Layne Kruse, partner in the Houston office, co-chairs the Firm's nationwide Antitrust and Competition Practice Group and heads the litigation department in the Houston office. He also is a member of the Firm's Policy Committee.

Layne handles business litigation and arbitration matters. He has been a first-chair litigator for jury trials, nationwide class actions, injunctions, arbitrations and appeals, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He is certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

He concentrates on antitrust and securities litigation, international disputes, and other business problems. In particular, he has extensive experience in handling class actions and in responding to government investigations. He has represented clients in oil and gas production, the marketing of refined petroleum products, health care, insurance, publishing, consumer products, computers, rail transportation, and other industries.

• Lead counsel for hospital group, sued by a putative class of employees, alleging a conspiracy to suppress wages.
• Lead counsel for energy company in defending against allegations of a nation-wide conspiracy to fix price of natural gas at the wellhead.
• Lead counsel for an energy company before arbitration panel in dispute over obligation of a natural gas processor to process gas from Gulf of Mexico; after litigation over arbitrability, a favorable award for client was confirmed after contested court proceeding.
• Lead counsel for offshore petroleum drilling company, where plaintiffs alleged that defendant corporations conspired to suppress the wages paid to workers in violation of the antitrust laws.
• Lead counsel for a telecommunications company in monopolization, RICO, and tortious interference suit against another telecommunications company.
• Counsel for an insurance company in state-wide class action for homeowners insurance and in settlement with Texas Attorney General and Texas Department of Insurance.
• Defense counsel for officers of gasoline refining company in shareholder derivative litigation.
• Lead counsel for cardiac pacemaker manufacturer suing another medical device manufacturer for unfair competition, tortious interference, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and attempted monopolization.
• Lead defense counsel for building supply company in shareholder class action for securities fraud under Rule 10b-5 in federal court in Arkansas.
• Lead counsel for manufacturer of airport passenger boarding bridges in suit by competitor alleging monopolization based on predatory pricing, unfair competition, and tortious interference; summary judgment in federal court for client and affirmed by Fifth Circuit after oral argument.
• Lead counsel for non-U.S. energy company in take-or-pay gas contract dispute related to North Sea; claim in excess of a billion dollars based on allegations of tortious interference, fraud, and breach of contract. Successful anti-suit injunction in English court.
• Lead counsel for gasoline refining company regarding state-wide gasoline price-fixing claim brought in federal court in Hawaii by state attorney general as parens patriae on behalf of all citizens against several refining companies.
• Lead counsel for cardiac pacemaker manufacturer in arbitration with German inventor over terms of patent license under the American Arbitration Association international rules.
• Counsel for a telecommunications company in federal court in Florida in dispute over delay in delivery of securities.
• Counsel for a special securities fraud investigator, appointed by Republic of Ireland, investigating Irish company, who was accused of libel and other torts in U.S.; successful summary judgment for client.
• Counsel for a non-U.S. company in criminal antitrust investigation of alleged international price-fixing cartel.
• Led internal investigation on behalf of directors of California-based defense contractor accused by "whistleblower" of not complying with manufacturing standards for missile guidance systems.
• Counsel for a computer manufacturer in nationwide class action for alleged misrepresentations on battery life of laptop computers.
• Counsel for corporate officers of energy company in effort by minority shareholders to obtain consents to remove management in proxy contest.
• Defense counsel in jury trial for Japanese trading company, where U.S. investors were claiming damages for monopolization, restraint of trade, and tortious interference over control of timber concession in Indonesia; after ten-week jury trial, judgment for client; argued appeal before Fifth Circuit and judgment was affirmed.
• Lead counsel for an energy company in class action brought by residents in Ecuador for alleged destruction of rainforests as a result of oil drilling; successful removal to federal court on foreign relations grounds and dismissed on comity and forum non conveniens grounds.
• Counsel for book publisher accused by book retailer of price discrimination and other violations of antitrust laws in favor of larger book retailer.
• Counsel for a computer manufacturer in nationwide class action for alleged misrepresentations about computer microprocessor.
• Lead counsel for HMO in class action by Texas doctors against HMOs for alleged fraud, breach of contract, and Lanham Act violations; dismissal in favor of client.
• Trial counsel defending Japanese spark plug manufacturer against allegations by U.S. distributor of restraint of trade, fraud, unfair competition, and breach of contract for altering distribution system; jury trial in federal court and judgment for client; argued appeal before Fifth Circuit and affirmed for client.
• Argued appeal of computer leasing company before Fifth Circuit after adverse RICO jury verdict; successfully reversed RICO award.
• Counsel for workers compensation insurer in a putative class action of chiropractors claiming a conspiracy to delay or deny payments in restraint of trade under the state antitrust laws.
• Counsel for energy company in challenge to federal statute as an unconstitutional ex post facto law and improper regulatory taking by the government.
• Counsel for an energy company at trial and on appeal in dispute over enforcement of right of first refusal to purchase natural gas pipeline.
• Counsel for infant formula manufacturer in suit by Texas Attorney General and consumer class for alleged price fixing; dismissal was upheld by Texas Supreme Court, which applied indirect purchaser rule to state antitrust law for first time.
• Counsel at TRO and preliminary injunction hearing and jury trial for Dallas daily newspaper suing another daily newspaper alleging monopolization and restraint of trade under state antitrust law, unfair competition, and tortious interference.
• Counsel for an energy company in a dispute over oil concession in Central Asia; allegations of breach of contract, fraud, and other torts with damage claim in excess of one billion dollars; successful argument to federal district court that the case concerned foreign relations of the U.S. and international law and was therefore a federal question.
• Counsel on internal investigations of companies related to possible violations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Africa, the Middle East, and in Central Asia.
• Counsel for investor in a toy company sued in a California federal court in a class action securities fraud action under Rule 10b-5 for alleged insider trading; summary judgment affirmed on appeal.
• Counsel for a U.S. power company that invested in Ecuador and was sued in Ecuador and successfully argued that the dispute should be arbitrated in U.S. and that foreign litigation should be enjoined.
• Trial counsel for gasoline refiner in federal court trial brought by a terminated wholesale gasoline distributor under Petroleum Marketing Practices Act; judgment for client.
• Counsel for a creditor group of banks in defending a class action securities fraud claim under Rule 10b-5 brought by equity investors in a drilling company; summary judgment for clients granted in California federal court.
• Trial counsel in jury trial in federal court for iron and steel processor for breach of contract due to failure to deliver scrap iron to Mexico; argued appeal to Fifth Circuit with judgment for client.
• Counsel for a defendant railroad on conspiracy in restraint of trade antitrust claim brought by coal slurry pipeline project and several utilities in federal court.
• Lead counsel for petroleum producer in class actions by royalty owners against producers for the alleged failure to notify royalty owners about tax credits.
• Counsel to energy company accused of human rights violations under Alien Tort Claims Act in operations outside the U.S.
• Counsel for a Texas bank and its directors in class action securities fraud case under Rule 10b-5 in federal court.

