Gardere’s Richard Faulk to Address Alien Tort Statute Liability at International Law Institute

March 21, 2012 - PRLog -- HOUSTON – Richard O. Faulk, Chair of the Litigation Department at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, will speak on “Corporate Liability Under the Alien Tort Statute: Will the Supreme Court Open the Floodgates?” during the 24th Annual Institute of the International Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Mr. Faulk will address issues raised in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, a case recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding whether corporations, as opposed to individuals, can be held liable for human rights abuses committed abroad under the Alien Tort Statute, which allows foreign nationals to bring civil suits in U.S. federal courts. The presentation is part of the panel discussion “International Disputes: What’s New in International Litigation and Arbitration” at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 30, at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston.

“Although the Court heard lengthy arguments in the matter last month, it recently ordered further oral arguments to take place later this term,” says Mr. Faulk. “The High Court ordered additional briefing on a broader issue not raised in the Lower Court, namely, whether the Alien Tort Statute allows foreign citizens to seek relief in U.S. courts when the alleged misconduct occurred entirely within another nation’s borders. In doing so, the Court necessarily signaled its concern about whether the United States should be the ‘Courthouse for the World’ for international human rights litigation.”

As a member of the International Law Section’s governing council, Mr. Faulk has spoken at the section’s annual Institute for the past three years on issues such as privacy litigation under foreign laws, international class actions, and other issues under the Alien Tort Statute. His Alien Tort Statute papers for the Institute can be found at http://works.bepress.com/richard_faulk/24/.

Mr. Faulk is Chair of the Gardere Litigation Department and Environmental Practice and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Appellate Practice and Climate Change Task Force. He was the only environmental attorney included in the 2011 Texas Super Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers in Houston listing and has been recognized as a “Leading Lawyer in Environmental Law” by Chambers USA for his “expertise in all types of environmental litigation, and in particular for his experience in toxic tort litigation.”

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of corporate, litigation, energy, tax, real estate, financial services, government affairs, hospitality, intellectual property, labor and employment, and environmental.