Upholding Professionalism: Strategies to recognize, combat, and promote civility in legal practice

Paul Genender | Paul Hastings

Paul R. Genender is a partner in the Complex Litigation and Arbitration practice, chair of the Texas Commercial Litigation practice, and co-chair of the Dallas and Houston offices at Paul Hastings. Mr. Genender is a seasoned trial lawyer with an established track record of courtroom success representing plaintiffs, defendants, debtors, and creditors.

Mr. Genender represents clients in a wide range of business disputes, including antitrust, breach of contract, business fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unfair competition, securities fraud, non-competes and restrictive covenants, and misappropriation and theft of trade secrets matters. He also counsels clients on antitrust compliance, board governance, fiduciary duty and other business law issues, and pre-lawsuit dispute resolution options.

Mr. Genender represents companies across industry sectors, including financial services, health care, chemicals, real estate, retail, business services, energy, and telecommunications, as well as non-profits, family trusts, and professional associations. He has extensive experience in all aspects of restructuring litigation.

Mr. Genender has been recognized for many years for his work by leading national and regional business publications. Since 2021, Chambers USA has ranked him as one of the top commercial litigators in Texas, where clients note that he has “immense business acumen” and “superior intellectual skills matched with an equally impressive command of the law and an uncompromising commitment to winning,” is “a fantastic and hard-working litigator who goes to battle for his clients,” is an “outstanding lawyer, who is extremely smart, diligent, and prepared,” and is a “very persuasive litigator” who is “comfortable in court and a strategic thinker.” In 2021, he was recognized as an MVP for Trials by Law360. He is also recognized by The Legal 500 US (2017, 2020-2023), The Best Lawyers in America (2007-2023), D Magazine (2004-2023), and Texas Super Lawyers (2004-2023).

Mr. Genender is actively engaged as a leader in a number of professional, civic, and educational organizations. Since 2013, he has served on the Board of Visitors of Duke University School of Law. He was President of the Alumni Board of St. Mark’s School of Texas from 2019 through 2021 and in 2019 was elected to the Board of Trustees of St. Mark’s School of Texas, where he has served on its Executive Committee since 2021. Mr. Genender served for many years on the Board of Trustees of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas and has chaired its legal committee since 2011 (providing pro bono counsel). In 2019, he received the President’s Award from Paul Quinn College, a historically black college in Dallas, Texas, for his “outstanding contribution and support” of the school’s mission. In 2020, Mr. Genender was appointed General Counsel of the statewide board of the Texas General Counsel Forum. His pro bono work includes authoring an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of various law professors in Ivy v. Morath, a case seeking to protect the rights of deaf citizens to receive driver’s education in Texas.

Additionally, Mr. Genender has held a number of leadership positions within the Dallas Bar Association, including Vice-Chair and Co-Chair of the Bench Bar Committee and the Judiciary Committee. He is a 2007 graduate of the Leadership Dallas Class of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce and served as one of three class advisors to the 2008 Leadership Dallas Class. Mr. Genender is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation, and the Dallas Bar Foundation. In 2020, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association (DWLA) Foundation and was honored by the DWLA as the recipient of its James E. Coleman, Jr. “Her Champion Award,” in recognition of his support and dedication to advancing women in the legal profession.

Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Genender was a litigation partner at another international law firm. He was also a coordinator of the firm-wide commercial disputes practice group at another prior firm.

Mr. Genender received his J.D. in 1994 from Duke University School of Law, where he served as Notes Editor of the Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law. He received his A.B., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1991 from Duke University.

Kevin Morrison | Altair Law

Kevin is a partner and trial attorney at Altair Law in San Francisco. He is recognized by his peers as one of the top personal injury and wrongful death trial attorneys in California.

He has nearly 30 years’ experience in handling cases involving car accidents (including “rideshare” accidents), big rig and truck crashes, bicycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, construction site incidents, workplace violence, mass shootings, and defective products. Recognized by his peers as one of the top trial lawyers in the state, Kevin is a hard-working attorney who commits to his clients and confronts his opposition with great confidence.

Kevin has tried cases throughout California, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. For Kevin, trial preparation includes leading his clients through the legal process that has resulted in a winning track record. He is highly skilled at working with a variety of technical and medical experts, and he often uses focus groups to explore the most salient aspects of his complex cases. Kevin has mentored other attorneys on the use of successful trial techniques. His noteworthy trial work also includes several favorable appellate decisions.

Kevin’s peers and adversaries have recognized him as a leader in the field of personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He and his team have a reputation within the industry for being thorough and tough, which typically leads to more favorable settlements on behalf of his clients. And although Kevin does not hesitate to take a case to trial, the vast majority of his cases are resolved before trial. He has successfully represented clients in hundreds of mediations. In addition to being inducted into the prestigious trial organization American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a highly selective national organization limited to attorneys with significant civil jury trial experience, Kevin is also Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated, and is a recognized Super Lawyer. These distinguished honors are a testament to the fact that his peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence, civility, and ethics.

Kevin is an active member of the San Francisco chapter of ABOTA where he is an officer, a national board representative and a member of its Executive Committee. He will serve as President in 2024. He is also a member of the American Association of Justice, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, where he served on the Board of Directors for five years.

Kevin received his undergraduate degree in economics from Bucknell University in 1988. He graduated from Albany Law School of Union University in New York in 1992. During law school, he spent his third year as a visiting student at the University of San Francisco School of Law. While studying there, he decided to make the Bay Area his home. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Margot and his three children, Cora, Elsa and Luca. He is actively involved in volunteering and serving in leadership positions in his community. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and road cycling.

Session I – Advocacy and Civility in Trial are not Mutually Exclusive: A practical approach | 10:30am – 11:30am

• Civility as a baseline towards court personnel, staff, opposing counsel, witnesses and, of course, the court and jury
• How to respond to uncivil behavior
• Being your best self even when it is hard
• The need to roll with it in trial

Break | 11:30am – 11:40am

Session II – Upholding Professionalism: Strategies to recognize, combat, and promote civility in legal practice | 11:40am – 12:40pm

• Causes of incivility in the legal profession
• Strategies for combating incivility
• Handling uncivil behavior