David E. Warden is an internationally recognized expert in business litigation and arbitration, including patents and other intellectual property. He is a lawyer, arbitrator, engineer, adjunct professor, published author, and businessman.

Mr. Warden has tried many healthcare, energy, securities, and intellectual property business lawsuits for individual clients and entities, as well as mass actions and class actions, and is licensed as a patent attorney before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. He was a founding partner of his former firm Yetter Warden & Coleman LLP, and prior to that was a partner at Baker Botts LLP. Mr. Warden also has been appointed by federal courts as a special master and mediator in patent litigation, has served as an arbitrator in ICC and ad hoc arbitrations, and has served as class counsel in major class action cases.

He has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1989 by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has arbitrated cases under the auspices of ICC International Court of Arbitration (Paris) and American Arbitration Association (New York), and has conducted ad hoc arbitrations, both as counsel and as an arbitrator.

Mr. Warden is licensed to practice law in all Texas state courts, the U.S. District Courts in Texas, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been on the list of Texas Super Lawyers since 2003. He has been recognized by attorneys across the United States as one of the Best Lawyers in America from 2015 – 2025.

He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Purdue University. Before attending law school, Mr. Warden was an engineer and district production engineering supervisor for Exxon Company USA. He has been an adjunct professor in both engineering and economics at Rice University since 2006. He earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in 2019, focused on novel high energy radiation shielding applications. He speaks basic French, and is an instrument-rated pilot and a certified scuba diver.

Mr. Warden’s business activities include serving as vice president-corporate development for Excalibur Almaz U.S.A. from 2009 to 2011, and has been for over 15-years associated with various commercial space enterprises, including as founder and CEO of Black Moon Energy for the last two years. He was on the board of directors for Encore Bancshares Inc. and chaired its audit committee for seven years. He also served on the board of directors for InNexus Biotechnology Inc.; Industry Forum Lead, National Space Biomedical Research Institute; Chinese Community Center; and Board of Trustees for the Awty International School.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

During his legal career, Mr. Warden has represented:

• Limited partners in accounting fraud case against major accounting firm (2007)

• High-net-worth investors against major securities broker in fraud case arbitrations ($100 million settlement, 2006)

• Individuals in suit against major hospital and others for performing unnecessary heart surgeries ($420 million settlement, 2006)

• Video store franchisees in antitrust case against major motion picture studios ($28 million settlement, 2003)

• Major software developer in trade secret theft case (1998)

• Class of limited partners in fraud case against major hotel operator ($440 million settlement, 2000)

• Entities in Saudi Arabia and Yemen against major international oil company for breach of contract ($24 million settlement, 2000)

• First Toyota dealer in Texas in a case against franchisor ($6 million settlement, 1996)

• Major defense contractor in case involving “black program” technology for advanced fighter aircraft (1994)

• Major computer technology company in a case asserting patents for first single-chip microprocessor (1992)
• Major oil company in arbitration to determine fair market value of natural gas at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, under terms of Unit Agreement (1985)
• Mass action representing victimized children for fraudulent dental procedures (2015)
• Major bank in case asserting fraud in relation to CDOs and subprime mortgages (2018)
• Class actions asserting privacy violations regarding hospital websites (2023)
• Government investigation asserting fraudulent billing in connection with concurrently performed heart surgeries (2024).

REPORTED CASES

• Christus Health Gulf Coast v. Aetna, 2007 WL 2457803 (Tex.), 50 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1148 (2007
• Eddins v. Redstone, 35 Cal.Rptr.3d 863 (Cal.App. 2005)
• Wright v. Sage, 137 S.W.3d 238 (Tex. App. 2004)
• Cleveland v. Viacom Inc., 166 F.Supp.2d 535 (W.D. Tex. 2001)
• Bareford v. General Dynamics Corp., 973 F.2d 1138 (5th Cir. 1992)
• Hotvedt v. Schlumberger Ltd., 925 F.2d 119 (5th Cir. 1991), 914 F.2d 79 (5th Cir. 1990)
• Hernandez v. Houston Lighting & Power Co., 795 S.W.2d 775 (Tex. App. 1990)
• Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Wheelabrator Coal Servs. Co., 788 S.W.2d 933 (Tex. App. 1990)
• Southern Co. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Powell, 736 S.W.2d 745 (Tex. App. 1987)
• Kelly v. Lee, 736 S.W.2d 750 (Tex. App. 1987); CTS Corp. v. Dynamics Corp., 481 U.S. 69 (1987)

