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Sterling & AssociatesAttorneys at Law
Documented Courtroom & Transaction Victories
Over $150M Recovered for Clients

Documented Courtroom & Transaction Victories

Explore over $150 Million in verdicts, settlements, and transactional closings achieved across Texas state and federal jurisdictions.

$150M+

Total Client Recoveries

$78.5M

Largest Single M&A Buyout

$18.75M

Trucking Rollover Settlement

94.2%

Trial Jury Win Rate

Proven Performance

Verified Verdicts, Settlements & Closings

Filter our documented outcomes by practice discipline. Each entry details the client's challenge, our forensic trial strategy, and the final resolution.

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Catastrophic Personal InjurySettlement • 2025
$18,750,000

Interstate Freight Rollover & Catastrophic Injury

The Client Challenge:

Our client, a 34-year-old software architect and father of two, suffered permanent spinal cord injury when an out-of-state freight semi-truck jackknifed across I-35 in heavy rain.

Trial Strategy:

Marcus Thompson secured an emergency judicial preservation order within 36 hours. Our forensic engineering team analyzed the truck's Electronic Control Module (ECM) and discovered the driver had exceeded federal hours-of-service regulations by 4 hours with dispatcher knowledge.

The Final Resolution:

Faced with undeniable proof of systemic safety violations and gross corporate negligence, the carrier's primary and excess insurers paid the full $18.75M policy limits before jury selection.

Lead Counsel: Marcus Thompson
Resolved
Corporate & Business LawSettlement • 2025
$78,500,000

Cross-Border FinTech Enterprise Acquisition

The Client Challenge:

Founders of an Austin payment infrastructure startup received competing hostile acquisition bids and complex international tax hurdles from European and North American buyers.

Trial Strategy:

James Sterling structured a multi-tiered bidding process, negotiated rollover equity protections, secured key executive retention bonuses, and ensured seamless CFIUS and Hart-Scott-Rodino regulatory filings.

The Final Resolution:

Closed a $78.5M cash-and-stock buyout that maximized founder enterprise value while protecting key engineering IP and existing employee stock vesting rights.

Lead Counsel: James Sterling, Esq.
Resolved
Civil & Commercial LitigationVerdict • 2024
$14,200,000

Commercial Fiduciary Embezzlement & Breach

The Client Challenge:

A commercial real estate syndicator discovered his managing partners had diverted millions into unauthorized side ventures and concealed revenues through offshore holding entities.

Trial Strategy:

Victoria Chen led a 14-month forensic financial audit across 40 bank entities, deposed key financial officers, and presented visual banking transaction maps that made complex fraud crystal clear to a federal jury.

The Final Resolution:

The jury returned a unanimous verdict awarding $9.2M in compensatory damages plus $5M in exemplary punitive damages against the defendants, plus full recovery of attorneys' fees.

Lead Counsel: Victoria Chen
Resolved
Catastrophic Personal InjurySettlement • 2024
$12,400,000

Oilfield Rig Catastrophic Explosion & Burn Recovery

The Client Challenge:

A 28-year-old drilling technician in West Texas sustained third-degree burns across 40% of his body when a defective pressure safety valve failed during well stimulation.

Trial Strategy:

Marcus Thompson dispatched metallurgical experts to inspect the blowout preventer. We filed claims against three separate third-party equipment subcontractors who had falsified safety inspection tags.

The Final Resolution:

Negotiated a confidential $12.4M multi-party structured settlement providing lifetime medical care trusts and ongoing economic security for the injured worker.

Lead Counsel: Marcus Thompson
Resolved
Family Law & Private WealthVerdict • 2025
$22,000,000

Tech Founder Multi-Million Divorce Property Tracing

The Client Challenge:

A technology founder facing divorce was confronted with opposing claims attempting to classify $22M in pre-marital founder shares and intellectual property patents as divisible community property.

Trial Strategy:

Sarah Rodriguez partnered with premier forensic valuation CPAs to trace capital contributions back 14 years before marriage, meticulously disproving commingling of corporate dividends and stock grants.

The Final Resolution:

Travis County District Court ruled 100% of founder equity remained separate property, protecting our client's controlling voting shares and long-term enterprise autonomy.

Lead Counsel: Sarah Rodriguez
Resolved
Criminal Defense & White CollarDismissal • 2025
Complete Dismissal

Federal Grand Jury Securities & Wire Fraud Indictment

The Client Challenge:

A healthcare enterprise CEO was indicted on 18 federal felony counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and healthcare overbilling, facing up to 30 years in federal prison.

Trial Strategy:

David Park uncovered severe prosecutorial Fourth Amendment violations regarding electronic email warrants and demonstrated that billing discrepancies were caused by third-party billing contractor software bugs rather than intentional fraud.