Pro Bono

• Layne is past chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee, and his pro bono work includes:
• Court-appointed counsel for Mexican national on death row, convicted of capital murder, who is asserting mental retardation and Vienna Convention defenses.
• Court-appointed counsel for capital murder death row inmate in Texas; successfully argued before Fifth Circuit that conviction should be reversed and new trial granted for violation of Sixth Amendment rights.
• Court-appointed counsel for Jewish inmate in federal prison who asserted First Amendment violation for the wrongful denial of Kosher food; argued appeal to the Fifth Circuit which reversed dismissal and ruled in favor of client.

• State Bar of Texas - Antitrust and Business Litigation Section, Past Chair
• Texas Association of Certified Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, Past President
• American Bar Association Antitrust Section
  • Fuel and Energy Committee, Chair
  • Exemptions and Immunities Committee, Past Chair
  • Ethics and Professionalism Committee, Past Chair
  • Sherman Act Section 2 Committee, Past Vice-Chair
  • Robinson-Patman Act Committee, Past Vice-Chair
• American Bar Association Litigation Section
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow
• Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow 
• Houston Bar Foundation, Fellow 

• “Go-To Guide” for 2007, recognition as one of five top lawyers in Texas for antitrust
• "World's Leading Practitioner - Litigation U.S.," Guide to the World's Leading Practitioners, Legal Media Group
• "America's Leading Business Lawyers," Chambers U.S.A.
• Best Lawyers in America
• PLC's Global Counsel Dispute Resolution Handbook
• "Texas Super Lawyers, " Texas Monthly magazine 
• Who’s Who Legal: Texas 2007 (competition)
• International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers and Economists
• PLC Dispute Resolution Handbook “The Law and Leading Lawyers Worldwide” (Texas dispute resolution counsel)
• Who's Who in American Law
• Who's Who in America
• Who's Who in the World

