Kevin Leyendecker

Partner

Kevin Leyendecker

Partner

  • P: 713-600-4961
  • F: 713-655-0062
  • kleyendecker@azalaw.com
  • vCard

Kevin Leyendecker is a trial lawyer with 30 years of experience trying cases to jury verdict in state and federal courts, as well as before arbitration panels. Kevin has tried over 30 cases to verdict – including successfully defending cases involving individuals and companies that sought hundreds of millions in personal injury and commercial damages and defeating class action claims that sought billions in damages. Kevin has obtained seven, eight and nine figure verdicts and arbitration awards. And he has recovered over $1 billion in settlements on behalf of individual and corporate clients together with his joint venture partners in a wide variety of consumer, fraud, contract and personal injury matters.

Kevin relishes learning a case from the ground up and sets a standard to know the facts better than everyone else involved, including the clients. Since joining AZA in 2013, Kevin’s trial practice has flourished alongside his AZA colleagues and he is now eligible to sit for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law. Kevin has been selected by his peers for The Best Lawyers in America. He was also named by Lawdragon among the 500 top litigators in the nation who they call “the advisors you want to send into battle.”

Many of the firm’s clients routinely insist that Kevin take an active day to day role and be part of the trial team on their most significant cases. Here are some snippets of what some of those clients say about Kevin.

“Kevin is the total package. He drills down and learns the important details, understands what’s important and what’s not and is a master in persuading judges and juries.” General counsel of Fortune 500 company.

“He can come across as a bit rough around the edges, but Kevin is a hell of a trial lawyer and I would not go to trial without him.” CEO of one of the Nation’s most successful financial advisory firms.

“When we get sued, one of the first questions we discuss in the legal department is whether ‘we need to go full Leyendecker on them.” Chief Litigation Counsel of one of the firm’s major Oilfield Service companies.

“Kevin is as sharp as they come.  As a trial attorney and counselor, Kevin can be counted on to provide sage advice, act quickly, fiercely litigate, and yet also provide reassuring advice during uncertain times.  I highly recommend Kevin and his team at AZA.” General counsel of the Nation’s market leader in prepaid legal contracts.

Although he loves trying cases, Kevin also takes great pride and joy in mentoring AZA’s young associates. He is regularly the most sought-after mentor and routinely takes on unofficial mentees in addition to the those formally assigned to him.

Kevin also serves as outside general counsel for energy companies located in and around Houston, Texas. And on occasion, Kevin has handled appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th circuit and various Texas state appellate courts.

He obtained both his law and undergraduate (McCombs School of Business) degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

On a personal level, now that his youth coaching days are over, and parents’ weekends in College Station and Austin have come to a close, Kevin looks forward to spending time with his family and friends at their ranch in South Texas and second home in Wimberley.

Kevin Leyendecker is a trial lawyer with 30 years of experience trying cases to jury verdict in state and federal courts, as well as before arbitration panels. Kevin has tried over 30 cases to verdict – including successfully defending cases involving individuals and companies that sought hundreds of millions in personal injury and commercial damages and defeating class action claims that sought billions in damages. Kevin has obtained seven, eight and nine figure verdicts and arbitration awards. And he has recovered over $1 billion in settlements on behalf of individual and corporate clients together with his joint venture partners in a wide variety of consumer, fraud, contract and personal injury matters.

Kevin relishes learning a case from the ground up and sets a standard to know the facts better than everyone else involved, including the clients. Since joining AZA in 2013, Kevin’s trial practice has flourished alongside his AZA colleagues and he is now eligible to sit for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law. Kevin has been selected by his peers for The Best Lawyers in America. He was also named by Lawdragon among the 500 top litigators in the nation who they call “the advisors you want to send into battle.”

Many of the firm’s clients routinely insist that Kevin take an active day to day role and be part of the trial team on their most significant cases. Here are some snippets of what some of those clients say about Kevin.

“Kevin is the total package. He drills down and learns the important details, understands what’s important and what’s not and is a master in persuading judges and juries.” General counsel of Fortune 500 company.

“He can come across as a bit rough around the edges, but Kevin is a hell of a trial lawyer and I would not go to trial without him.” CEO of one of the Nation’s most successful financial advisory firms.

“When we get sued, one of the first questions we discuss in the legal department is whether ‘we need to go full Leyendecker on them.” Chief Litigation Counsel of one of the firm’s major Oilfield Service companies.

“Kevin is as sharp as they come.  As a trial attorney and counselor, Kevin can be counted on to provide sage advice, act quickly, fiercely litigate, and yet also provide reassuring advice during uncertain times.  I highly recommend Kevin and his team at AZA.” General counsel of the Nation’s market leader in prepaid legal contracts.

Although he loves trying cases, Kevin also takes great pride and joy in mentoring AZA’s young associates. He is regularly the most sought-after mentor and routinely takes on unofficial mentees in addition to the those formally assigned to him.

Kevin also serves as outside general counsel for energy companies located in and around Houston, Texas. And on occasion, Kevin has handled appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th circuit and various Texas state appellate courts.

