William C. Petit

Will Petit is an attorney at Jackson Gilmour & Dobbs, PC in Houston, Texas. He is licensed to practice in all Texas state courts and the United States District Court for the Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of Texas. He has represented a variety of clients in environmental matters and general civil and complex business and commercial litigation, at the trial and appellate levels, in state and federal courts and in many forms of alternative dispute resolution.

Mr. Petit was born in Beaumont, Texas. He, his wife, and their daughter live in Houston. They enjoy cooking, fishing, and traveling, particularly to locations where they can enjoy the great outdoors.

Practice Areas/Experience

Mr. Petit has experience in  representing plaintiffs and defendants in environmental matters involving issues of property damage, remediation, allocation, cost recovery, and natural resource damages under state and federal statutes and the common law. Some of those representative experiences include:

• Representing the State of New Jersey, as part of a trial team serving as Special Counsel to the Attorney General, in pursuing natural resource assessment costs and damages, remediation costs, and other damages associated with the Passaic River and Newark Bay;
• Representing the Galveston Bay Foundation, on a pro bono basis, in connection with the removal and remediation actions underway at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site in Harris County, Texas;
• Representing a national transportation company, as part of a trial team, in connection with the remedial actions and natural resource damages assessment underway at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site in Portland, Oregon; and
• Representing a national transportation company in cost recovery matters associated with the remediation of contaminated sites located in Texas.

Mr. Petit has additional experience in representing plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of business and commercial litigation matters, including suits involving real estate transactions, commercial contracts, eminent domain, oil and gas matters, trade secret misappropriation, non-compete agreements, alter ego, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and negligent misrepresentation, and tortious interference. Some of those representative experiences include:

• Represented real estate brokerage firm and its listing agent against property owner who sued under DTPA, fraud and negligent misrepresentation theories, resulting in a complete defense verdict.
• Represented landowners in eminent domain lawsuit, resulting in a multi-million dollar jury verdict.
• Represented oil and gas exploration and production company against former independent contractor who sued under quantum merit, promissory estoppel, common law and statutory fraud, and trade secret misappropriation theories, resulting in dismissal of lawsuit on summary judgment.
• Represented commercial landlord against tenant who sued for breach of lease and injunctive relief, resulting in a favorable settlement after the denial of temporary injunction.
• Represented commercial property owner asserting claims for trespass and injunctive relief against neighboring high-rise, resulting in equitable relief followed by a favorable settlement.

Professional Background

Before joining Jackson Gilmour & Dobbs, PC in July 2009, Mr. Petit was an associate at Thompson & Knight LLP in Houston.

In May 2005, Mr. Petit graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law. There, he served as Editor in Chief of the Texas Tech Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif, Board of Barristers, and Phi Delta Phi Honorary Legal Fraternity. Mr. Petit attended Texas Tech Law School’s Summer Law Institute at Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico.

Mr. Petit received his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2001. He participated in two exchange programs, studying Spanish and Political Science at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. Also, while at the University of Colorado, Mr. Petit served as President of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Between his undergraduate studies and law school, Mr. Petit was first mate on a 39’ sportfishing charter boat in Quepos, Costa Rica.

Distinctions & Honors

• Texas Rising Stars, 2010
• Order of the Coif, 2005
• Editor in Chief, Texas Tech Law Review, 2004-05
• Board of Barristers, 2004-05

Professional Activities

• Houston Bar Association, Member, Environmental Law and Litigation Sections.
• Houston Young Lawyers Association, Member.
• American Bar Association, Member, Energy & Resources Section.
• State Bar of Texas, Member, Litigation Section.

Presentations & Publications

Mr. Petit has also recently published or presented the following:

• Jackson & Petit, The Authority of Co-Trustees Under CERCLA's Natural Resource Damages Regime (Another Look at Coeur d'Alene and Tyson Foods), ALI-ABA Environmental Litigation Seminar. Boulder, Colorado (June 2010). 
• Jackson & Petit, Separation of Powers:  A Call to Deference, Law Seminars International Conference on Natural Resource Damages (Nov. 2009).
• The Fourth Court of Appeals’ Application of House Bill 4’s Rules Regarding Postjudgment Discovery and Security (Fall 2006).
• The Free Trade Area of the Americas: Is It Setting the State for Significant Change in U.S. Agricultural Subsidy Use?, 37 TEX. TECH L. REV. 127 (Winter 2004).