Don Cruse

Don Cruse

Law Office of Don Cruse
  • Appeals & Appellate, Business Law, Entertainment & Sports Law
  • New York, Texas
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Biography

Before starting his own law practice, Don worked for a well-regarded corporate law firm, for a state attorney general, and as a judicial law clerk. He has seen first-hand how the law is made, how it is shaped by court decisions, and how it affects business clients.

Don began his legal career with a one-year clerkship at the Texas Supreme Court, which is Texas's highest court and focuses on civil (not criminal) cases. Law clerks help the Court evaluate which of the roughly one thousand petitions filed each year should be granted and help the Justices write their opinions.

His private practice began as a litigator for Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a prominent New York law firm. While at Wachtell, Don worked on a variety of high-stakes commercial disputes. The cases included contract law, insurance coverage, business torts, securities fraud, bankruptcy, antitrust law, and federal regulatory investigations. He was a member of the trial team in IBP, Inc. v. Tyson Foods, a landmark merger case in the Delaware Court of Chancery, and also worked on the property-insurance lawsuit filed to help rebuild the World Trade Center. He particularly enjoyed his work on cases involving internet domain names, trademark law, copyright, and sports law.

In 2003, Don returned to Texas to serve as an Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) in the Texas Office of the Attorney General. ASGs are members of the Solicitor General's division, which handles the State's most important appellate cases. Don's cases involved questions of constitutional law and how courts should interpret new statutes. He has argued before the Texas Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other Texas appellate courts.

In 2007, Don started his own law practice based in Austin, Texas.

Practice Areas
Appeals & Appellate
Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
Business Law
Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
Entertainment & Sports Law
Additional Practice Areas
  • Constitutional Law
  • Copyright
  • First Amendment
  • Internet Law
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
New York
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Texas
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Professional Experience
Attorney
Law Office of Don Cruse
- Current
Assistant Solicitor General
Office of the Solicitor General, State of Texas
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Associate
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
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Law Clerk to Justice Priscilla Owen
Supreme Court of Texas
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Education
University of Texas - Austin
J.D. (1999)
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Honors: Order of the Coif, Order of Barristers Stanley P. and Claudie P. Wilson Scholarship for Trial and Appellate Advocacy Friar Society
Activities: Associate Editor, Texas Law Review Board of Advocates Two-Time School Moot Court Champion Duberstein Bankruptcy Team (Top Speaker; National Finalist) ABA National Moot Court (Regional Champion) John Marshall Information & Privacy Moot Court (Speaker Award)
University of Texas - Austin Logo
University of Texas - Austin
B.S. (1996) | Mathematics
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University of Texas - Austin Logo
University of Texas - Austin
B.A. (1995) | Economics
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University of Texas - Austin Logo
Professional Associations
Texas State Bar  # 24040744
Member
- Current
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New York State Bar
Member
- Current
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Websites & Blogs
Website
Website
Blog
Supreme Court of Texas Blog
Social Media
Contact & Map
1108 Lavaca St. #110-436
Austin, TX 78701
Telephone: (512) 853-9100 Ext. (512) 853-9100
Fax: (512) 870-9002 Ext. (512) 853-9100