He obtained both his law and undergraduate (McCombs School of Business) degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

On a personal level, now that his youth coaching days are over, and parents’ weekends in College Station and Austin have come to a close, Kevin looks forward to spending time with his family and friends at their ranch in South Texas and second home in Wimberley.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

  • In 2023, Kevin obtained $153 million unanimous arbitration award on behalf of a healthcare provider against one of the largest healthcare companies in America.
  • In 2022, Mr. Leyendecker successfully tried a dispute between two large oilfield services companies and obtained a multimillion-dollar award on behalf of his client as a result of the loss of over $2 million worth of downhole tools and unpaid services. The award also included a take nothing finding against his opponent for the millions of dollars sought in counterclaims as a result of the sidetracked well.
  • In 2021, Mr. Leyendecker 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.
  • In January 2020, Mr. Leyendecker defended a large oilfield service company in connection with a blowout that resulted in the tragic loss of five lives. After settling with all other defendants, the case proceeded to trial on behalf of two of the families, who sought in excess of $200 million in damages. The jury awarded a small fraction of the amount sought and apportioned 10% of the liability against his client.
  • In 2020 during the peak of the pandemic, Mr. Leyendecker and his AZA colleagues won a $9.4 million jury verdict against an Arkansas insurance company in a breach-of-contract case in which the insurance company grossly underpaid emergency room doctors. Mr. Leyendecker and his AZA colleagues were hired six days before trial. The verdict was in the 2020 Top 100 Verdicts as calculated by Verdict Search. It is also a 2020 Top 10 Verdict nationally for the year.
  • In 2019, Mr. Leyendecker successfully tried a dispute and obtained a take nothing award against a multinational exploration and production company that sought in excess of $150 million in damages. The E&P company asserted claims for negligence and breach of warranty against his client in connection with the installation and use of the company’s gathering lines throughout the Eagle Ford.
  • In 2019, Mr. Leyendecker won a jury verdict in Crockett, Texas against an insurance company in a first party case arising out of the insurer’s breach of the insurance contract.
  • In 2018, Mr. Leyendecker won a jury verdict on behalf of his oilfield service company client who sought damages as a result of another oilfield service company’s theft and unlawful copying of his client’s geosteering software and hardware.
  • In 2017, Mr. Leyendecker defeated a class action in which the plaintiffs sought in excess of $5 billion in statutory damages under the Texas Civil Barratry statute. Undeterred, the two representative plaintiffs later sought to recover in excess of $500,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Mr. Leyendecker tried that claim to a jury in 2018 and obtained a verdict that resulted in a small fraction of the amount sought.
  • In 2016, following two jury verdicts in New York in 2014 and 2015, Mr. Leyendecker and his joint venture partners recovered in excess of $45 million for 2,700 children who endured abusive treatment at dental clinics owned and operated by the Small Smiles¹ dental chain.
  • Kevin tried his first case to a jury in 1994. The trial resulted in an award of actual and punitive damages against a home warranty company and the verdict led to $2.75 million in settlements on behalf of several dozen homeowners.

EDUCATION

  • JD, University of Texas at Austin, 1992
  • BBA, University of Texas at Austin, 1989

ADMISSIONS

  • State Bar of Texas, 1992
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

IN THE NEWS

REPRESENTATIVE CASES
  • In 2023, Kevin obtained $153 million unanimous arbitration award on behalf of a healthcare provider against one of the largest healthcare companies in America.
  • In 2022, Mr. Leyendecker successfully tried a dispute between two large oilfield services companies and obtained a multimillion-dollar award on behalf of his client as a result of the loss of over $2 million worth of downhole tools and unpaid services. The award also included a take nothing finding against his opponent for the millions of dollars sought in counterclaims as a result of the sidetracked well.
  • In 2021, Mr. Leyendecker 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.
  • In January 2020, Mr. Leyendecker defended a large oilfield service company in connection with a blowout that resulted in the tragic loss of five lives. After settling with all other defendants, the case proceeded to trial on behalf of two of the families, who sought in excess of $200 million in damages. The jury awarded a small fraction of the amount sought and apportioned 10% of the liability against his client.
  • In 2020 during the peak of the pandemic, Mr. Leyendecker and his AZA colleagues won a $9.4 million jury verdict against an Arkansas insurance company in a breach-of-contract case in which the insurance company grossly underpaid emergency room doctors. Mr. Leyendecker and his AZA colleagues were hired six days before trial. The verdict was in the 2020 Top 100 Verdicts as calculated by Verdict Search. It is also a 2020 Top 10 Verdict nationally for the year.
  • In 2019, Mr. Leyendecker successfully tried a dispute and obtained a take nothing award against a multinational exploration and production company that sought in excess of $150 million in damages. The E&P company asserted claims for negligence and breach of warranty against his client in connection with the installation and use of the company’s gathering lines throughout the Eagle Ford.
  • In 2019, Mr. Leyendecker won a jury verdict in Crockett, Texas against an insurance company in a first party case arising out of the insurer’s breach of the insurance contract.
  • In 2018, Mr. Leyendecker won a jury verdict on behalf of his oilfield service company client who sought damages as a result of another oilfield service company’s theft and unlawful copying of his client’s geosteering software and hardware.
  • In 2017, Mr. Leyendecker defeated a class action in which the plaintiffs sought in excess of $5 billion in statutory damages under the Texas Civil Barratry statute. Undeterred, the two representative plaintiffs later sought to recover in excess of $500,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Mr. Leyendecker tried that claim to a jury in 2018 and obtained a verdict that resulted in a small fraction of the amount sought.
  • In 2016, following two jury verdicts in New York in 2014 and 2015, Mr. Leyendecker and his joint venture partners recovered in excess of $45 million for 2,700 children who endured abusive treatment at dental clinics owned and operated by the Small Smiles¹ dental chain.
  • Kevin tried his first case to a jury in 1994. The trial resulted in an award of actual and punitive damages against a home warranty company and the verdict led to $2.75 million in settlements on behalf of several dozen homeowners.
EDUCATION
  • JD, University of Texas at Austin, 1992
  • BBA, University of Texas at Austin, 1989
ADMISSIONS
  • State Bar of Texas, 1992
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

1221 McKinney St, Suite 2500, Houston, TX 77010 | (713) 655-1101
© 2024  Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing All rights reserved.

Site by Androvett

1221 McKinney St, Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77010
(713) 655-1101

© 2024 All rights reserved.

Top

Send this to friend