Kristin Leveille Rodriguez

Kristin Leveille Rodriguez is a Principal in the Houston office of McKool Smith. Kristin focuses her practice on complex commercial and business litigation. She handles a wide variety of litigation, including oil and gas royalty disputes, post-confirmation litigation matters on behalf of reorganized debtors and litigation trustees, and matters in the United States International Trade Commission.  Kristin practices in state and federal court and has handled all aspects of the litigation process.

Prior to joining McKool Smith, she was a judicial intern for the Honorable Sim Lake and the Honorable Jeff Bohm in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

During law school, Kristin served as a senior articles editor for the Houston Law Review, where she earned an award for Best Paper in the area of Corporate, Securities, or Business Law. Kristin also participated as a finalist in the 20th Annual Honorable Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, where she earned an award for outstanding brief writing.

• Defending the largest natural gas producer in the United States in multiple matters involving claims for underpayment of oil and gas royalties, including putative class action alleging failure to properly calculate and pay royalties on natural gas liquids.
• Represented Zachry Construction Corporation, Zachry American Infrastructure, and Zachry Industrial Inc. in defense of fraudulent-transfer and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims asserted by litigation trust seeking in excess of $300 million.
• Represented Rovi at the International Trade Commission in an investigation involving numerous patents related to interactive search, interactive television program guides, and DVR technology.
• Represented the liquidating trustee for Buccaneer Energy in claims exceeding $100 million against former officers and directors for breach of their fiduciary duty.
• Defended the largest natural gas producer in the United States in multiple lawsuits alleging failure to properly calculate and pay royalties on natural gas liquids.
• Represented Fleetcor Technologies in litigation with Chevron in broad-based contractual disputes pertaining to purchase and servicing agreements with respect to a credit card portfolio of Chevron-branded cards.
• Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Linc Energy during Chapter 11 proceedings and related 363 sale of real property.

Prior to joining the firm:

• Served as lead associate representing an equipment manufacturer against its dealer's wrongful termination lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan. Drafted and argued Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss that resulted in dismissal of the dealer's tort claims.

• Represented a group of oil and gas interest owners in a lawsuit over the sale of oil and gas properties in the Texas Panhandle. Performed extensive legal research, drafted dispositive motions pertaining to the measure of damages, and drafted multiple Daubert/Robinson motions. Resulted in a take-nothing judgment of all claims against the clients.

• Represented an oil and gas operator in a three-week jury trial against the manufacturer of oilfield connections that resulted in a $3 million verdict for the client. Drafted pre-trial motions—including Daubert/Robinson motions—motions to strike evidence, trial briefs, and managed trial exhibits. Drafted key motion on the admissibility of similar incidents that was granted in full.

• Recognized among the "40 & Under" by Benchmark Litigation, 2023
• Named a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, 2020-2023
• Recognized by "Best Lawyers in America" as Ones to Watch for Commercial Litigation, 2022-2024
• “Top Lawyer” by Houstonia magazine, 2017

• Board 50, Houston Law Review
• Member, Texas State Bar Association
• Member, Houston Bar Association
• Member, Houston Young Lawyers Association