Michael J. Mazzone is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and has tried numerous jury and nonjury cases in both state and federal court.  

He is licensed to practice in Texas, Massachusetts and North Dakota, as well as in all of the federal courts in Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court, and he has tried cases in Louisiana and New Mexico in addition to Texas.  

Michael frequently represents energy companies in environmental contamination, indemnity, and toxic tort cases. He also represents parties in construction litigation and arbitration as well as real estate development disputes.

Michael has also handled appeals in a number of reported cases including a takings case that reached the United States Supreme Court.

Michael is also an arbitrator and an advocate in arbitration matters. He has presided over numerous arbitration matters and, as a member of the American Arbitration Association's National Panel of Arbitrators, is regularly called on to preside over arbitrations.

Michael has given speeches and presented papers on trial advocacy, arbitration, and litigation at oil and gas industry conferences, bar association seminars, the Texas Environmental Superconference, and the University of Texas Law School. Michael has also been a speaker at the AAA's National and Regional Panel Retreats, seminars providing training to AAA arbitrators.

For five years, Michael taught in the trial advocacy program at the University of Houston Law School as an adjunct professor of law, and he has served on the Editorial Board of the Houston Lawyer magazine, a publication of the Houston Bar Association.

Michael was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration in 1977 from the University of South Carolina, and he attended graduate school at the University of Michigan. He obtained his law degree in 1983 from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, finishing in the top 10 percent of his class.

Recent Trials/Arbitrations

• Hazel Savoie, 38th Judicial District Court, Cameron Parish, Louisiana: Represented at trial a major energy company in "legacy" lawsuit brought by a landowner claiming property damages from an oil field pit. Posttrial proceedings are pending.
• Jesco Operating, LP, 165th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas: Represented at trial energy company and pipeline owner in lawsuit by pipeline contractor claiming its business was destroyed by nonpayment of invoices. At trial, plaintiff sought to recover the value of its business and other damages. The jury returned a verdict for the defense.
• Gordon Westergren, 269th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas: Represented at trial the developer of the Port Crossing railserved industrial park in a lawsuit by a plaintiff who claimed an ownership interest in the project. After trial, the court entered a judgment for the developer on all of plaintiff's claims. The court also entered a judgment for the developer against the plaintiff's partnership for all of the developer's attorneys' fees and other costs of defense.
• Concepcion Acosta, 5th Judicial District, Lea County, New Mexico: Represented at trial a major energy company in lawsuit by approximately 200 plaintiffs who claimed that a tank battery/oil storage facility in their neighborhood caused personal injuries and property damages. At trial, plaintiffs sought over $54 million dollars for nine "trial plaintiffs." The jury returned a defense verdict on all issues.
• Conroe Express Concrete, 410th Judicial District Court, Montgomery County, Texas: Represented at trial a national homebuilder in a breach of contract and warranty lawsuit against concrete supplier. Foundations of a number of homes built with the supplied concrete failed. The jury returned a verdict for the builder against the concrete supplier and the court entered a judgment on the verdict.
• EDI Architecture, Inc., International Arbitration Association: Represented architectural firm in dispute with contractor over project in Luanda, Angola. Resolved by settlement prior to final hearing.
• Darr Angell, U. S. District Court for the District of New Mexico: Represented at trial a major energy company in lawsuit by a landowner for environmental damages and injunctive relief. Claims against the company were dismissed (with prejudice) after crossexamination of Plaintiff’s witnesses. No money was paid.
• Jeanie R. Carter, 214th Judicial District Court, Nueces County, Texas: Represented at trial a major energy company in lawsuit brought by approximately 40 families who claimed that a refinery waste disposal pit in their neighborhood caused personal injuries and property damages. Before trial, plaintiffs dropped their personal injury claims. At trial, plaintiffs sought in excess of $170 million dollars for six "trial plaintiff" families. The jury returned a verdict for the company, and the untried claims of the remaining plaintiff families were settled for a token sum.

Recent Publications/Presentations

• "In-House from the Inside," conference cochair, Corporate Counsel Institute, Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, September 14, 2012.
• "Too Much at Stake to Shut Down Fracing," Oil & Gas Financial Journal, August 10, 2012.
• "Hydraulic Fracturing Litigation," 58th Annual Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute, July 1921, 2012, Newport Beach, California.
• "Non-Technical Risks in Projects and Other Developments," program developer and moderator, The General Counsel Forum, Houston Chapter 3rd Quarterly Event, June 20, 2012, Houston, Texas.
• "An Analysis of Fracking Developments," panelist, Haynes and Boone Webinar, March 8, 2012.
• "Changing Times Bring Conflict With Surface Owners," The American Oil and Gas Reporter, December 6, 2011.
• "Recent Litigation Related to Oil and Gas Drilling," Better Than Barnett: New Developments in the Legal and Regulatory Issues in the Eagle Ford Shale, October 18, 2011, Houston, Texas.
• "Oilfield Litigation: 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas,'" 23rd Annual Texas Environmental Superconference, August 4-5, 2011, Austin, Texas.
• "American Law and Jurisprudence on Fracing," with Thomas Kurth, Mary Mendoza, and Christopher Kulander, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2, 2010.
• "Hydraulic Fracturing – The Legal Issues," Texas Environmental Law Journal’s First Annual Symposium: The Legal and Environmental Impacts of Extracting Gas from Shale, October 29, 2010, Austin, Texas.
• "Hydraulic Fracturing – The Legal Issues," 3rd Annual Unconventional Gas International Conference, October 57, 2010, Fort Worth, Texas.
• "Current Operating Regulations and Future Trends," ALM’s 9th Annual Gas Shales Summit, June 23, 2010, Houston, Texas.
• "Assessing the Claims Asserted in the Global Warming Debate," presented to the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, January 10, 2010.
• "Asserting Contrary Policy Arguments in 'Public Policy' Litigation," coauthor, Trials and Tribulations, newsletter of DRI Trial Tactics Committee, Spring 2009.
• "Climate Change Risk," 80th Annual Meeting, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association, Santa Fe, NM, October 2008.
• "Actions Reduce Climate Change Risks," The American Oil & Gas Reporter, September 2008.
• "Climate Change," SPE-Hobbs Section and SPE-Environmental Study Group of Midland, Hobbs, NM, April 2008.
• "Practical Issues in Commercial Arbitration Agreements," Fort Bend County Bar Association, October 2007 and Houston Bar Association, January 2007.
• "Climate Change and the Law," 79th Annual Meeting, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association, Santa Fe, NM, October 2007.
• "Standing in Environmental Property Damage Cases," coauthor, Ethical Principles for Corporate Counsel, Houston, January 2006
• Ch. 28 (Torts) of Vol. 46 (Environmental Law) of Texas Practice Series, West, 2005.
• "Prosecute, Never Defend – How to Aggressively Handle Your Company's Matters," ACCA Houston Chapter Summer Leadership Speaker Series, Houston, June 2003.

Professional Recognition

• Recognized as a Super Lawyer Civil - Litigation Defense (20092012)
• Martindale Hubbell® Law Directory with a Peer Review Rating of AV® Preeminent™

Memberships

• American Arbitration Association
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Houston Bar Association
• New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
• State Bar of Texas
• Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association
• Texas Oil & Gas Association