Stephen Daily Susman was an American commercial plaintiffs attorney, and founding and name partner of Susman Godfrey LLP.
23 Facts About Stephen Susman
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Stephen Susman won more than $2 billion in damages and settlements in just three cases, including a $1.1 billion settlement on behalf of Texas Instruments in Samsung Electronics v Texas Instruments, and a $536 million jury verdict in El Paso Natural Gas Co.
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In 2020, Susman was seriously injured in a biking accident, which left him in a coma for more than a week.
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Stephen Susman was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in the Riverside neighborhood in the city, at a time when Jewish families such as his were barred by deed restrictions from living in River Oaks, the city's most expensive neighborhood.
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Stephen Susman's father, Harry, was a graduate of Yale Law School where he was Editor of the Yale Law Journal, and practiced law in Houston until his death of a bleeding ulcer at the age of 50.
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Stephen Susman's mother, Helene Daily Susman, was a 1934 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, and returned to her law practice and raised Susman and his brother after the death of their father when Susman was eight years old and his brother Tommy was six years old.
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Stephen Susman's mother became the first woman from Texas admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Stephen Susman was editor-in-chief of the Texas Law Review and clerked for a Supreme Court Justice.
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Stephen Susman married Ellen Spencer Susman, at the time a television personality, in 1999.
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Stephen Susman earned his JD at the University of Texas School of Law with highest honors in 1965.
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Stephen Susman then clerked for the Honorable John R Brown of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and for Justice Hugo Black at the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Stephen Susman won some of the largest cases in US history, including a $1.1 billion settlement on behalf of Texas Instruments in the breach of contract case of Samsung Electronics v Texas Instruments in 1996; and a $536 million jury verdict on counterclaim in El Paso Natural Gas Co.
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Stephen Susman won a $140 million California jury verdict for the plaintiff in the antitrust case Masimo v Tyco Health Care Group.
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In 2010, Stephen Susman was among a team of attorneys that represented Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt in his divorce trial.
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Stephen Susman Godfrey represented Dominion Voting Systems in defamation litigation against parties including My Pillow Guy, Fox News, Newsmax, Rudy Giuliani, and Sydney Powell, over claims that the company's voting machines had fraudulently tabulated votes in the 2020 presidential election.
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Stephen Susman Godfrey was among nine Texas law firms that filed an amicus brief last week challenging a previous executive order by President Trump.
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Stephen Susman was named the top litigator in 1996 in a worldwide poll of attorneys.
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In 2016, Stephen Susman was one of six lawyers recognized by the American Lawyer for his lifetime achievements as a trial lawyer.
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Stephen Susman was consistently among Super Lawyers' top 10 most-voted-for attorneys.
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Stephen Susman developed trial agreements with the purpose of reducing litigation costs for both sides and bringing cases to trial more efficiently.
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Stephen Susman founded and was executive director of the Civil Jury Project, dedicated to studying civil jury trials and trying to stem their decline, at the New York University School of Law.
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Stephen Susman was in a coma for more than a week, and continued to be in a critical condition.
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Stephen Susman was a terrific lawyer, he was the most formidable adversary, and he was a terrific friend.