AUSTIN – On March 1, LAWFUEL – Texas Legal News – Texas Deputy Attorney General for Litigation Edward D. “Ed” Burbach will join Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms, to lead the firm’s Austin Litigation Group. Appointed in 2003 by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Mr. Burbach served as the Texas Attorney General’s lead litigator.
In the AG’s office, Mr. Burbach successfully handled an active docket while managing 11 divisions staffed by over 600 employees including more than 250 attorneys, and a $35 million budget. He represented the state and its leadership in high-profile litigation. The suits included energy, insurance, financial services, and environmental claims, Public Information Act challenges, disputes regarding the historic Texas Tobacco Settlement, school finance, and election law challenges brought by Presidential, Congressional, Gubernatorial, and State House candidates. In November 2005, he was named as one of the Top 50 In-House Counsel in Texas by the Texas Lawyer newspaper.
Attorney General Abbott thanked Mr. Burbach for the leadership he has provided to the Office of Attorney General and the State of Texas.
“For more than three years, Ed Burbach has been a trusted advisor whose expert legal skills have yielded real results for the State of Texas,” said Mr. Abbott. “Under Ed’s leadership, our Consumer Protection Division obtained tens of millions of dollars in restitution for Texas consumers and our Civil Medicaid Fraud Division uncovered over a hundred million dollars in fraudulent Medicaid overpayments. As Deputy Attorney General for Litigation, Ed Burbach guided the State through its most difficult legal disputes, including lawsuits challenging the Texas tobacco settlement and the state’s school funding plan. We all appreciate Ed’s distinguished service to this agency and wish him well on his return to the private sector.”
Prior to his appointment to the Attorney General’s office, Mr. Burbach was a partner with Strasburger & Price LLP. While in private practice, he successfully represented clients on a variety of issues including class actions involving federal and state statutory violations, antitrust, admiralty, energy, insurance, oil well and pipeline catastrophes, and constitutional disputes. He has particular energy industry experience, having made numerous presentations to practitioners in the oil and gas business in the U.S. and Europe and serving as Advisory Board member and longtime faculty member of PETEX, the Petroleum Extension Service of the University of Texas at Austin.
“Ed’s extensive litigation experience will be a key to our efforts to build a Litigation group in Austin, and enhance the litigation group firm-wide,” says Gardere Managing Partner Steve Good. “His background with legislative matters will also serve as a perfect complement to the existing efforts of our Austin office. We are proud to welcome him to Gardere.”
Adds Kim Yelkin, the Executive Partner in Gardere’s Austin office, “We are excited to bring such an accomplished attorney to our team. Ed’s experience at the Attorney General’s office will not only serve as a boost to our litigation practice throughout the State, but also to the firm’s growth in Austin.”
Mr. Burbach is a member of the Bar of all state and federal courts in Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He has had extensive professional association memberships, including the American Bar Association, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Maritime Law Association of the United States, Association of Average Adjustors (U.K.), Houston-Abidjan Partnership in Trade Committee, and the College of the State Bar of Texas.
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm, was founded in 1909 and is one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms. With offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City, Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of litigation, corporate, tax, environmental, labor and employment, intellectual property and financial services.
Contact: Jenny King 214-999-4993
