Ryan Pitts

Partner Austin Houston

T +1 512.867.8424

F +1 512.867.8470

[email protected]

Biography

Ryan Pitts represents major companies in high-stakes litigation and appeals across a wide range of industries and subject matters. He briefs and argues appeals on behalf of clients before the Texas Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeals, and Texas Courts of Appeals as well as other courts. Ryan also works with trial teams to identify and preserve critical legal issues, develop briefing and jury charges, and position industry-wide questions for effective presentation at trial and on appeal.

Ryan has been recognized as “Up and Coming” for Texas Litigation: Appellate by Chambers and Partners and as a “Rising Star” in Appellate Litigation by Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters, 2024-2026). Clients describe him as “one of the rising stars of the Texas appellate bar,” “a very talented and gifted lawyer,” “thoughtful, bright and diligent,” and able to “quickly get to the heart of the issue.” (Chambers and Partners, 2025–2026.)

On top of his legal work, Ryan serves in leadership roles in community and bar organizations. He also regularly writes and speaks on legal developments and industry issues. His affiliations, publications, and speaking engagements are listed below. Before beginning his practice at Haynes Boone, Ryan had the privilege of clerking for United States District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas and United States Circuit Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the Eleventh Circuit. Ryan earned his J.D. and LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Duke University School of Law in 2017. While at Duke, he served on the editorial board of Duke Law Journal.

