009 (N.D. Cal. 2007) (partial summary judgment on behalf of client Fort James Corporation)
ConAgra Feed Co. Higgins, 200 F.R.D. 265 (W.D.N.C. 2001) (judgment against defendant, dismissal of defendant’s counterclaim, and award of fees as sanction against defendant on behalf of client ConAgra in breach of contract case)

IN THE NEWS

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Won a $62.65 million verdict from a Nevada jury in a nationally watched case for emergency room physician group clients who were underpaid by United Healthcare, the largest insurer in the nation. The jury in this seven-week trial unanimously found malice, oppression, and fraud in the underpayment of the doctors. This verdict against a cluster of United Healthcare affiliates will serve as a bellwether for more than two dozen similar cases around the nation against various insurers.
Successfully represented emergency room physicians in obtaining a $19.1 million Houston jury verdict against a large insurance company in the first case in the nation to litigate emergency room physicians’ out-of-network pay from private insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act.
Successfully briefed and argued mandamus petition before Texas Supreme Court and obtained first-ever recognition of privilege for communications between patent agents and their clients in a state appellate court.
Successfully defended appeal of summary judgment for client in employment discrimination case.
Won appeal for officer of business who had been held personally liable on a corporate debt under a Tax Code provision.
Successfully opposed petition for writ of mandamus in Federal Circuit seeking to reverse district court’s denial of motion to transfer venue.
Led briefing and argument of successful judgment as a matter of law on trademark infringement claim against our client after eight-day federal jury trial.
Successfully obtained summary judgment in copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit on behalf of outdoors magazine.
Won appeal and obtained attorneys’ fees award on behalf of whistle-blower client before federal Administrative Review Board.
Argued and briefed critical aspects of successful motion for summary judgment in complex Uniform Commercial Code Article 2 case in Delaware bankruptcy court.
Obtained dismissal for failure to state a claim of multiple counts in favor of client in trademark lawsuit brought in Southern District of New York.
Represented the American Automobile Association (AAA) in multiple trademark actions against infringers.
Successfully obtained dismissal of federal discrimination lawsuit on behalf of three Fortune-500 companies based in Houston.
Represented major telecommunications equipment company in briefing and arguing monopolization claim against a competitor in arbitration resulting in favorable award for client.
Briefed and obtained temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in bet-the-company case for major provider of healthcare analytics threatened with loss of critical data source.
Apache Corp. v. Davis, 627 S.W.3d 324 (Tex. 2021) (successful appeal on behalf of an employer defending against an employment discrimination claim)
In re Molina Healthcare, Inc., No. 01-20-00582-CV, 2021 WL 2096727 (Tex. 2021) (successful defense of mandamus petition seeking to prevent compelled disclosure of documents claimed to be privileged)
Wagner v. Apache Corporation, 627 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. 2021) (successfully argued on behalf of Apache before Texas Supreme Court to compel arbitration pursuant to parties’ contract)
In re Silver, 540 S.W.3d 530 (Tex. 2018) (successful petition for writ of mandamus recognizing privilege for confidential communications between patent agents and their clients)
Okpere v. National Oilwell Varco, L.P., 524 S.W.3d 818 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, pet. denied) (successfully defended summary judgment granted for client in employment discrimination case)
Gessner Engineering, LLC v. St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Monastery, Inc., 507 S.W.3d 865 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, pet. denied)
Willis v. BPMT, LLC, 471 S.W.3d 27 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015, no pet.) (successful appeal for officer of business who had been held personally liable on a corporate debt under a Tax Code provision)
Plains Gas Solutions, LLC v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, 47 F. Supp. 3d 701 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (remand to state court of action which defendants removed based on allegation of federal jurisdiction under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act on behalf of client Plains Gas Solutions)
Bowers v. ConocoPhillips Co. et al., 2014 WL 2949446 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (dismissal of plaintiff’s discrimination claim on behalf of three defendants)
Stutts v. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, 2014 WL 1572736 (S.D. Tex. 2014) (summary judgment on behalf of client Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine in copyright infringement action)
Sentinel Integrity Solutions, Inc. v. Mistras Group, Inc., 2012 WL 2994661 (S.D. Tex. 2012) (judgment as a matter of law in favor of client Mistras Group, Inc. on Sentinel’s trademark infringement claim)
In re Crown Vantage, Inc., 2007 WL 128009 (N.D. Cal. 2007) (partial summary judgment on behalf of client Fort James Corporation)
ConAgra Feed Co. Higgins, 200 F.R.D. 265 (W.D.N.C. 2001) (judgment against defendant, dismissal of defendant’s counterclaim, and award of fees as sanction against defendant on behalf of client ConAgra in breach of contract case)

IN THE NEWS