Kathleen ("Kathy") M. Beasley is a litigation partner in the Dallas office of Haynes and Boone, LLP. For more than twenty years, Kathy has represented corporations, individuals, boards of directors and board committees in government investigations and business disputes. She has tried lawsuits in federal and state court, and before arbitrators. With extensive experience in conducting internal corporate investigations, Kathy has also assisted clients being investigated by the Department of Justice, the SEC, and other governmental authorities. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of antitrust, fraud, and complex business disputes.

Kathy is a frequent speaker and author for national audiences on topics related to antitrust law, investigations, and litigation issues and techniques. Among other audiences, she has spoken to the ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, the ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime, the International Cartel Workshop, and the Center for American and International Law's Annual Program on Antitrust Law, and she serves on the Advisory Board for the BNA White Collar Crime Report. She has also served as an adjunct instructor of Trial Advocacy at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and as a coach of SMU Law School's national trial competition teams.

At the invitation of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Kathy served as a non-governmental advisor (NGA) at the 2011 International Competition Network Cartel Workshop in Belgium.

Kathy is an active member of the American Bar Association, participating in the Antitrust Section and the Section of Litigation. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Compliance and Ethics Committee of the ABA Antitrust Section, and has previously served as Vice-Chair of that Committee, as well as the Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee. She serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Dallas Christian School. Kathy is also recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Antitrust in Texas, 2011 and as a Texas Super Lawyer in Antitrust Litigation, Business Litigation, and Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2011.

Kathy received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where she was a Hatton W. Sumners Scholar, and was named to the Order of the Coif and the Law Review. She obtained a B.A. from Louisiana State University summa cum laude.

Selected Client Representations

• Defending an international freight forwarding company in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and in related civil litigation.
• Defending a foreign national in connection with a criminal tax investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which resulted in no charges being brought.
• Conducting various internal investigations of corporate conduct for report to special committees of the Boards of Directors of public companies.
• Represented a dental supply company in defending indirect purchaser claims in companion case to U.S. v. Dentsply Int'l.
• Successfully resolving, with no enforcement action, a multi-year investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into accounting practices of an international telecommunications wholesaler and certain of its officers and directors.
• Securing a favorable verdict in a jury trial in Texas state court for a Fortune 100 telecommunications company in a breach of contract and fraud trial.
• Defending a Fortune 100 food company in a multi-million dollar antitrust and business torts lawsuit in Texas state court.
• Defending a telecommunications company in a breach of contract suit tried to an arbitrator.
• Successfully resolving numerous investigations by the SEC of individuals, including accounting fraud and insider trading issues.
• Successful settlement of a proposed class action antitrust lawsuit involving price-fixing allegations against offshore drilling companies.
• Representing an oil and gas company in arbitration of disputes arising out of a purchase and sale agreement.

Recent Speeches and Publications

• Instructor on "Handling an Criminal Antitrust Investigation" at the Center for American and International Law's Annual Program on Antitrust Law (2008-2011).
• Moderated panel on "Competitor Collaborations" at Antitrust and Consumer Law Issues in the Energy Industry: 100 Years Since Standard Oil in Houston, TX (May 2011).
• Moderator of "General Counsel Compliance & Ethics Roundtable," presented to the ABA Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. (March 2011).
• Panelist on the topic of Criminal Antitrust Enforcement at the 25th ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime in San Diego, CA (March 2011).
• Moderator of ABA teleconference on "Criminal Antitrust Issues of Law from Indictment to Trial" (2011).
• "Ethics Issues Arising from Joint Defense Agreements - An Issue Outline," presented to the ABA Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting (April 2010).
• Panelist at International Cartel Workshop in Paris, France (February 2010), co-sponsored by the ABA Antitrust Section and the International Bar Association.
• Panelist on Electronic Discovery in Sandpiper Partners E-Discovery CLE in Dallas, TX (April 2009).
• Moderator of "Ethics Without Borders" at ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. (March 2009).
• Panelist on Unfair Competition at ABA Section of Litigation Committee on Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar in Orlando, FL (February 2009).
• "The Basics of Antitrust and Competition Law in the United States and Europe that an International Business Lawyer Should Know," presented with Barry McNeil, The Center for American and International Law's 45th Academy for American and International Law in Plano, TX (June 2008).
• Panelist for the ABA Section of Antitrust Brown Bag Teleconference entitled: Stolt-Nielsen: Lessons Learned and Implications for Amnesty Applicants and Other Parties in Criminal Antitrust Investigations (February 26, 2008).
• Panelist at ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. on "The Interplay of Tactics and Ethics in Criminal Antitrust Investigations" (2008).
• Panelist on the topic of Criminal Antitrust Enforcement at the ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime (2007 in San Diego, CA; 2006 in San Francisco, CA).
• "U.S. and Global Cartel Enforcement Perspectives and Insights," Teleconference sponsored by the ABA Section of Antitrust Law (2007).
• "Antitrust Due Diligence in Civil Litigation," at Managing Antitrust Matters in the Modern Corporate Governance Era (2006 - New York).
• Panelist on the topic of Criminal Antitrust Enforcement at the ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. (2006).
• "Checklist of Practical Considerations When Representing Targets of Criminal Antitrust Investigations," Kathleen M. Beasley and Jacqueline K. Shipchandler, American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, 54th Spring Meeting (March 2006).
• Author, Chapter 6 "Fraud & Misrepresentation," ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Business Torts and Unfair Competition Handbook, 2nd Edition (2006).
• Speaker on electronic evidence for "Houston, We Have a Serious Problem: Tackling the Corporate Internal Investigation," sponsored by the South Texas College of Law Corporate Compliance Center in Houston, Texas.
• "Internal Investigations - Legal & Ethical Pitfalls" at Ethical Principles for Corporate Counsel in Houston, Texas.
• Panelist for ABA Teleconference on Electronic Discovery, sponsored by the Corporate Counsel Committee of the ABA Antitrust Section.
• "Effective Corporate Compliance Programs," presented at the Texas Bar CLE Program "White Collar Crime for the Civil Practitioner."
• "Conducting Internal Investigations," presented at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting, and at the University of Texas 26th Annual Corporate Counsel Institute.

Selected Representative Experience

Memberships

• American Bar Association (Litigation and Antitrust Sections) (ABA Antitrust Section - Vice-Chair, Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee,  2005-2007; Vice Chair, Compliance and Ethics Committee, 2008-2011; Co-Chair, Compliance and Ethics Committee, 2011-present)
• Dallas Bar Association (Business Litigation Section, Antitrust Section, and 1997 Chair of the Publications Committee)
• Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court (Barrister, 1996-1999)

Online Publications