The Board of Trustees
Shannon H. Ratliff
Term: 2004 — 2007
Shannon H. Ratliff is sole owner and president of Ratliff Law Firm, P.L.L.C., which he formed January 1, 2003. Prior to opening his own firm, he was a partner in the litigation practice group of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P. in Austin. Mr. Ratliff’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation involving energy, securities and financial services matters, including antitrust claims and class actions, on behalf of Fortune 500 and other major corporations.
Mr. Ratliff has served as lead counsel for Fortune 500 companies in a variety of statewide and nationwide class actions and other complex litigation in which damage claims ranged from several hundred million to billions of dollars. He has represented clients in suits in states other than Texas in federal and state courts.
Mr. Ratliff also has had an active appellate practice arguing many appeals before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and many of the Texas courts of appeals. He was the lead counsel in defending Texas’ new workers’ compensation statute in Garcia v. Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission and argued its validity before the Texas Supreme Court. In addition, Mr. Ratliff represents clients in the legal services and banking professions on claims of professional malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and Regulation O violations. In combination with his litigation practice, he represents clients before the Texas Legislature, most recently in connection with products liability and other tort reform issues.
Mr. Ratliff received his B.A. in 1961 and his LL.B. in 1964 from The University of Texas, where he was editor-in-chief of the Texas Law Review and a member of Phi Delta Phi and Order of the Coif. After earning his law degree, he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Tom C. Clark.
A former member and vice-chairman of The University of Texas Board of Regents, Mr. Ratliff was named a distinguished alumnus of the University in 1996. In February 2003, he received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from The University of Texas Law Alumni Association. He is also former member and chairman of the Texas Public Safety Commission. He served as co-chair of the Committee to Revise the Local Civil Rules of the Western District of Texas and was a member of the Texas Board of Legal Examiners. He is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel and a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 1991.
Mr. Ratliff is a member of the Texas Bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and 6th Circuit, 9th Circuit and 10th Circuit; the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas; and the Texas Supreme Court.