Ladd Hirsch

Location

Education

  • Cornell University (J.D., cum laude, 1983)
    • Finalist, Sutherland Cup Moot Court
    • Board of Barristers  
  • University of Missouri (B.J. in News/Editorial, 1980) Graduated sixth in class

Areas of Practice:

Admitted to Practice:

  • Federal District Courts in Texas
  • Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
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Ladd Hirsch

Partner

(214) 389-5323

lhirsch@diamondmccarthy.com

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Ladd Hirsch is a business-oriented, highly successful trial attorney with almost 30 years experience representing clients in complex business litigation matters and arbitration proceedings. Ladd joined Diamond McCarthy as a partner in 2006. Previously, Ladd was a founding partner of a Dallas-based litigation boutique.  Before starting his own firm, Ladd practiced for almost 20 years with Haynes and Boone, LLP, a full-service firm, where Ladd headed up its Business Litigation Practice Group in Dallas.

Ladd's practice is characterized by his tenacity and creativity in handling the prosecution and defense of significant litigation matters for businesses and investors.  Ladd has had extensive experience handling claims for breach of contract, fraud, minority shareholder oppression, violations of fiduciary duties, breach of non-compete covenants, theft of trade secrets and business defamation. He has litigated claims involving all of the following industries: manufacturing, computer software, insurance, real estate, beer distribution, retail sales, health care, food service, and commercial airlines. Ladd represents both plaintiffs and defendants in business cases under hourly, contingent and hybrid fee arrangements. Ladd has also been retained in a number of matters by other attorneys to serve as an expert witness on the subject of recoverable legal fees.

For the past 10 years, a significant portion of Ladd's practice has focused on prosecuting and defending claims against fiduciaries (officers, directors and private trustees) often involving disputes among business owners of private Texas companies. During the past six years, Ladd has led trial teams that have secured more than $100 million in judgments, jury verdicts, arbitration awards and confidential settlements for clients with claims arising out of their investment in closely held Texas businesses. Ladd also regularly handles Entertainment Law matters, which involve issues, disputes and litigation in the music or publishing industries.

Ladd has tried cases to judgment in both state and federal courts, including federal courts located in New York and Chicago, and he has argued cases on appeal at both the state and federal levels in Texas.

 

Representative Cases

  • Final judgment after jury trial, which awarded mandatory dividend of $85 million to two shareholders of closely held bank software company, and $2 million in back pay and legal fees for minority shareholder alleging claims of shareholder oppression, fraud and breach of fiduciary duties.
  • Secured settlement of almost $10 million in cash and property for LLC member and limited partner alleging claims of shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duties.
  • Arbitration award totaling close to $4 million (with interest) for purchaser of retail shopping center, who alleged breach of purchase agreement regarding property condition. Case later resulted in settlement after trial began in federal bankruptcy court.
  • Obtained substantial confidential settlement in litigation for multiple limited partners of large Texas beer distributorship, who alleged they had been deprived of partnership distributions following sale of assets.
  • Obtained sizable confidential settlement in litigation for limited partner and founder of restaurant chain, who had been forced out of management role in the business.
  • Secured summary dismissal of claims in Dallas Federal Court for acclaimed rock band arising out of events on national tour.

Memberships

  • Dallas Bar Judiciary Subcommittee
  • Past President of American Jewish Congress-Southwest Region
  • Board Member of Dallas Children's Theater Center
  • Dallas Jewish Family Service
  • Ladd Hirsch will discuss Business Divorce Litigation: Plaintiff and Defendant Perspectives, 34th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, presented by TexasBarCLE, Westin Galleria, Houston, TX
  • Ladd Hirsch will discuss Business Divorce Litigation: Plaintiff and Defendant Perspectives, 34th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, presented by TexasBarCLE, Westin Galleria, Dallas, TX
  • Ladd Hirsch will discuss Business Divorce Litigation: Plaintiff and Defendant Perspectives, 34th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, presented by TexasBarCLE, Hyatt Hill Country Resort and Spa, San Antonio, TX. 
  • Ladd Hirsch will participate in CLE Program presented by UT Law serving on a panel with the Honorable Stacey G.C. Jernigan, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas.  The panel will discuss private company disputes in a program titled Litigating LLC and LP Provisions and Boiler Plate: What Provisions Get Litigated and Who Wins?, Four Seasons Hotel, Austin, TX
  • Ladd Hirsch and James Sheppard authors of Claims for Oppression by Minority Shareholders in Private Companies under Texas and Delaware Law:  A Plaintiff's Perspective, 34th Annual Conference on Securities Regulation and Business Law (February 2012)
  • Ladd Hirsch, author of A Way Out for Minority Investors in Private Texas Companies, published in the September/October 2011 issue of Today'sCPA
  • Ladd Hirsch, author of Diamond McCarthy LLP's newsletter regarding Shareholder Litigation, Partnership Disputes & Private Company Transactions (May 2011)
  • Ladd Hirsch author and speaker, Business Divorce Claims and Litigation - The Legal Landscape in Texas, Business Torts Institute 2010, hosted by TexasBarCLE, Dallas, Texas (October 28-29, 2010)
  • Ladd Hirsch CLE presentation, Business Divorce Claims and Litigation – The Legal Landscape in Texas at the 2010 Business Torts Institute hosted by TexasBarCLE, Dallas, TX (October 2010)
  • Ladd Hirsch and Jason Fulton A Pound of Cure: Remedies for Minority Shareholders Without an Exit Strategy, published in Business Torts Journal, Volume 17, Number 4, (Summer 2010)
  • Ladd Hirsch, Andrew B. Ryan, J. Benjamin King authors, Insurance Litigation: Adding to the Company's Bottom Line, Diamond McCarthy presentation to GC Netweavers (April 16, 2009)
  • Ladd Hirsch author and presenter, How to Coach Your Client to be Litigation Savvy, University of Houston Law Foundation (May 3-4, 2007, Dallas, TX) (May 10-11, 2007, Houston, TX)
  • Ladd Hirsch author and presenter, Evolving Legal Standards for Admissibility of Testimony by Financial Experts: Case Law Update, AICPA 2006 Conference on Fraud & Litigation Services (September 28-29, 2006)
  • Ladd Hirsch author, Fair Treatment of Minority Ownership Interests: Legal Developments, Fiduciary Duties, and Ethical Considerations, 2006 Partnerships Conference, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX (July 20-21, 2006)
  • Ladd Hirsch author, Game On: Litigation by Minority Shareholders and Others in Private Texas Companies, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX (January 19-20, 2006)
  • Ladd Hirsch co-author, How to Survive Daubert in Nine Easy Lessons: Safely Exploring the Wilds of Expert Evidence, Page Keeton Civil Litigation Conference, Austin, TX (October 27-25, 2005)
  • Ladd Hirsch co-author, A Pragmatic Approach to Retaining and Presenting Expert Witnesses: Picking All-Stars and Avoiding Busts, The Advocate (Winter 2005)
  • Ladd Hirsch co-author, Document Retention Policies and Issues: Hold ‘em or Fold ‘em, But Don’t Throw ‘em Away When the Feds Are Knocking at the Door, Corporate, Partnership and Business Law Seminar, University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, TX (June 2003)
  • Ladd Hirsch author, Managing Complex Litigation: Discovery in a Large Case, and Common Evidence Problems, University of Houston, Houston, TX (December 2001)