Shelby O'Brien is a Board Certified Civil Appellate attorney who litigates at both the trial and appellate levels. She regularly serves as appellate counsel in Texas state and federal courts and as the appellate member of trial court teams, including in disputes involving insurance carriers. Additionally, Shelby serves as first or second chair in business and regulatory disputes in court and arbitration proceedings, including challenges to administrative rules and city ordinances, breach of fiduciary duty suits against directors, breach of contract and fraud disputes, employment disputes, real estate disputes, and trade secret disputes.
Overview
Shelby O'Brien is a Board Certified Civil Appellate attorney who litigates at both the trial and appellate levels. She regularly serves as appellate counsel in Texas state and federal courts and as the appellate member of trial court teams, including in disputes involving insurance carriers. Additionally, Shelby serves as first or second chair in business and regulatory disputes in court and arbitration proceedings, including challenges to administrative rules and city ordinances, breach of fiduciary duty suits against directors, breach of contract and fraud disputes, employment disputes, real estate disputes, and trade secret disputes.
Practice Areas
About
Shelby is a former staff attorney for the Texas Supreme Court. Insight she gained in that position enables her to better serve clients in their disputes before the courts. As a former attorney for the Texas Legislative Council, Shelby also assists clients in policy matters by researching and drafting legislation and legislative memoranda.
Shelby is involved in a number of professional organizations and currently serves as a director of the Austin Bar Association and as membership co-chair of the Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court. Shelby previously served as president of the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association, chair of the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Foundation, and chair of the Austin Bar Association Civil Appellate Section.
Shelby graduated from the English and University honors programs at the University of Maryland at College Park and earned her Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. She is admitted to the State Bar of Texas, the U.S. District Courts for the Western, Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas, and the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Experience
- Represents businesses and trade associations in lawsuits against the State of Texas and local governments in state and federal courts, including challenges to administrative rules, statutes, and ordinances.
- Represents businesses and individuals in commercial and other business disputes in state and federal courts from the inception of cases through trial, including director liability and breach of fiduciary duty claims, breach of contract claims, fraud claims, employment disputes, and trade secret disputes.
- Represents clients in appellate matters before the Texas Supreme Court and state and federal courts of appeals.
- Represents businesses and individuals before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
- Researches and drafts legislation and legislative memoranda to support clients before the Legislature.
Distinctions
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law
- Austin Monthly, Top Appellate Lawyer, 2020-2024
- BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
- Appellate Practice, 2022-2025
- Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
- Texas Super Lawyer, Appellate Law, 2022-2024
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 2002
- U.S. District Courts
- Texas: Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 5th Circuit
Education
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors, 2002
- Dean’s Achievement Awards for Highest Grades in Constitutional Law I and Texas Criminal Procedure
- Recipient of Robert S. Strauss Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Law
- Board of Advocates
- University of Maryland, B.A., English Literature, 1994
- University and English Honors Program
Associations
- State Bar of Texas
- Administrative & Public Law Section
- Appellate Section
- Litigation Section
- Austin Bar Association
- Director (2022-present)
- Civil Appellate Section, Member
- Chair (2021-2022)
- Chair-Elect (2020-2021)
- Secretary-Treasurer (2019-2020)
- Governing Council (2017-2019)
- Civil Litigation and Administrative Law Sections, Member
- American Bar Association
- Litigation Section
- Lawyers Conference Division
- Travis County Women Lawyers' Association, Member (2013-present)
- Immediate Past-President (2021-2022)
- President (2020-2021)
- President-Elect (2019-2020)
- Board of Directors (2017-2019)
- Travis County Women Lawyers' Foundation
- Immediate Past-Chair (2022-2023)
- Chair (2021-2022)
- Board of Directors (2019-2021)
- Fellow (2016-present)
- Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court, Membership Co-Chair
- Austin Court of Appeals Pro Bono Pilot Committee, Member (2016-2019)
- Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow (2018-present)
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Speaker, Preparing for the Specialization Exam, Texas Bar CLE, Civil Appellate Practice 101, 2022.
- Speaker, Post-Trial Practice, Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association, A Day in Federal Court, 2021.
- Author and Speaker, Attorney’s Fees Update, UT Law CLE, 30th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, 2020.
- Panelist, Ethics of Trial Court Practice, Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association Half-Day Ethics CLE, 2020.
- Moderator, Lunch with the Staff Attorneys: A Peek Behind the Judicial Curtain, Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association CLE, 2020.
- Speaker, You Might Want to Appeal: How to Help Kids in Special Education by Writing a Concise Brief for a Federal Judge Without Ever Setting Foot in a School, Special Education Law in Texas Seminar, The University of Texas School of Law, 2020.
- Speaker, Pleas to the Jurisdiction, UT Law CLE, Advanced Administrative Law Seminar, 2019.
- Speaker, Interlocutory Appeals and Mandamus, Texas Bar CLE, Civil Appellate Practice 101, 2018.
- Moderator, Oral Arguments from Both Sides of the Bench, Austin Bar Association, Civil Appellate Section CLE, 2018.
- Author and Speaker, Mandamus, Texas Bar CLE, Civil Appellate Practice 101, 2017.
- Author, Governmental Immunity, Texas Bar CLE, Advanced Administrative Law Seminar, 2016.
- Speaker, Case Update, Austin Bar Association, Civil Appellate Section CLE, 2015.
- Speaker, Appellate Law Update, Office of the Attorney General of Texas CLE, 2015.
- Co-Author, Petitions for Review: What Grabs the Attention of the Justices, Practice Before the Texas Supreme Court CLE, 2013.
- Co-Author, Improving Your Chances That Briefs Will Be Requested, Practice Before the Texas Supreme Court CLE, 2011.
- Speaker, Statutory Construction at the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Legislative Council Seminar, 2010.
- Panelist, Counseling the Court: A Panel Discussion of Supreme Court Staff Attorneys, Austin Bar Association, Civil Appellate Section CLE, 2009.
Civic Involvement
- Scouts BSA, Troop 9: Event Coordinator