Overview

Brett Busby handles civil appeals on a variety of subjects, including general commercial disputes, securities, products liability and torts, punitive damages, real property rights, energy, and cross-border disputes (including issues such as personal jurisdiction and application of foreign law). He has argued cases successfully in the Texas Supreme Court and the federal and Texas courts of appeals, and he argued his first case in the United States Supreme Court in February 2006. He has also briefed many cases in the United States and Texas Supreme Courts and in other federal and state courts at both the appellate and trial level. In addition, Brett works with trial counsel to prepare dispositive motions, preserve error, and craft the jury charge, and he serves as a member of the State Bar of Texas Committee on Pattern Jury Charges (Business, Consumer, Insurance & Employment). He is board certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Texas Monthly magazine has recognized Brett as a Texas Rising Star attorney in the field of appellate litigation. He is a frequent CLE speaker, serves as the Fifth Circuit Editor for the ABA Appellate Practice Journal, and regularly writes the United States Supreme Court Update for the Appellate Advocate journal of the State Bar of Texas. He is also an active member of many bar organizations, including the Houston Bar Association Appellate Practice Section (Council Member 2005-present) and the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section (Chair, Website Committee, 2004-present). Prior to joining Mayer Brown LLP, he practiced civil appellate litigation at the firm of Hogan Dubose & Townsend in Houston.

Brett received his J.D. from Columbia University, where he was named a James Kent Scholar, won the Young B. Smith Torts Prize, and served as Head Articles Editor of the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. He served as a law clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and for Justices Byron R. White and John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court. Brett is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University.

Recent Supreme Court Cases

Day v. McDonough (2006)
More...

Admissions and Certifications

Education