pschlaud@reevesbrightwell.com
512.334.4504   |   512.334.4492 (fax)

Paul's practice focuses on defending class actions and complex litigation in federal and state court.  Paul graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.  After law school, Paul clerked for the Honorable Merrick Garland, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Since that time, Paul has been a general commercial litigator handling a wide variety of matters, first at Vinson & Elkins and later as a founding partner at Reeves & Brightwell.  Paul has significant experience defending class actions in federal court, as well as litigating major business cases including commercial fraud and high tech contract disputes.  Paul has argued cases before the the Fifth and Ninth Circuits and the New Mexico Supreme Court.  Throughout his career, Paul has been involved in pro bono matters and has a particular interest in cases relating to religious freedom and religious rights.  Paul is a member of the American Law Institute and has been selected as a Texas Monthly Texas Rising Star every year since 2006.

Representative Matters

• Lead counsel defending a class action alleging violations of California consumer law
• Represented client on nationwide basis with respect to enforcement of its consumer terms and conditions’ arbitration obligations
• Secured dismissal in federal court of a lawsuit against an eminent physicist seeking adjudication of a scientific dispute
• Defended consumer class actions in California, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Washington state
• Lead counsel securing dismissal of putative class action in California alleging client sold defective computers
• Part of appellate team that successfullly represented Native American elementary student in religious freedom action against Texas school district
• Represented local inventor in tortious interference and fraud action involving client's patented invention
• Lead counsel for major insurance company in civil and administrative action against a health care provider leading to a settlement
• Lead counsel, secured dismissal of federal case alleging negligence against a manufacturer in federal court in Florida
• Lead counsel, secured dismissal of a case in federal court involving allegation of RICO and civil rights violations, affirmed by 11th Circuit
• Represented photomask manufacturer in breach of contract action in Pennsylvania and Texas state courts
• Defended software company in copyright infringement lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts
• Prosecuted business fraud case involving a large commercial real estate acquisition
• Assisted in the representation of media clients in a variety of disputes including alleged violations of state and federal wiretap statutes and invasion of privacy
• Successfully represented a major Texas university in a dispute involving the eligibility of a student-athlete

Harvard Law Review, Editor and Supreme Court Co-Chair

The University of Texas, B.A. in psychology with highest honors, 1996

Admitted to practice:
Texas, 1999; U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th, 9^th, and 11^th Circuits; U.S. District Court for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas

Law clerk to the Honorable Judge Merrick B. Garland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 1999-2000

Assisted on Texas Supreme Court Task Force on Civil Litigation, 2001

Member, American Law Institute

Publications
The Corporate Response To Discovery: Surviving Litigation and Discovery in an Electronic Age, Texas Advanced Paralegal Seminar September 21-23, 2005, Austin, Texas (Co-Authored with Tracy Holland, Dell Inc.)

Criminal Law - Federal Sentencing Guidelines - Third Circuit Holds That Volitional Impairments Can Support Claim of Diminished Mental Capacity - United States v. McBroom, 124 F.3d 533 (3rd Cir. 1997), 111 Harv. L. Rev. 1122 (1997)