Hon. Vanessa D. Gilmore (USDJ Ret.) joins JAMS in Houston after a distinguished 27-year career as a United States district judge in the Southern District of Texas. Sworn in as the youngest sitting federal judge in the nation, Judge Gilmore went on to develop extensive experience in handling matters involving patents and copyrights, labor and employment, and securities class actions. She has issued important decisions on intellectual property, products liability, securities fraud, energy and utilities, insurance and environmental law, and has handled significant matters, including the trial of the Enron Broadband case and the building of the Galveston cruise ship terminal.

Judge Gilmore currently serves on the board of Texas Children’s Hospital, where she works on buildings and grounds, public policy, quality and service, and safety issues. She is also a member of the board of the DePelchin Children’s Center, an accredited foster care and adoption agency serving vulnerable children and families in Texas. Judge Gilmore has held significant positions with the Texas Department of Commerce Policy Board and Texans for NAFTA, where she worked with diplomatic leaders, including the president of Mexico, to increase U.S. trade opportunities.

Judge Gilmore adjudicated a wide range of matters during her tenure as a United States district court judge and has a strong record of resolving matters in the following areas:

Representative Matters

• Administrative Review
• The court found that the administrative review board’s (ARB) decision was not arbitrary or capricious, or unsupported by substantial evidence, and is entitled to deference; like the ARB, the court found that Form WH-266 incorporates the mandatory regulatory factors into its penalty schedule and was appropriately utilized to calculate penalties for child labor violations
• Death Penalty
• Trial of a truck driver convicted of crimes involving smuggling and transporting undocumented individuals
• Election Law
• Presided over hundreds of employment matters, including discrimination cases involving race, sex and national origin discrimination; Title IX cases involving sexual harassment on college campuses; Fair Labor Standards Act wage cases; and civil rights/jobs cases
• Assisted in settlement of litigation over civil rights/employment trial on claims of sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining of harassment
• Environmental Law
• Presided over suit alleging violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act relating to a permit secured to build seven container berths and three cruise berths in the Galveston Bay.
• Equal Protection
• Handled case filed by inflatable advertising balloon company against the City of Houston for the city’s regulation of advertising and commercial speech on attention-getting devices, including inflatable balloons
• Patents
• Trial alleging infringement of six patents related to solid expandable technology for the expansion of well holes
• Matter between two prominent software companies and claims of patent infringement relating to methods and system for storing local random access memory data obtained from persistent storage devices across a network
• Presided over a patent case and issued claim construction ruling; ruled on dispositive motions related to patent for inmate phone
• Presided over patent trial between a pharmaceutical company and a chemical manufacturing company related to claims of direct infringement of technology for development of oxidized coenzyme Q10
• Construed claims for seven patents related to the removal of volatile fuel vapors from storage tanks and other vessels in the oil and gas industry
• Construed claims for patent related to pumps used to deliver mineral oil- or synthetic oil-based lubricant to specific locations on machinery
• Construed claims for patents relating to systems for monitoring the autonomic nervous system using real-time heart rate spectral analysis to monitor the autonomic nervous system
• Issued judgment in a trial involving patents that covered a variable-width bariatric bed and claims of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents
• Products Liability
• Entered judgment finding that a large multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce is not liable for third-party products that are shipped and fulfilled by them but not manufactured by the company
• School Law
• Resolved litigation against a private college preparatory school’s decision not to re-enroll student due to inadequate academic performance
• Securities
• Oversaw a multiple-count indictment that included charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, insider trading and money laundering in connection with the collapse of an American energy, commodities and services company
• Class action certification and settlement of suit for violations of the federal securities laws related to the purchase of stock in a corporation that operated correctional facilities
• Class action certification and settlement of a suit for securities fraud in connection with the announcement and later restatement of revenues related to seismic data and related geophysical services business for the petroleum industry
• Managed the approval of a settlement and plan of allocation for a suit against a retiree medical benefits trust
• Trademarks and Copyrights
• Matter involving trademark infringement on rights to a dog’s name that resulted in a verdict
• Trial involving a nightspot’s name that resulted in the decision that it was not trademark infringement
• Trial involving copyright infringement liability due to registration not being timely made
• Transportation
• Trial over claims against two well-known rideshare companies of illegal operation that resulted in a settlement
• Voting Rights
• Redrew the maps for Harris County Commissioners Court
• Workers Compensation
• Trial regarding the misrepresentation of the circumstances of an employee’s death by the deceased’s child and their related emotional distress claims

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships and Affiliations

• Member, Board of Visitors, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021–present
• Board Member, Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity, 2021–present
• Board Member, DePelchin Children's Center, 2020–present
• Member, Board of Trustees, Texas Children's Hospital, 2019–present
• Member, Risk Management Committee, River Oaks Baptist School, 2015–present
• Co-Founder and Member, Downtown Group, Houston, 1997–present
• Member, Board of Directors, First Tee of Houston, 2016–2019
• Member, Board of Trustees, Hampton University (Virginia), 1998–2015
• Member, Board of Trustees, River Oaks Baptist School, 2014–2017
• Member, Board of Directors, Royalton at River Oaks Council of Co-Owners, 2012–2015
• Member, Dean Search Committee, University of Houston Law Center, 1999–2000, 2006–2008
• Member, President’s Advisory Council, University of Houston, 1999–2000
• Member, Alumni Board, University of Houston Law Center, 1993–1995
• Board Member, Federal Bar Association, 1996–2000
• Chairperson, Texas Department of Commerce Policy Board, 1991–1994
• Chairperson, Texans for NAFTA, 1992–1993
• President, YWCA Board of Directors, 1990–1992
• Member, Houston Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, National Bar Association
• Member, Houston Lawyers Association
• Member, Federal Bar Association

Admissions

• United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• United States Court of Appeals for the Southern District of Texas
• State Bar of Texas, 1982

Selected Published Opinions

• McMillan v. Amazon, 2020

• Terry v. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, 2017

• Integrated Production Services, Inc. v. Production Control Services, Inc., 2013

• Rodriguez v. Harris County, Tex., 2013

• Rin Tin Tin, Inc. v. First Look Studios, Inc., 2009

• In Re Seitel, Inc. Securities Litigation, 2007

Speaking Engagements

Background and Education

• U.S. District Judge, Southern District of Texas, 1994–2021
• Vickery, Kilbride, Gilmore & Vickery, 1981–1994
• Sue Schecter & Associates, 1985–1986
• Adjunct Professor, University of Houston Law Center, 1984
• Research Assistant, Lands Division, United States Attorney’s Office, 1981
• Research Assistant, National College of District Attorneys, 1980–1981
• J.D., University of Houston College of Law, 1981
• B.S., Hampton University, 1977