A&O Shearman

Litigation

Thad Behrens is a partner in the firm’s Litigation practice. His practice focuses on the representation of companies, boards of directors, executives or underwriters in high-stakes commercial disputes, including securities actions, shareholder derivative cases, M&A litigation, tender offer litigation, proxy contest lawsuits and internal investigations. He also has extensive experience in defending class actions involving consumer protection, environmental issues, healthcare and telecommunications.

He has obtained major victories for some of the most recognizable companies in the U.S. For example, Thad recently obtained dismissals for two matters on behalf of Tenet Healthcare, a securities case and the other a medical care case. He also won a putative environmental class action lawsuit for AT&T by first obtaining denial of class certification and then securing voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit. Thad led the successful defense of the National Football League (NFL) in a consumer class action brought by ticketholders to Super Bowl XLV—first obtaining a denial of class certification and then winning the subsequent federal jury trial against the remaining individual plaintiffs. He also obtained summary judgment for the NFL in two different lawsuits brought in Texas state courts by a fantasy football convention company. Thad has also led BP Products North America, Inc. to victory by defeating class certification and securing a voluntary dismissal in a $10 billion environmental litigation brought by property owners who claimed to have been harmed by alleged air emissions from one of the company’s oil refineries.

Ranked by Chambers USA for securities litigation, sources tell the directory that Thad is “the smartest lawyer I’ve ever worked with and 100 steps ahead of most counsel” and “one of the smartest lawyers you will find in the securities area,” noting that he “is thought of really highly and is really good on his feet.” Clients also describe him as “trusted,” “very client-friendly, very smart and very strategic in his thinking” an “excellent writer, thoughtful and cost efficient” who “works well with other law firms” and “always has in mind the overarching goal and our broader interests, as opposed to just trying to win litigation.”

Thad is also recognized by The Best Lawyers in America of Woodward/White, Inc. for Litigation – Securities, by Thomson Reuters as a “Texas Super Lawyer” and by D Magazine as a “Best Lawyer in Dallas” for Class Actions and Securities Litigation and Enforcement. In addition, Thad was named “Litigator of the Week” by Texas Lawyer in recognition of his successful representation of client AT&T in a federal class action suit.

Prior to entering private practice, Thad served as a law clerk for the Honorable Garland E. Burrell, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Thad is also a recognized leader in the community. He is a Master of the Bench in the esteemed Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, a former president of the Dallas Federal Bar Association and an alumnus of the Dallas Regional Chamber’s famed Leadership Dallas program.

Education Bucknell University

B.A.

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific

J.D., with great distinction

Valedictorian Award Outstanding Graduate Award Order of the Coif Chief Articles Editor, Pacific Law Journal (now McGeorge Law Review)

Admissions California Texas Courts United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas United States District Court for the Western District of Texas United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas United States District Court for the Central District of California United States District Court for the Eastern District of California United States District Court for the District of Colorado