Leah Bower is an appellate litigator who represents clients in high-stakes disputes in Texas and federal courts. She is frequently called upon to handle appeals, mandamus proceedings, emergency-relief matters, and other complex legal issues that require strategic appellate judgment and precise advocacy.
Ms. Bower has substantial experience before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Texas, and Texas courts of appeals. She has authored merits briefs, petitions for certiorari, mandamus petitions, emergency motions, and dispositive motions in matters involving significant legal and business issues. She has presented oral argument in Texas courts and in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits.
A significant part of Ms. Bower’s practice involves advising clients and trial teams before judgment is entered. She works closely with trial counsel on issue preservation, dispositive motions, jury-charge issues, appellate-risk assessment, and post-verdict strategy. Her combination of appellate advocacy and trial-court experience allows her to identify and address critical legal issues at every stage of litigation.
Before joining Lehotsky Cohn LLP, Ms. Bower practiced with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Dallas, where she handled complex trial and appellate matters nationwide.
Ms. Bower clerked for Judge Don R. Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for Judge Kevin C. Newsom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She received her J.D., magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she served on the executive board of the Duke Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor University.
Court Admissions
State Bar of Texas
United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits
Representative Matters
Secured reversal of a more than $350 million punitive-damages award on behalf of FedEx in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Harris v. FedEx Corporate Services, Inc.
Secured mandamus relief in the Supreme Court of Texas on behalf of a real estate investment trust in a shareholder dispute in In re UMTH Land Development, L.P.
Secured reversal and remand in the Supreme Court of Texas in Mabee Ranch Royalty Partnership, L.P. et al. v. Fasken, et al, involving significant issues of Texas oil-and-gas law and contract interpretation.
Obtained extraordinary relief in mandamus proceedings in Texas appellate courts involving significant commercial disputes and trial-court error.
Authored merits and amicus briefing before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Texas, Texas courts of appeals, and federal courts of appeals.
Successfully briefed dispositive motions in state and federal courts on behalf of clients across a range of industries, resulting in dismissal of claims and favorable judgments.
Education
J.D., Duke University School of Law, 2017, high honors
Order of the Coif
Moot Court Board
Executive Board, Duke Law Journal
Faculty Award for Excellence, Criminal Law and Procedure
Student Practitioner, Wrongful Convictions Clinic
B.A., Baylor University, 2008, cum laude