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Duane Morris: The Houston Office Run by a 38-Year Trial Lawyer Who Is Also TBLS Board Certified

Thomas W. Sankey has tried more than 50 cases to verdict or arbitration award over a 38-year career — a specific, checkable trial count rare among Houston IP litigators, and one paired with a Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification most large-firm IP lawyers in this directory cannot claim.

At a Glance

Origin and Background

Thomas W. Sankey joined Duane Morris’s Houston office as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group in January 2008, arriving from Thompson & Knight with an established commercial and IP litigation practice. He now serves as managing partner of both the Houston office and Duane Morris’s broader Texas operations, and sits on the firm’s Partners Board and Strategic Planning Committee. Duane Morris itself is a global firm of more than 650 lawyers, with more than 80 attorneys practicing across patent, trademark, and copyright law firmwide.

Practice Concentration

Sankey’s IP litigation practice centers on trade secrets, patents, copyrights, trademarks, unfair competition, and Lanham Act disputes, layered onto a broader commercial trial practice spanning contract disputes and employer-employee litigation. His client base has included telecommunications, medical device, and auto parts companies among other Fortune 500 clients, and his reported case history includes defending a major telecommunications company across multiple patent infringement disputes and obtaining a Federal Circuit affirmance of summary judgment invalidating a software patent for failing to disclose corresponding algorithms. See this Houston Intellectual Property directory for how this global firm’s IP litigation practice compares to boutique and solo practices also serving Harris County.

Notable Work / Track Record

Sankey’s firm biography reports he has tried more than 50 cases to verdict in trials or arbitration proceedings over his career and led hundreds more matters as lead counsel that resolved successfully before trial — a specific, checkable volume claim distinct from the vaguer “extensive trial experience” language common to large-firm attorney biographies, though the underlying case list itself was not independently re-verified against court dockets by this profile.

Client Voice

Awesome Attorneys did not identify a published set of itemized, attributed consumer-platform client reviews for Sankey, which is typical for large-firm litigation counsel representing Fortune 500 corporate clients rather than individual consumers. His most substantial third-party validation instead comes from his TBLS board certification and his firm leadership role rather than review-platform volume.

Beyond the Courtroom

Sankey’s role extends beyond his own docket into firm governance — he serves on Duane Morris’s Partners Board and Strategic Planning Committee, and as managing partner is responsible for the firm’s entire Texas operation, not solely its IP practice. Awesome Attorneys did not identify additional documented civic or nonprofit board service beyond his professional leadership roles.

Recognition for This Houston IP Litigator

Sankey holds Board Certification in Civil Trial Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, according to the firm — a verifiable state-bar credential, though distinct from an IP-specific certification, since TBLS does not currently certify a distinct intellectual property specialty in Texas. Awesome Attorneys independently confirms this distinction rather than allowing the civil trial certification to imply IP-specific board certification that does not exist as a credential category in Texas.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Patent, trademark, and copyright litigation proceed primarily under federal law in federal district court rather than Texas state law, while trade secret disputes and unfair competition claims — both a documented part of Sankey’s docket — are governed by the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act and Texas common law. None of this is legal advice; a specific patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret matter should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Thomas W. Sankey’s clearest differentiator is a rare combination for an IP litigator: a specific, high-volume trial record (50-plus cases tried to verdict) paired with a genuine TBLS board certification, backed by firm-leadership standing as managing partner of Duane Morris’s entire Texas operation. The honest trade-off is that, as with most global-firm litigation counsel, Awesome Attorneys did not identify a published record of consumer-style client reviews, and his caseload skews toward large corporate clients and Fortune 500 disputes rather than smaller businesses. For a Houston company facing high-stakes IP litigation who wants a trial-tested litigator with an actual board certification and firm-leadership standing behind him, that combination is a reasonable basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Duane Morris’s own website (Thomas W. Sankey’s attorney biography and the firm’s Houston office and press release pages), a 2008 Duane Morris press release announcing Sankey’s and Gregory Luck’s addition to the Houston IP Practice Group, and the firm’s published attorney directory.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Duane Morris LLP or Thomas W. Sankey prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.