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Paul D. Clote , Esq.

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Home Office: Houston, Texas View More
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Paul D. Clote, Esq., joins JAMS in Houston as a seasoned dispute resolution professional with more than 1,100 mediated cases, as well as arbitration experience as sole, wing and chair arbitrator. Paul enjoyed a 40-plus-year litigation career handling trials and appeals of commercial and business disputes in a broad variety of Texas industries. 

As a litigator, Paul tried to verdict state and federal court cases involving fiduciary duties, partnership termination and windup, oil/gas operating agreements, letters of credit, business fraud and civil theft, trust account funds, broker commissions, ERISA disability benefits, child abuse, FLSA minimum wage and overtime claims, and an election contest. He has argued appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Texas Supreme Court and Texas Courts of Appeals. 

Paul believes that experience counts and results matter. That is why diligence, preparation, persistence and integrity are the hallmarks of his alternative dispute resolution (ADR) work.

Paul’s more than 1,100 mediations include experience in the following representative areas:

Representative Matters

Business Commercial

  • Business divorces for owners of a variety of businesses, including commercial real estate firms, law firms, oil and gas service companies and restaurant ventures

Energy & Utilities

  • Claims involving allegations of defective pipe, operator and/or drilling errors and negligence of service providers
  • Oilfield title issues
  • Plugging and abandonment and decommissioning pipeline costs
  • Insurance coverages applicable to a variety of oil/gas operations
  • Farmout agreement disputes
  • Audits and other joint operating agreement disputes
  • Cost and quality issues regarding oilfield service providers’ work

Construction

  • Claims of cost overruns and time delays
  • Claims of defective materials and/or workmanship
  • Surety bond claims
  • Indemnity claims against subcontractors
  • Liability of owners, builders, subcontractors, architects and engineers

Real Property

  • Landlord/tenant real estate lease disputes, especially in the wake of COVID-19 closures
  • Option contracts
  • Claims of improper/inadequate disclosures by property sellers
  • Title disputes

Employment Law

  • Alleged violations of trade secret protections under state and federal laws
  • Covenant not-to-compete claims
  • Alleged breach of nonsolicitation and/or confidentiality agreements
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims
  • Discrimination and retaliatory discharge claims

Estate Probate Trusts

  • Claims of undue influence, mental competence of testators
  • Trust agreement disputes and fiduciary claims against executors, administrators and professionals

Intellectual Property

  • Patent infringement claims
  • Claim construction issues
  • Alleged violations of the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA) and federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA)

Securities

  • Derivative plaintiff claims, including state and federal fraud and misrepresentation claims
  • Claims alleging violations of state and federal securities laws

Health Care

  • Physician contract disputes
  • Claims involving surgical centers, dialysis centers and hospital disputes with co-owners
  • Overbilling claims alleged by insurers

Professional Liability

  • Claims against lawyers, engineers, architects and insurance brokers

Paul D. Clote

Paul D. Clote , Esq. | JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator

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Honors, Memberships and Professional Activities

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Associate and Senior Life Fellow, American Board of Trial Advocates
  • Texas Super Lawyers, Business Litigation and ADR, 2007–2025
  • Credentialed Distinguished Mediator, Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, 2021–2025
  • Honoree, Top Lawyers, Arbitration and Mediation, Houstonia Magazine, 2021–2022
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation, 2015–2026; Arbitration, 2015–2026; Oil and Gas Law, 2024–2026
  • Current Member and Past President (2018), Association of Attorney Mediators
  • Past Board Member, Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals
    • Chair, 2008
    • Vice Chair, 2007
  • Member, Houston Bar Association, 1977–2025
  • Sustaining Life Member, Houston Bar Foundation
  • Sustaining Life Member, Texas Bar Foundation
  • Life Member, American Bar Association Foundation
  • Member, American Bar Association, 1977–2025
  • Adjunct Professor, Mediation and Conflict Resolution, Rice University
  • Visiting Professor in Commercial Arbitration, National Law Academy of Odessa, Ukraine, University of Debrecen (Hungary) School of Law

Admissions

  • Texas
  • Colorado (Inactive)

Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits
  • United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas

Background and Education

  • Partner, McGinnis Lochridge, 2016–2025
  • Principal, Law Office of Paul D. Clote, 1989–2016
  • Partner, Shrader & York (aka Shrader, York, Clote, Hinds & Grote, LLP), 1983–1989
  • Associate, Vinson & Elkins, Houston, 1977–1983
  • J.D., With Honors, University of Texas School of Law, 1977
  • B.A., Northwestern University, 1974

Virtual & In-Person Locations

Home Office

  • Houston, TX

Available to Travel To

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Boca Raton, FL
  • Boston, MA
  • Century City, CA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Dallas, TX
  • Detroit, MI
  • Inland Empire, CA
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Miami, FL
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • New York, NY
  • Orange County, CA
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Sacramento, CA
  • San Diego, CA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Santa Rosa, CA
  • Seattle, WA
  • Silicon Valley, CA
  • St. Louis, MO
  • Walnut Creek, CA
  • Washington, DC

Virtual hearings available nationwide

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