An accomplished trial lawyer, Darren Nicholson has been trying cases in state and federal courts for more than twenty years. After beginning his career at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington D.C., one of the country’s premier law firms, he returned to Dallas in 2008 and became a partner at the nationally-recognized trial boutique Sayles Werbner PC. Darren joined Burns Charest LLP in 2019 with one goal in mind – to help build one of the premier trial firms in the country.
Darren’s cases have been covered by The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and other publications. Currently, he is lead counsel for Parkland and other hospitals who have filed claims against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who caused the opioid epidemic. His past cases include successfully representing plaintiffs in a multi-million dollar lawsuit involving business fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and commercial bribery; obtaining a multi-million dollar jury verdict against Forgent Network for breach of a patent licensing agreement; and obtaining a favorable judgment in the Texas Ranger Baseball Partners bankruptcy for breach of contract, among many others.
Just as every case is different, so is every client. Whatever the case, Darren invests the time and effort to identify the client’s objectives and to tailor an aggressive strategy to achieve them – whether trying a case, negotiating a settlement, avoiding litigation, or pursuing another option entirely.
Honors
Best Lawyers in America, 2018-2024
Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, 2017-2023
Texas Super Lawyers, 2017-2023
Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2010-2015
Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
Barrister, Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, 2009-2012
Named “Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer” by Lawdragon (2022-2023)
Named “Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer” by Lawdragon (2022-2024)
Engagements
The Ethics of Witness Preparation and Presentation, State Bar of Texas, Sept. 2019
Turning the Tables—Offers of Judgment Under Federal Rule 68, Dallas Bar Association, Sept. 2015
Protecting Plaintiffs’ Wins from the IRS, Texas Lawyer, June 2014
Closing Arguments, Dallas Bar Association Trial Academy, Oct. 2012
Exclude the Opposing Expert Witness on Qualifications and Reliability, Dallas Bar Association, July 2010
The Ethics of Lawyer-Judge Interactions, presented to the Higginbotham Inn of Court, March 2010
Financial Institutions Fraud, 37 American Criminal Law Review 551, Spring 2000
Representative Cases
Mass Tort, Wrongful Death, Products Liability Cases:
• Dallas County Hospital District, d/b/a Parkland Health & Hospital System, et al. v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals, et al. – currently representing hospitals against the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers that caused the opioid epidemic.
• Powell, et al. v. Thornton Drilling, et al. – confidential settlement on the eve of trial for two minor children in a wrongful death case involving a West Texas oil rig.
• Artinger, et al. v. i3 Plastic Cards, et al. – substantial confidential settlement for a widow and minor child in a wrongful death case involving a workplace electrocution.
• In re Diet Drugs (Phentermine, Fenfluramine, Dexfenfluramine) Prods. Liab. Litig., No. MDL 1203 –representation of Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company in hundreds of product liability cases.
Complex Business Cases:
• AerReach, et al., v. Stanford, et al. – represented plaintiffs in a multi-million dollar business fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and commercial bribery case against multiple defendants.
• Paradigm Air v. Texas Rangers Baseball Partners – summary judgment recovery for client in breach-of-contract case stemming from the Texas Rangers Baseball Partners’ bankruptcy.
• Andrew Silver v. Tabletop Media, LLC d/b/a Ziosk – favorable settlement for defendant and counter-plaintiff in a breach of contract case involving a patent purchase agreement.
• A take-nothing judgment and an order sealing the case for a client wrongfully accused of fraud and tortious interference of a contract.
False Claims Act Cases:
• United States of America, ex rel. Haight v. RRSA (Commercial Division) LLC, et al. – currently representing relator in a False Claims Act case involving fraudulent small business subcontracting on military bases
• United States of America, ex rel. Haight Fisher, et al. v. Ocwen Loan Servicing – settlement of a major False Claims Act case against non-bank mortgage servicer where plaintiffs sought over $100 million in damages.
Intellectual Property Cases:
• Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc.,135 S.Ct. 1920 (2015) – favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling eliminating the defense of good-faith belief in invalidity to induced infringement claims.
• e-Lynxx Corporation v. Ariba – obtained significant patent licensing agreements in patent infringement lawsuit and development of licensing program.
Criminal Cases:
• U.S. v. Mahoney – acquittal on a seven-count indictment for a court-appointed client in Washington, D.C. Superior Court.
• U.S. v. Barry, et al. – favorable plea bargain and no jail time for a real estate agent indicted in a federal case involving mortgage fraud.