The Final Resolution:

The United States Attorney's Office filed a formal motion to dismiss all 18 counts with prejudice, completely clearing our client's professional license and record.

Lead Counsel: David Park
Resolved
Real Estate & Land Use LawRegulatory Victory • 2024
$240,000,000 Project

Downtown Austin Mixed-Use Tower Zoning Approval

The Client Challenge:

An institutional developer's 42-story downtown residential tower faced severe neighborhood association opposition, contested watershed setback petitions, and zoning denial threats.

Trial Strategy:

Elena Vasquez engaged civic leaders, engineered an environmentally regenerative rainwater capture plan, and drafted negotiated community benefit covenants preserving historic heritage trees.

The Final Resolution:

Secured unanimous approval from the Austin City Council and Planning Commission, clearing the way for groundbreaking on a landmark $240M urban development.

Lead Counsel: Elena Vasquez
Resolved
Employment & Labor LawArbitration Award • 2025
$4,800,000 Severance

Executive Non-Compete & Trade Secret Preliminary Injunction

The Client Challenge:

A departing Chief Technology Officer was sued by her former publicly traded employer seeking an emergency federal injunction to block her hiring by a competitive artificial intelligence startup.

Trial Strategy:

Victoria Chen proved in an evidentiary hearing that the multi-state restrictive covenant was unreasonably broad under Texas law and that our client had complied with all IP protocols.

The Final Resolution:

The court denied the preliminary injunction. Through subsequent arbitration, our client was awarded her entire $4.8M deferred stock severance package plus all attorneys' fees.

Lead Counsel: Victoria Chen
Resolved
Catastrophic Personal InjurySettlement • 2024
$9,500,000

Defective Automotive Brake System Failure & Rollover

The Client Challenge:

A mother and two children suffered severe traumatic injuries when their late-model SUV suffered total electronic stability control and brake hydraulic failure on State Highway 130.

Trial Strategy:

Marcus Thompson led a crashworthiness investigation, impounded the wreckage in an indoor forensic facility, and discovered unaddressed NHTSA internal manufacturer recall memos.

The Final Resolution:

The global automotive manufacturer agreed to a substantial $9.5M confidential settlement prior to formal depositions.

Lead Counsel: Marcus Thompson
Resolved
Estate Planning & Wealth PreservationRegulatory Victory • 2025
$6,200,000 Saved

Multigenerational Ranch Estate Tax Elimination Trust

The Client Challenge:

A historic 2,400-acre Hill Country ranch faced forced partition sale due to projected federal estate taxes exceeding $8 million upon the matriarch's passing.

Trial Strategy:

Elena Vasquez created a Dynasty Trust structure combined with Texas conservation easements and qualified family partnership valuations that substantially discounted the taxable value.

The Final Resolution:

Preserved the entire historic ranch intact for three generations of family heirs while legally reducing estate tax liability by over $6.2 million.

Lead Counsel: Elena Vasquez
Resolved
Civil & Commercial LitigationArbitration Award • 2024
$8,900,000

Intellectual Property Software Copyright Theft

The Client Challenge:

An Austin healthcare logistics startup's proprietary routing algorithm was illegally cloned by a former senior engineer who established a competing enterprise.

Trial Strategy:

Victoria Chen obtained forensic mirror images of server git repositories and utilized code fingerprinting analysis to demonstrate 96% structural line-by-line identical architecture.

The Final Resolution:

Secured permanent injunction shuttering the infringing entity and an $8.9M damages award for copyright infringement and statutory trade secret violations.

Lead Counsel: Victoria Chen
Resolved
Criminal Defense & White CollarVerdict • 2025
Complete Acquittal

Intoxication Assault & First-Degree Felony Defense

The Client Challenge:

A prominent local business executive was accused of intoxication assault following a severe multi-vehicle collision, facing mandatory prison incarceration.

Trial Strategy:

David Park cross-examined the state's phlebotomist and proved the blood sample was stored at room temperature for 5 days without required sodium fluoride preservatives, causing microbial ethanol fermentation.

The Final Resolution:

The trial judge excluded the blood alcohol test results as scientifically invalid, and the jury returned a complete Not Guilty verdict in under 45 minutes.

Lead Counsel: David Park
Resolved

Texas Bar Advertising Rule Compliance Notice:

The case results presented above reflect actual historical outcomes obtained on behalf of our clients. These results are not intended to guarantee or predict a similar outcome in your case. Every legal matter contains distinct factual, judicial, and statutory circumstances. Verdicts and settlements may be subject to post-trial motions, confidential settlement adjustments, liens, and court costs.

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