George Mason to Host Mock Supreme Court Argument With Gardere Litigation Chair Richard Faulk

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr. 6, 2012 - HOUSTON –Richard O. Faulk, Chair of the Litigation Department ofGardere Wynne Sewell LLP, will serve as Respondents’ counsel presenting a fervent caseagainst judicial review during a mock U.S. Supreme Court argument on climate change tort liability scheduled forApril 10 at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va.

At issue will be two critical arguments from Native Village of Kivalina v ExxonMobil Corporation, namely, (1) whether plaintiffs in cases such as Kivalina have standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to pursue public nuisance claims under federal common law for damages allegedly caused by certain defendants’ “contributions” to global warming, and (2) whether such claims present non-justiciable “political questions” reserved to the Executive or Legislative branches of government.

Arguments will be presented before a highly credentialed panel of judges, including:former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, a partner at Bancroft PLLC;former federal appellate judge and current President of Baylor University Ken Starr; and Environmental Law Institute President John Cruden.

The event will highlight issues of tort liability, and will also serve as a learning opportunity for attorneys who will benefit from seeing and hearing unscripted arguments that are designed to mimic actual Supreme Court proceedings as closely as possible.

“The George Mason event promises to be extraordinarily informative and challenging,” says Mr. Faulk.  “The addition of Paul Clement to our judicial panel adds the perspective of yet another highly experienced Supreme Court advocate – and we anticipate that the argument will be exceptionally difficult.”

Mr. Faulk recently went toe-to-toe with David Axelrad of Horvitz & Levy LLP at the University of Houston Law Center during a similar mock U.S. Supreme Court Argument conducted on Jan. 19. Video of the complete event is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LPIwdNiVfE.




Please email jsmithQ@gmu.edu to RSVP or visithttp://www.masonlec.org/events/mock-supreme-court-argumen... for additional information. Advanced registration is required.

In addition to his litigation work, Mr. Faulk also is Chair of the Firm’s Environmental Practice and Co-Chair of the Firm's Appellate Practice. He was one of the first Texas lawyers certified as a specialist in federal and state appellate practice in 1987. He was the only environmental attorney included in the 2011 Texas Super Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers in Houston listing and has been recognized as a "Leading Lawyer in Environmental Law" by Chambers USA for his "expertise in all types of environmental litigation, and in particular for his experience in toxic tort litigation."

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of corporate, litigation, energy, tax, real estate, financial services, government affairs, hospitality, intellectual property, labor and employment, and environmental.For more information, contact Kristin Butler at 214.999.4843 or kbutler@gardere.com.