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: Secured a reversal in an appeal arising from a $557 million nuclear personal injury verdict against Union Pacific Railroad Company. In an important opinion for the railroad industry, the Texas First Court of Appeals explained that, when a trespasser is injured on a railroad’s property in Texas, the railroad’s liability, if any, is properly judged under a heightened gross negligence standard, not under ordinary negligence principles. (Media Coverage by The Texas Lawbook | Media Coverage by Law360).
In force majeure litigation arising out of Winter Storm Uri, we provided appellate support in a jury trial that culminated in Marathon obtaining a $9.8 million judgment and a take-nothing judgment on Koch Energy's $123 million counterclaims. The Haynes and Boone team led a successful amicus campaign in related litigation before the Fifth Circuit and played a key role in developing the strategy, jury charge, and other legal briefing before and during the six-day jury trial.
Submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the International Franchise Association in an important franchise law case before the Texas Supreme Court. Adopting the reasoning of the amicus brief, the Court reversed an adverse decision against a franchisor and clarified that, under Texas law, a franchisor can be held liable for the actions of a franchisee's employee only if the franchisor exercised specific control over the conduct allegedly causing the injury.
Successfully reversed a $3.8 million jury verdict and obtained a take-nothing judgment from the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston on behalf of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company in a high-stakes maritime personal injury case.
Successfully defended a jury verdict in favor of a construction business against sufficiency challenges to the liability and damages findings on appeal, which involved the failure to pay by a property owner who alleged defects in the work, while also vindicating the business’s right to prejudgment interest and to foreclose on the property through cross-appeal points. (Opinion)
Won a significant permissive appeal that vindicated a premises owner’s right to immunity under Texas’s workers’ compensation laws against scores of personal-injury claims arising from an explosion, and which should stand as an important precedent for employers and premise owners across the state of Texas for years to come. (Press Release | Media Coverage by Law360)
Having obtained over $4 million on summary judgment for a consulting firm that was owed a commission for its role in promoting the sale of its former client, a Haynes Boone team successfully defended that judgment on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (Published Opinion | Media Coverage by Texas Lawbook)
After being hired post-verdict to handle the appeal of the largest actual damages award for an injured worker in Texas history, we persuaded the trial court to grant a historic $117 million remittitur, reducing the plaintiffs' award from $353 million to $235 million. Then, after the filing of our opening appellate brief, we obtained a mediated settlement for a fraction of the original verdict.
Convinced the First Court of Appeals in Houston to affirm the trial court's order holding one of the defendants, a company based in India, subject to personal jurisdiction in the Texas courts with respect to claims asserting trade-secret misappropriation, fraudulent transfer, and related theories.
Persuaded the Texas Supreme Court to affirm a favorable decision from the Austin Court of Appeals for Travis Central Appraisal District. In doing so, the Texas Supreme Court articulated holdings of importance to the Texas property-tax framework and the authority of Texas appraisal districts, which included that trial courts have broad jurisdiction to hear appeals from appraisal districts by trial de novo and that appraisal districts may present evidence of fair-market value whenever the property’s appraised value is at issue in those proceedings (overruling a prior intermediate court of appeals decision to the contrary). The result of these holdings will be to enhance the accuracy and fairness of property appraisals statewide.
Persuaded the Texas Supreme Court to grant mandamus relief enabling the client to obtain discovery from third-party medical providers regarding amounts and rates paid or incurred by patients who were similarly-situated to plaintiffs. This discovery was sought in connection with client's defense against plaintiffs' multi-million-dollar damage claims for past medical expenses.
Convinced the Fifth Circuit to affirm the district court's dismissal of a complaint, which made broad allegations regarding acreage and mineral rights, for failure to state a claim.
Persuaded Fifth Circuit to affirm a take-nothing summary judgment in favor of fracking engine manufacturer in products liability action seeking $15 million in damages arising from fire at a wellsite.
: Austin Bar Association, Civil Appellate Section, Board Member, 2026–present
Austin Young Lawyers’ Association, Board of Directors, July 2025–present
Houston Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section, Council Member, 2023–present
American Inns of Court, Barbara Jordan Inn, Member
Austin Bar & AYLA Leadership Academy, 2025
Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, Member
Houston Young Lawyers Foundation, Fellow, Class 2020
Houston Young Lawyers Association, Board of Directors, 2020–2021
Houston Young Lawyers Association, Leadership Academy, 2018–2019
: Chambers USA, Chambers and Partners, Litigation: Appellate in Texas, 2025–2026
Named a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in Appellate, Thomson Reuters, 2024–2026
Named a Top Attorney in Appellate by Austin Monthly, 2026
Ranked in The Legal 500 U.S., Legalease Ltd., in Energy, 2024
Included in Law360's Legal Lions of the Week, May, 9, 2025
: "Asked and Answered with the Fifteenth Court of Appeals," moderator, Civil Appellate Section of the Austin Bar Association, September 2, 2026 [with Chief Justice Scott Brister, Justice Scott Field, and Justice April Farris].
"Approaching Appellate Practice as a Young Lawyer," speaker, Austin Young Lawyers Association, on May 26, 2026, and Houston Young Lawyers Association, on August 18, 2026.
"Navigating the Twists and Turns of a Legal Career," panelist, Austin Bar Association 2026 Bench Bar Conference, May 1, 2026 [with Justice Scott Field].
"Fifteenth Court Holds, with Caveats, that Pleading Amendments May Defeat Business Court Jurisdiction," co-author, The Texas Lawbook, February 17, 2026.
"Drilling into Jurisdiction: Energy Disputes before the Texas Business Court and Fifteenth Court of Appeals," panelist, the 2026 Symposium of the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas & Energy Law, February 6, 2026.
“Breaking Down the Fifteenth Court’s First-Year Docket & What’s Next,” moderator, the Appellate Section of the Houston Bar Association, October 9, 2025 [with Justice April Farris].
"On Winter Storm Uri, the Texas Supreme Court and the Public Utilities Commission’s Power to Address Statewide Emergencies," co-author, The Texas Lawbook, July 10, 2024.
“The FTC Ban on Non-Competes and Implications for Texas Litigation,” presenter, the Appellate Section of the Houston Bar Association, June 13, 2024.
"Appellate Review of Non-Economic Damages: Thoughts in Response," co-author, Texas Bar Journal, January 2024.
"The Texas Third Court of Appeals Weighs in on Production Sharing Agreement Wells,” author, Haynes Boone client alert, July 10, 2023.
Columnist for The Appellate Lawyer publication of the Houston Bar Association:
"The Casteel Doctrine, Evidence, and Argument: Horton v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co.," November 2023.
"The Texas Supreme Court’s “Utilitarian Standpoint” in Contract Construction," June 2023.
"The Fate of the Texas Law of the Case Doctrine after Mitschke v. Borromeo," February 2023.
"Issue v. Argument Preservation," October 2022.
"A Couple Developments in Preserving Evidentiary Errors in Summary Judgment Practice," July 2022.
"The Timing of Record Supplements on Appeal," April 2022.
“The Scope of Permissive Interlocutory Appeals in Texas,” January 2022.
“The Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine’s ‘Inherently Judicial’ Boundary Under Texas Law,” October 2021.
"The Use of Scattergrams to Challenge Extreme Verdicts: A Case Study," co-author, The Texas Lawbook, September 19, 2023.
"Straehla's Presumed Duties," author, The Houston Lawyer, Volume 58 – Number 6, May/June 2021.
“Midstream Gas Gathering and Processing Agreements in Bankruptcy – A Hot Topic,” presenter, Haynes and Boone, LLP’s Oil Crash Course, October 14, 2020.
“Fifth Circuit Update,” co-author, The Appellate Advocate, State Bar of Texas Appellate Section, 2020–present.
: Education
J.D., Duke University School of Law, 2017, cum laude; Editorial Board, Duke Law Journal
LL.M., in International and Comparative Law, Duke University School of Law, 2017
B.A., University of Kentucky, 2014, summa cum laude
Clerkships
Law Clerk to the Honorable Lee H. Rosenthal, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 2018–2019
Law Clerk to the Honorable Gerald B. Tjoflat, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 2017–2018
Admissions
Texas
Court Admissions
United States Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas