Many attorneys believe that to successfully practice law they must be excellent speakers. However, for true and effective communication, they must be able to listen with equal proficiency. That means actively seeking out and hearing a client’s concerns, desires, and goals. Not only does Founding Partner Eric Findlay understand his clients, he translates that perception into the collective and incisive action of the firm he founded. Whether trying a case to verdict, aggressively negotiating a settlement, or skillfully advising on the best course ahead, Mr. Findlay and the firm provide their clients with unsurpassed knowledge, talents, and experience.
Mr. Findlay has been practicing law and helping people for more than 25 years. He began his practice as a trial lawyer, focusing much of his energy on personal injury cases, and was Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Since that time, and as a result of continued success, his experience and expertise has dramatically expanded into numerous aspects of commercial and business litigation.
Long before Facebook, iPhones, and Twitter existed, and before “Google” was a verb, Mr. Findlay astutely recognized the new issues and challenges that the impending explosion of Internet commerce meant for traditional legal jurisprudence. In 1999 he wrote an article on the challenges of determining personal jurisdiction in a purely online context that was published by the Texas Bar Journal, Litigation on the Net: Personal Jurisdiction in Cyberspace 62 Texas Bar Journal 334 (1999). Since then Mr. Findlay has written and spoken on various Internet and cyber law topics at conferences and educational gatherings around the world.
Since the late 1990s Findlay Craft has become increasingly involved in patent litigation in East Texas and beyond. Mr. Findlay and Findlay Craft provide much more than “local counsel”. From voir dire to closing arguments, Mr. Findlay has successfully represented hundreds of clients in patent litigation matters in addition to providing invaluable assistance and advice to national counsel. One testament to that success is the nearly 1000 patent cases that Mr. Findlay has appeared in over the past 20 years.
Awards and Recognitions
2020 Super Lawyer, by Texas Super Lawyers Magazine – Rising Star published by Texas Monthly
2019 Super Lawyer, by Texas Super Lawyers Magazine – Rising Star published by Texas Monthly
2018 Super Lawyer, by Texas Super Lawyers Magazine – Rising Star published by Texas Monthly
2017 Super Lawyer, by Texas Super Lawyers Magazine – Rising Star published by Texas Monthly
2017 Attorney of the Year – Texas, by Corporate America
2016 Best Lawyers Intellectual Property Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” in Tyler, Texas
2016 The Best Lawyers in America – Litigation – Intellectual Property
2015 The Best Lawyers in America – Litigation – Intellectual Property
2014 Corporate Counsel “Go-To” Law Firm – Intellectual Property Litigation
2013 Corporate Counsel “Go-To” Law Firm – Intellectual Property Litigation
2013 Southern Poverty Law Center – Pro Bono Recognition (Human Trafficking)
2008 – 2011 Super Lawyer, by Law and Politics Magazine published by Texas Monthly
2007 Rising Star Lawyer, by Law and Politics Magazine published by Texas Monthly
Professional Activities
Charter Member, The Honorable T. John Ward American Inn of Court
Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
Board of Directors Member, Alliance for Judicial Funding
Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (Inactive)
American Board of Trial Advocates, East Texas Chapter
Professional Achievements and Honors
IP Litigation in East Texas: Patents, Rules and “Trolls”, Intellectual Property Litigation, Volume 17, No.2, Winter 2006
Balancing the Scales of Internet Privacy, For the Defense, Dec 2001
Litigation on the Net: Personal Jurisdiction in Cyberspace, 62 Texas Bar Journal 334 (1999)
15th Annual Eastern District Bench Bar Conference / Federal Circuit Bar Association, Current Developments in Venue, September 26, 2011
Picking Your Poison: Forum-Shopping in Patent Litigation, The High Technology Law Section of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, March 2010, East Palo Alto, California
Eastern District of Texas Update, Patent Litigation Breakfast Seminar, Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP, May 2010, Redwood Shores, California
Patent Litigation in the Eastern District of Texas: Top 10 Dos and Don’ts, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Spring Meeting 2008, Houston, Texas
You Got Sued Where? How Patent Plaintiffs Use Jurisdiction to Their Advantage and Why You Shouldn’t be Afraid, 15th Annual Kirkland & Ellis Technology and The Law Seminar, May 2008, Chicago, Illinois.
Patent Reform and the Future of Venue: The Eastern District of Texas and Other “Inconvenient” Forums, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Mid-Winter Meeting 2008, Phoenix, Arizona
Internet Jurisdiction: The United States and Beyond, 12th Annual International Law Institute; Houston, Texas February 25, 2000.
The Jurisdictional Boundaries of Cyberspace, presented at www.CLEonline.com, July, 1999
ISP’s Liability Under the Communications Decency Act of 1995 and The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Texas Internet Service Providers Association; Houston, Texas November 13, 1998.
Education and Personal
Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, Michigan Juris Doctor, May 1992
Honors and Activities: Moot Court National Team; Finalist, 1991 National Moot Court Competition; American College of Trial Lawyers Medal for Excellence in Advocacy; Marshall D. Goldberg Best Oralist Award; Semi-Finalist, ABA National Trial Advocacy Competition; First Place, Donald E. Barris Trial Competition
Baylor University, Waco, Texas Bachelor of Arts, May 1989
Married to Melinda Chance Findlay and have two children, Chance and Graydon.
