People

Lisa S. Tsai

Lisa Tsai is the Managing Partner of Reid Collins & Tsai. Lisa has represented plaintiffs in a wide variety of complex business disputes, including financial fraud cases, legal malpractice actions, fiduciary duty litigation, intellectual property litigation, and securities and shareholder derivative lawsuits.  

Following a lengthy jury trial and bench trial, Lisa obtained a Top 50 Verdict in the United States against global investment bank Credit Suisse for fraud, which was affirmed after several rounds of appeals.  Among her many industry accolades, she has been named to the Best Lawyers in America for her work with private funds and hedge funds, as well as the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, which recognizes the most elite lawyers in the profession.  She has also been recognized as one of the country’s Top 250 Women in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation, and repeatedly named a Band 1 Leading Lawyer by Chambers USA. In 2022, she was named a “Plaintiffs Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal.

Lisa received her J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law and was elected to the Order of the Coif upon graduation. She was a member of the Texas Law Review, during which time she published her student note. Following law school, She served as a judicial law clerk in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Prior to founding the firm, Lisa was a partner at Diamond McCarthy and an associate at Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles.

Lisa received her A.B. in Politics, with Highest Honors, from Princeton University. While at Princeton, She  received the Lyman H. Atwater Prize in Politics for writing the best senior thesis in the Department of Politics. A portion of her thesis was published in the Asian American Policy Review, a journal published by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Lisa is licensed to practice law in both Texas and California. She is admitted to the State Bar of Texas, the State Bar of California, the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of California, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lisa is active in a variety of professional and community organizations, including having served as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Asian Pacific Interest Section, Chair of the Austin Bar Association Bench Bar Committee, President of the Austin Asian American Bar Association, Vice Chair of the City of Austin Ethics Review Commission, and Board Secretary of the Texas Fair Defense Project.  She has been honored as a Pathfinder by the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association and received the Judge Suzanne Covington Pro Bono Service Award for her legal work on behalf of domestic violence victims. Lisa also devotes time to her alma mater law school, mentoring first-year law students, serving on the board of the Texas Law Review Association, and serving on the Board of Trustees of The University of Texas Law School Foundation.

In 2023, Lisa was the recipient of the Justice David Wellington Chew Award, the highest honor awarded by the Asian Pacific Interest Section of the State Bar of Texas, which recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of a lawyer who has paved the way for the advancement of other APA attorneys.  

Notable Representations:

  • Representation of Otto Bock Healthcare North America in a $90 million legal malpractice lawsuit against Am Law 100 law firm Duane Morris arising from the law firm’s antitrust advice in connection with the acquisition of Freedom Innovations. The lawsuit is pending in Austin state court.
  • Representation of Carling O’Brien in a $40 million breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty action against Emerald Lake Capital Management and her former partner Daniel Lukas and his affiliates. The dispute is pending in California arbitration and Los Angeles Superior Court.
  • Representation of Oaktree Capital Management against an oil and gas operator for breach of a Joint Operating Agreement in connection with acreage in the Permian Basin. The lawsuit was successfully settled on confidential terms.
  • Representation of Oroco Capital in a legal malpractice action against Am Law 100 law firm McDermott Will & Emery arising from the law firm’s transactional work on the sale of an overseas maritime security company. The dispute was successfully settled for a confidential amount.
  • Representation of retail funds that were defrauded into investing in a $540 million syndicated real estate loan arranged by Credit Suisse. After a three-week jury trial, a Dallas jury found by clear and convincing evidence that Credit Suisse fraudulently induced the funds and awarded $40 million, a Top 50 verdict that year. After several rounds of appeals, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the jury’s fraud verdict, and the Dallas trial court entered a judgment against Credit Suisse. On appeal.
  • Representation of retail funds in a fraud and negligence lawsuit against CBRE in connection with its inflated appraisal supporting the $540 million syndicated real estate loan arranged by Credit Suisse. Following fact and expert discovery, the lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount.
  • Representation of various funds in a fraud lawsuit seeking more than $100 million against Royal Bank of Scotland in connection with a $500 million collateralized debt obligation transaction. The lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount prior to depositions.
  • Representation of various funds in a legal malpractice lawsuit against Am Law 100 law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe arising from its transactional work on a $500 million collateralized debt obligation transaction. The lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount prior to summary judgment.
  • Representation of Main Street Capital Corporation in a $40 million fraud and breach of contract lawsuit arising from the sale of an oilfield services company. The lawsuit is pending in Corpus Christi federal court.
  • Representation of NexBank in a $60 million fraud and breach of contract lawsuit against Gene Phillips and related entities in Dallas state court. Following fact and expert discovery, the lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount.
  • Representation of Grey Goose Bottling Company and a minority shareholder in a breach of fiduciary duty derivative action in Delaware Chancery Court arising from the misallocation of the $2.5 billion purchase price paid by Bacardi to acquire the Grey Goose Vodka label. The lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount after a lengthy ruling denying the motion to dismiss.
  • Representation of the post-confirmation liquidating trustee in various fraud and tort lawsuits in Las Vegas federal court arising from a $960 million Ponzi scheme involving sub-prime mortgage servicer USA Capital.
  • Representation of Versata Software (formerly Trilogy Software) in a $50 million intellectual property lawsuit against General Electric Company for breach of licensing agreement, copyright infringement, and misappropriation of trade secrets in Austin federal court. The lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount following fact and expert discovery.
  • Representation of Rabobank International in a fraud and negligence lawsuit against PwC Mexico arising from the audits of a group of Mexican companies. The lawsuit was successfully settled for a confidential amount.
  • Representation of a group of more than 800 investor-creditors who were defrauded in a $300 million Ponzi scheme involving the InverWorld companies. The lawsuit against the bank for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty was successfully settled prior to trial.
  • Representation of a business owner in a bad faith insurance case in Austin state court. Following a three-week jury trial, the jury issued a verdict in excess of $6 million, and the case was successfully settled on appeal.