• Co-author, "FTC Proposes Rule Prohibiting 'Market Manipulation' in the Petroleum Industry," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Client Alert, August 18, 2008
• Co-author, "A Short Guide to the Prosecution of 'Market Manipulation' in the Energy Industry: CFTC, FERC, and FTC," Global Competition Policy, July 2008
• Co-author, "Energy Bill Gives Federal Trade Commission New Power to Prosecute 'Market Manipulation' in Petroleum Industry," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, January 4, 2008
• "Congress Watch: What Are The New Antitrust Energy Proposals?" Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Client Alert, March 27, 2007
• Co-author, "Congress Watch: What Are The New Antitrust Energy Proposals?" Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Client Alert, March 7, 2007
• Co-author, “Tying Claims: Market Power Is Not Presumed,” Intellectual Property and Antitrust Client Alert, March 2, 2006
• Co-author, "Joint Venture Pricing Decisions Not a Per Se Violation of Antitrust Laws," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Antitrust Update, March 2006
• “Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property: A Reference Guide,” published for IP lawyers in Latin America, Spanish and English versions, November 21, 2005
• Co-author, "Developments in Oil and Gas Antitrust," www.GlobalCompetitionReview.com, 2005
• Co-author, "United States v. Arthur Andersen Reversed," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Legal Update, May 31, 2005
• Co-author, "The Great American Litigation Game," Executive Counsel Magazine, April/May 2005
• Co-author, "Claims Under Alien Tort Statute Are Still Alive," International Litigation Update, July 9, 2004
• Co-author, "Recent Developments in the Oil and Gas Industry," The Antitrust Review of the Americas, 2004
• "Salary Surveys and the Sherman Act," ABA Antitrust Section Fuel and Energy Committee Newsletter, Winter 2003
• "FCPA Compliance a Challenge for U.S. Oil, Gas Companies," Oil and Gas Journal, October 13, 2003
• Co-author, Chapter 3, "Subject Matter Jurisdiction in Federal Court in International Cases," International Litigation: Defending and Suing Foreign Parties in U.S. Federal Courts, ABA, October 2003
• "Texas Acts to Reform Class Actions," ABA Class Actions & Derivative Suits Committee Newsletter, ABA Section of Litigation, Fall 2003
• Co-author, "Antitrust Issues in the Energy Industry," The Antitrust Review of the Americas 2003, Global Competition Review, 2003 
• "New Professional Rules of Conduct under Sarbanes-Oxley: How Will They Impact Antitrust Lawyers?" The Source Magazine, ABA Antitrust Section, September 2002
• Co-editor, State Action Practice Manual, ABA Antitrust Section, July 2000
• Co-author, "Should a Court Certify Class of Foreign Residents Seeking Damages in U.S.?" New York Law Journal at S7, November 8, 1999
• Primary Author, "Monopolization," Annual Supplement for 1997/98 to Antitrust Law Developments, ABA Antitrust Section
• Co-author, "Federal Question Jurisdiction," International Commercial Litigation, United States Litigation Yearbook, 1998
• "Foreign Classes in U.S. Courts," International Commercial Litigation Magazine, June 1998
• "Alien Attack: Foreign Environmental Claims Invade American Courts," Legal Backgrounder 12, 30, Washington Legal Foundation, July 25, 1997
• Primary Author, Drug Price Discrimination Laws and the Robinson-Patman Act, Monograph, ABA Antitrust Section, 1996
• Co-author, Chapter 3, "Subject Matter Jurisdiction," Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, Fifth Circuit, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, 1996
• Chapter Author, "Antitrust Corporate Compliance Programs Under the Sentencing Guidelines," Business Law Institute, 1993 and rev. ed. 1995
• "Covenants Not to Compete," Texas Antitrust Bulletin 11, 3, 1989
• "Deconcentration and Section Five of the Federal Trade Commission Act," 46 George Washington Law Review 200, 1978

