Ashley Oakes

Ashley is a litigation associate in the Firm’s corporate governance and business litigation practice. She began her legal career at a prominent Dallas trial boutique. Since the inception of her career, Ashley has engaged in complex defense motion and discovery practice on various multimillion-dollar complex commercial and business litigation matters involving all phases of litigation. She has developed a particular depth of experience in breach of fiduciary duty claims (self-dealing, shareholder oppression, misappropriation of funds, and usurpation of corporate opportunity), including derivative and double-derivative claims; fraud claims, including common law fraud and fraudulent inducement; aiding and abetting claims under the Texas Securities Act, aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting fraudulent inducement; breach of contract; tortious interference with existing contract; civil conspiracy; and alter ego.

As a testament to her research and drafting skills—and as illustrated in her Representative Matters List—she acted as a research and briefing attorney on various high-profile cases in Texas, such as: briefing for the City of Dallas regarding the payment of TIF funds pursuant to a development agreement, resulting in dismissal of all claims against the City; a highly-publicized multimillion-dollar Texas Securities Act violation class-action case (where the client is one of the largest land developers in Texas, whose potential liability was well in excess of several millions of dollars); and a notable class-action healthcare antitrust case (consisting of over fifty class-action lawsuits conditionally transferred to a multi-district litigation court, where the client is a major healthcare insurer in the United States and an alleged co-conspirator among thirty-seven prominent healthcare insurer defendants, with potential damages estimated to collectively total multiple billions of dollars).

Ashley thoroughly interrogates the facts and law throughout the case to advance case theories and evidence to identify the best strategic approach. As a recent example, she played an integral role in formulating and developing case theories, trial themes, strategies, and factual development via written and deposition discovery—including intense document analysis—involving the alleged misappropriation of EB-5 investor and PID funds in construction developments, with potential damages exceeding $30 million, resulting in the dismissal of the majority of the plaintiff’s and derivative plaintiff’s claims as well as four out of five of the defendants complete dismissal from the case.

While at SMU Dedman School of law, Ashley served as a Federal Judicial Extern for the Honorable Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and as a Research Assistant to two professors. Ashley further honed her research, writing, and editing skills under Professor Bryan A. Garner, having been selected as a Garner Law Scholar. In this position, Ashley briefed and analyzed cases for Professor Garner’s book, co-authored with the late United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts. She also helped edit the most recent edition of Black’s Law Dictionary.

Ashley has developed the skillset demanded of an effective advocate: she researches and uncovers nuances in the law and facts and understands how best to use them to the client’s advantage; she writes clearly, concisely, and persuasively. She adheres to the notion that the smallest details matter and ardently believes that the lawyer who provides the most thorough and thoughtful analysis is the most likely to prevail. She thrives on complexity and welcomes it.

Ashley believes in long-term, flexible relationships. She understands the value of knowing all the intricacies of her client, from the C-suite to all business interests. She understands that, to deliver the highest level of customer service, a foundational relationship of trust and confidence must exist. She understands that relationships are built over time, starting with consistent delivery of high-quality work product, guided by a clear understanding of the client’s goals.