• Government Affairs
  • Administrative and Regulatory
  • Government Litigation and Litigation Avoidance
  • Insurance Regulatory
  • Regulatory Appeals
• Trial
  • Appellate
  • Commercial Litigation
• Energy Industry Team
• Chemical and Refining Industry Team

Leslie Robnett is a member of the Government Affairs Practice in Austin, Texas. Ms. Robnett focuses her practice on regulatory and litigation matters, with an emphasis on regulatory appeals. She specializes in handling regulatory disputes that must resort to court or agency intervention in order to resolve the issues. She has represented clients before the Texas Railroad Commission and the Public Utilities Commission of Texas, and has litigated matters in both Texas state and federal courts, as well as the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas courts of appeal.

A sixth generation Texas attorney, Ms. Robnett brings to the Firm significant knowledge of the workings of state government. She joined the Firm after serving as a Briefing Attorney to the Honorable Paul W. Green of the Texas Supreme Court. Ms. Robnett has also worked two legislative sessions for the Texas House of Representatives as Chief of Staff to the Honorable Phil King, assisting in areas of state legislative procedure and political strategy.

Representative matters include:

Regulatory Litigation and Appeals

• Represented alcoholic beverage permit holder in appealing the denial of a liquor license by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission before the Ninth Court of Appeals in Tri-Con Inc. v. Tex. Alco. Bev. Comm'n, No. 09-11-00058-CV (Tex. App.–Beaumont June 16, 2011. no pet.).
• Represented alcoholic beverage permit holder in litigation under the Texas Dram Shop Act before the Travis County District Court.
• Represented landowners on "Preferred Route" before the Public Utilities Commission of Texas in the Application of Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC Amend it Certificate of Convenience & Necessity to construct Riley-Krum West 345kV CREZ transmission line in Archer, Clay, Cooke, Enton, Jack, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger and Wise Counties, PUC Docket 38140 (2010-2011).

Trespass/Nuisance Litigation and Appeals

• Represented telecommunications company in reversing the entry of a jury verdict on a trespass claim on statute of limitations grounds before the Texas Supreme Court in Etan Indus. Inc. v. Lehmann, No. 10-0318 (Tex. Dec. 15, 2011).
• Represented entertainment company in defending the grant of summary judgment on a nuisance claim before the Third Court of Appeals in La Tierra de Simmons Familia Ltd. v. Main Event Entertainment LP, No. 03-10-00503-CV (Tex. App.–Austin March 9, 2012, pet. filed).
• Represented nonprofit corporation in obtaining a favorable jury verdict in a public nuisance claim before the Hays County Court at Law.

Representation of Oilfield Services Companies

• Represented oilfield services company in defending favorable jury verdict in breach of master service agreement claim before the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in White Oak Operating Company LLC v. Stallion Oilfield Construction LLC, No. 14-10-00084-CV (Tex. App .–Houston [14th Dist.] Oct. 3, 2011, no pet.).
• Represented oilfield services company in defending favorable jury verdict in breach of master service agreement claim before the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Davis Gulf Coast Inc. v. Smith International Inc., No. 14-09-00838-CV (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] May 12, 2011, no pet.).
• Represented oilfield services company in contested injection well permit hearing before the Railroad Commission of Texas.

General Commercial Litigation and Appeals

• Represented insurance company in reversing the grant of a motion to reinstate on a mandamus action before the Second Court of Appeals in In re New Hampshire Ins. Co., No. 02-12-00281-CV (Tex. App.–Fort Worth Aug. 13, 2012, no pet. h.).
• Represented individual parties in successful avoidance of litigation in Texas on personal jurisdiction grounds before the U.S. Federal Court for the Western District of Texas.
• Represented commercial bank in defending a motion to enforce an arbitration award before the U.S. Federal Court for the Western Disrict of Texas.
• Represented client partnership and individual inventor in obtaining a favorable jury verdict in causes of action for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract before the Harris County District Court.

Litigation Avoidance

• Represented airline technology services company in obtaining successful resolution of a breach of a licensing agreement.
• Represented client restaurant corporation in obtaining successful settlement of litigation involving a landlord/tenant dispute before the Travis County District Court.

• J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, with honors (2008)
  • Editor-in-Chief, Texas Journal of Oil, Gas & Energy Law
  • Member, Legal Research Board
  • Recipient, Bracewell & Giuliani Memorandum Award
• B.A., The University of Texas at Austin, with highest honors (2004)
  • Public Relations (concentration in Business)

• Author, Texas Railroad Commission: Reviewing the Sunset Review, Texas General Counsel Forum, In-House Texas, June 2011.
• Speaker, State Legislative Update, 4th Annual Power and Alternative Energy Conference, Institute for Energy Law, Houston, Texas, April 13, 2011.
• Co-Author with Kimberly A. Yelkin, Bumpy Road for OCIPs? How the Texas Legislature Could Drive the Use of Owner Controlled Insurance Policies Out of Texas (Aug. 31, 2010).
• Author, Two Key Cases Governing Class Action Litigation, Texas General Counsel Forum, In-House Texas, June 14, 2010.

• Member, State Bar of Texas
• Member, Austin Bar Association
  • Civil Appellate Section
  • Civil Litigation Section
• Board of Directors, Austin Bar Association Civil Litigation Section
  • Elected Treasurer (2012-2013)
• Member, Advisory Board, Institute for Energy Law
  • Member, Young Energy Professionals Committee
• Member, Association of Women in Energy

• Recognized, Texas Rising Stars, Law & Politics Media Inc. as published in Texas Monthly (2012, 2013)
  • Business Litigation
• Law Clerk, Honorable Paul W. Green, Texas Supreme Court
• Chief of Staff, Honorable Phil King, Texas House of Representatives (two legislative sessions)
• Intern, Chief Justice Linda B. Thomas, Fifth Court of Appeals, Dallas, Texas
• Intern, Honorable Phil Johnson, Texas Supreme Court

• Board of Directors, Dress for Success Austin
• Member, Eastside Community Connection