• Moderator, "New Authority for the FTC: What Market Manipulation Rules Should Be Adopted for the Petroleum Industry," ABA Fuel and Energy Committee Program, May 23, 2008
• Moderator, “FERC's Anti-Market Manipulation Rules: What Do Antitrust Lawyers Need to Know?” ABA Fuel and Energy Committee Program, December 20, 2006
• Presented with Gerard G. Pecht; Co-Author with Gerard G. Pecht and Peter A. Stokes, "Shareholder Litigation in Texas: A Defendants' Perspective," 4th Annual Advanced Business Law Course, State Bar of Texas, Houston, Texas, October 26 - 27, 2006
• Panelist, "A Roundtable Discussion of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," PriceWaterhouseCoopers Seminar, Houston, Texas, May 2005
• Panelist, "Problems in Multijurisdictional Litigation," Canadian Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, April 2005
• Panel Moderator, "The Cost of Filling Up: Did the FTC Approve Too Many Petroleum Industry Mergers?," ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., March 2005
• Panelist, "Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Attorney Conduct Requirements and Whistleblower Protection and Document Retention," ABA Antitrust Section National Teleseminar Series, December 2004
• "The Long Arm Of U.S. Jurisdiction - Current Issues For Non-U.S. Companies: What Non-U.S. Companies Should Know About Doing Business in the U.S.," F&J Client Seminar, London, England, April 2003
• "Courthouse to the World: What is the Alien Tort Claims Act?" F&J Client Seminar, Houston, Texas, March 2003
• "New Federal Criminal Penalties for Document Destruction," F&J Electronic Discovery Seminar, Houston, Texas, January 2003
• Program Chair, "Noerr-Pennington" Immunity Doctrine for Antitrust Violations," ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2001
• Panel Moderator, "Doing Business With The Government: When Are You Immune or Exempt from Liability?" ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2000
• Panelist, "National Class Actions," ABA Litigation Section Spring Meeting, Dallas, Texas, April 1999
• Panelist, "U.S. Environmental Litigation," International Bar Association, Environmental Law Seminar, Rome, Italy, April 1998
• Panelist, "The Wars of Arbitration," Price Waterhouse Energy Counsel Forum, November 5, 1997
• Speaker and Author, "Pre-Judgment Steps: What Makes an International Lawsuit Different?" 9th Annual Advanced International Law Institute, University of Texas School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Houston, Texas, April 1997
• Speaker and Author, "Are Your E-mail and Voice Mail Private?: Issues Under the Electronic Communication Privacy Act," Texas State Bar's Antitrust and Business Litigation Program on Business Disputes on the Information Superhighway, March 1997
• Speaker and Author, "Tie-Ins: Problems with Selling Services and Products Together," Texas State Bar Antitrust and Business Litigation Program, September 8, 1995
• Speaker and Author, "Sanctions for Discovery Abuse," Texas State Bar's Advanced Civil Discovery and Evidence Course, October 27 and November 10, 1994
• Speaker and Author, "Internal Corporate Investigations: When Are They Needed, What are the Ethical Issues, and How Should They be Conducted?" F&J Securities Litigation Seminar, March 26, 1994
• Speaker and Author, "Annual Developments Under the Robinson-Patman Act," ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, Robinson-Patman Committee Meeting, April 1993
• Speaker and Author, "Litigation Between Businesses (San Antonio and Dallas)," Texas State Bar's Fifteenth Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, September 3 and September 17, 1992
• Speaker and Author, "Antitrust Concerns," Fourteenth Annual Corporate Counsel Institute, The University of Texas Law School, Houston, Texas, April 12, 1992
• Speaker and Author, "Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in the U.S.," Conference on U.S. Business Litigation, Taipei, Taiwan, Chinese Society of International Law and the East Asian Studies Program of University of Maryland, 1986

1977 - J.D., Yale Law School
1974 - M.Sc., International Relations, London School of Economics (Rotary Foundation Fellowship)
1973 - B.A., summa cum laude, Economics, Texas A&M University

Judicial clerk to Chief Judge John R. Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit 1977-78

Layne was admitted to practice before all Texas state courts in 1978, and he is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Eleventh, and Ninth Circuits, and all federal district courts in Texas.  He has also appeared in other courts throughout the United States from Florida to Alaska, from Hawaii to New York, and from California to the District of Columbia.

Layne and his wife have been married for over thirty-one years and have five children.

• Texas Appleseed Foundation, Board Member
• Houston World Affairs Council, Board of Directors
• Texas A&M University
  • Glasscock Humanities Center, Board Member
  • College of Liberal Arts Development Council
• Chapelwood United Methodist Church, former Board member