John F. Guild

John Guild’s practice centers on business disputes and employment litigation, including claims alleging breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder oppression, theft of trade secrets, breach of non-compete agreements, employment discrimination, and bad-faith insurance practices.

Prior to joining Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank LLP, John was part of the American Lawyer’s 2010 Litigation Department of the Year at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP. John served as law clerk for the Honorable Catharina Haynes, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Commercial Litigation

John has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in various business disputes.

• Assisted in the defense of a publicly traded healthcare provider and its officers and directors from claims of breach of fiduciary duty arising from a hostile takeover attempt by a competitor. Litigation resulted in a voluntary dismissal of the claims and withdrawal of the hostile takeover attempt.
• Obtained denial of class certification of securities fraud claims brought under Section 10b of the Securities Act of 1934 against a major media company and its officers and directors. After the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of class certification, the case settled on terms favorable to the client.
• Successfully obtained a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction preventing former employees from using or disclosing confidential information stolen from the client. An arbitrator then awarded the client damages and its attorneys’ fees for the former employees’ breach of confidentiality and non-compete agreements.
• Defended insurers and reinsurers in a suit arising from denial of coverage. Prepared successful motion to compel the production of documents prepared by plaintiff's products liability counsel based on a novel waiver of privilege argument. The plaintiff settled on terms favorable to our clients to avoid producing the requested documents.
• Defended "Big Four" accounting firms in securities class actions brought under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10b of the Securities Act of 1934.
  

Employment Litigation

John has defended employers from discrimination claims and asserted claims on behalf of employers to enforce non-compete agreements and prevent the theft of trade secrets.

• Assisted in the defense of an employer in the largest Title VII gender discrimination class action ever certified. Class certification was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Defended breach of contract and defamation claims brought by a former employee of the client and prosecuted counter claims arising from the former employee’s theft of the client’s confidential information. After the court ordered the return or destruction of the confidential information, the case settled favorably for the client.
• Successfully obtained a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction preventing former employees from using or disclosing confidential information stolen from the client. An arbitrator then awarded the client damages and its attorneys’ fees for the former employees’ breach of confidentiality and non-compete agreements.
  

• Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Co-chair of Judiciary Committee and Equal Access to Justice Committee, Member of 2005-2006 Leadership Class
• Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court, Associate Member, 2009-2010
• Crossroads Community Services, Volunteer
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Volunteer