EDUCATION

• PhD, Rice University, mechanical engineering (2019)
• J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (1981) Order of the Coif
• B.S., Purdue University, engineering (1972)
• M.S., Purdue University, engineering (1973)

PUBLICATIONS, SPEECHES AND SEMINARS

• Miracle in Motion – Living a Purposeful Life (2017) (ISBN 978-0-8091-0647-9)
• ¡Tú eres el Milagro!, Paulist Press (2019).
• Consideration of Particle Wave Diffraction to Enhance Spacecraft Radiation Shielding, J Quant Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 246 (2020)
• Consideration of Backscatter Radiation from Galactic Cosmic Rays in Spacecraft Shielding Design, Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, (Feb. 25, 2021)
• “Lunar Mission Profiles for Commercial Space Operations,” 21st International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics (coauthor, October 2009)
• “Intellectual Property Litigation for Trial Lawyers,” University of Houston Law Foundation (2007)

• “Introduction to Intellectual Property Law,” Fudan University, Shanghai, China (2006)

• “Identifying, Preserving, and Defending Trade Secrets,” Journal of Petroleum Technology (2006)

• “Trade Secret and Intellectual Property Litigation In the USA,” Korean Bar Association, Seoul, Korea (2006)

• “Intellectual Property Litigation for Trial Lawyers,” University of Houston (2006)

• “Don’t Settle Your License Away,” 69 Texas Bar Journal 126 (2006)

• “Jury Testing & Selection in the USA,” Nagashima, Ohno & Tsunematsu, Tokyo, Japan (2005)

• “An Overview of Intellectual Property Litigation in the USA,” Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2004)

• “An Overview of Intellectual Property Litigation Issues,” University of Houston Law Foundation (2004)

• “U.S. Patent Practice: Principles and Particularities for the European Practitioner,” A.S.P.I., Paris (2004)

• “Corporate Governance and Litigation Issues,” Les Grandes Series Fonction Finances, Montreal (2002)

• “Trade Secrets and Patents: Comparison and Contrasts in Royalty Determination,” Les Nouvelles (2000)

• “How to Quantify Trade Secrets Theft,” Managing Intellectual Property (2000)

• “Trade Secret Protection for Software from Conception to Product,” National CLE Conference, Law Educational Institute Inc. (1999)

• “Intellectual Property Litigation: An Overview,” University of Houston Law Foundation (1998)

• “Punitive Damages: Preparing the Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s Case,” Litigation and Trial Tactics Seminar, University of Houston Law Foundation (1997)

IN THE NEWS

• More than half of AZA’s attorneys honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
• Ten AZA Lawyers Make 2023 Super Lawyers List; Two are Top in Texas 
• Twenty-Six AZA Lawyers Honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
• Nine AZA Lawyers On the Super Lawyers List; Two in Texas Top 100
• Ten AZA Lawyers Ranked among US Best for Commercial, Intellectual Property, Appellate and Personal Injury Litigation for 2023
• Ten AZA Lawyers Make Super Lawyers List; Four Rank among Top 100 
• Twelve AZA Lawyers Ranked among US Best for Commercial, Intellectual Property, Personal Injury Litigation and Appellate Law for 2022 
• AZA Earns Texas Super Lawyers Honors; Three Make Top 100 Lists 
• AZA Trial Lawyers Among Nation’s Best for Commercial, Intellectual Property Litigation and Appellate Law for 2021 
• Texas Super Lawyers Again Honors Seven AZA Lawyers; Three Are Top 100
• 9 AZA Lawyers Again Named Among Nation’s Best for Commercial, Patent Litigation
• AZA’s Jane Langdell Robinson Earns Prestigious Civil Appellate Law Certification
• AZA Wins Sanctions Order Against Wells Fargo in Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Houston’s AZA Wins Client Choice – Texas IP Law Firm of the Year Honors
• NY Judge Upholds Fraud Claims Against Wells Fargo, Fortis in $1.5 Billion Subprime Mortgage-Backed Securities Case
• Houston Law Boutique AZA Wins International Intellectual Property Client Choice Award
• European Bank LBBW Sues Wells Fargo Over Alleged $1.5 Billion Securities Fraud
• Houston Complex Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Firm AZA Helps Client Move Patent Case to Home State
• Houston Litigation Boutique AZA Again Earns ‘Best Law Firms’ National Ranking