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LaDawn Nandrasy

LaDawn H. Nandrasy

PARTNER

Overview

LaDawn Nandrasy’s overarching goal is to help trial lawyers and their clients win at trial and on appeal through excellence in preparation and performance. She is an appellate specialist with over 30 years of experience briefing and arguing high-stakes appeals in the Texas state appellate courts, including the Texas Supreme Court, and the federal circuit courts of appeals, most frequently the Fifth Circuit. LaDawn’s practice also brings her into the trial court, where she helps trial lawyers with legal issues, including pretrial and posttrial motions and briefs, and the jury charge, freeing them up to develop the evidence and focus on their most important task—presenting their case to the jury.

In addition to advocating for clients, LaDawn is a Panel Member with the American Association of Arbitrators (Commercial and Consumer). As an arbitrator, LaDawn’s focus is on rendering a legally correct award as efficiently as possible. As a result, she presses the parties to narrow the issues, limit and tailor discovery, and promptly schedule the arbitration hearing.

Board certified for over 20 years in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, LaDawn is frequently recognized in Appellate Practice by The Best Lawyers in America®, Texas Super Lawyers®, and D Magazine.

A Sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation, LaDawn is committed to the legal profession. She served twelve years on the Pattern Jury Charge Committee for the Business Volume, including three years as Chair, and currently serves on the Pattern Jury Charge Oversight Committee, which oversees all six volumes of the Texas State Bar Pattern Jury Charges.

  • J.D., Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 1991, cum laude
  • B.G.S., University of Texas at Arlington, 1987
  • Texas
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • Board Certified, Civil Appellate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Appellate Practice (2013-2024)
  • Texas Super Lawyers®, Appellate Practice (2003-2023) (Thomson Reuters®)
  • Texas Super Lawyers®, Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas (2011-2012) (Thomson Reuters®)
  • D Magazine, Best Lawyers in Dallas: Appellate (2010-2014, 2016-2017, 2019-2021, 2023-2024)
  • D Magazine, Best Women Lawyers in Dallas (2010)
  • Rate AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5.0 (Peer Review Rating) by Martindale-Hubbell®
  • Interlocutory Appeals, Practitioner’s Guide to Civil Appeals in Texas, Chapter 6 (Full Court Press, 2019; ALM, 2016, 2015, 2014)
  • 2012, “Preservation of Charge Error: The Pattern Jury Charge Committee Wades into the Fray,” co-authored article, Appellate Advocate, Volume 25, page 11
  • 2010, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 63, page 391
  • 2009, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 62, page 951
  • 2008, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 61, page 567
  • 2007, “Special Appearance Appeals,” co-authored article, The Advocate, Texas, Volume 41, page 50
  • 2006, “Equity Turned on Its Head: The Applicability of In Pari Delicto to a Bankruptcy Trustee,” co-authored article, Texas Lawyer
  • 2006, “Court Carves Out Exceptions to Preferred Form of Jury Charge,” co-authored article, Texas Lawyer
  • 2006, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 59, page 923
  • 2005, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 58, page 501
  • 2004, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 57, page 515
  • 2003, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 56, page 1061
  • 2002, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 55, page 655
  • 2001, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 54, Page 1093
  • 2000, “Post-Verdict Motions and Strategies,” co-authored article, State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Trial Course
  • 2000, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 53, page 617
  • 1999, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 52, page 717
  • 1998, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 51, page 669
  • 1997, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” edited and co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 50, page 899
  • 1996, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 49, page 653
  • 1995, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 48, page 739
  • 1994, “Appellate Practice and Procedure,” co-authored article, SMU Law Review, Volume 47, Page 641
  • 1990, “Microbursts: Will Technology Ever Catch Up?,” article for Journal of Air Law and Commerce, Volume 56, page 263
  • February 2023, “2022 Insurance Review: Coverage Highlights from the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court,” ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section
  • June 2022, “Appellate Lawyers at Trial: Practical Tips for Avoiding Hidden Traps,” Dallas Bar Association, Trial Skills Section
  • September 2015, “Using Moot Courts Effectively,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Practice Course, Austin, Texas

Active in her community, LaDawn’s involvement has included membership on several nonprofit boards, including Empowering Women as Leaders, and Hope International, an international adoption agency that assisted with the adoption of her daughter from Moscow, Russia.