Krisina Zuñiga

Krisina Zuñiga successfully represents plaintiffs and defendants in all types of commercial litigation, including patent, trade secret, antitrust, class action, insurance, fraud, and breach of contract suits.

Krisina has been recognized by the American Bar Association as one of the nation’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 (2021), by Texas Lawyer as a Rising Star (2023) and one of fewer than 30 lawyers “On the Rise” (2021 and 2022), by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” (2022, 2023, 2024), and by Bloomberg Law as an “Intellectual Property Fresh Face” (2020). In 2023, National Law Journal recognized her as a Rising Star of the Plaintiff’s Bar as part of their Elite Trial Lawyers series.

LEGAL WINS

Some of Krisina’s most notable matters and wins include:

• Federal Trade Commission v. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) and Black Knight, Inc. Along with an all-star team of Susman Godfrey lawyers, Krisina represented Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in proceedings brought by the FTC related to ICE’s $11.7 billion proposed acquisition of Black Knight. The Susman Godfrey team parachuted in to defend the merger. Just a few months later, the FTC agreed to dismiss its case and gave final sign-off to a deal allowing ICE to buy Black Knight. ICE successfully closed the transaction on September 5, 2023.
• Diamondback Industries, Inc. v. Repeat Precision, LLC, et al. Krisina secured a nearly $40 million judgment for Repeat Precision, LLC, the defendant in a case brought by Diamondback Industries in federal court in Waco, Texas. The case involved claims of patent infringement, antitrust violations, theft of trade secrets, breach of contract, and tortious interference. After a three-day bench trial, the court dismissed with prejudice all of Diamondback’s affirmative claims and awarded Repeat Precision $39,946,902 in actual, enhanced, and punitive damages (not including attorneys’ fees and costs) for its counterclaims. During trial, Krisina presented Repeat Precision’s president, an examination the Court described as “virtually perfect.” Krisina’s role was highlighted in coverage of the trial win by Texas Lawyer and The Texas Lawbook (subscriptions required). You can read Krisina’s direct examination of Repeat Precision’s president and the Court’s comment here. Repeat Precision settled this case in late 2020 for more than $25 million in cash payments and also received other business considerations.
• Power Rental Solutions, LLC v. Henco Energy-Rick Hendrix Energy, LLC, et al. Krisina represented Caterpillar (or “Cat”) dealer Power Rental Solutions (PRS) in a breach of contract, breach of warranty, and fraudulent inducement dispute involving alter ego allegations and the sale of three trailer-mounted, mobile power generation units. In 2022, the Honorable Fredericka Phillips of the 61^st Civil Court of Harris County granted in full PRS’s traditional motion for summary judgment against the defendants on all claims and awarded PRS $4,920,368.20 in damages, along with attorneys’ fees and costs that the court had awarded PRS during the dispute, including fees that the court awarded as a result of two TRCP 91a motions to dismiss that Krisina defeated.
• Gulf Shore Anesthesia Associates v. Christus Spohn Health System Corp. Krisina prosecuted claims of fraud, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, and trade secret misappropriation on behalf of anesthesiology group Gulf Shore Anesthesia Associates against Corpus Christi-based Christus Spohn Health System, a case involving an assertion of over $47 million in damages. Krisina played a key role in the case, including winning a motion to compel against Spohn’s claim of a medical committee privilege in a virtual hearing in front of the Honorable Mark H. Woerner of the County Court at Law No. 4 of Nueces County, Texas. You can read a full transcript of Krisina’s argument here. The parties resolved the claims before trial.
• Advance Trust & Life Escrow Services, LTA v. ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. Krisina represented a class of universal life insurance policyholders against ReliaStar Life Insurance Company stemming from ReliaStar’s failure to charge cost of insurance rates in accordance with the terms of its policies. In 2020, after the discovery of an additional contractual breach by ReliaStar, Krisina argued a motion for leave to amend Advance Trust’s complaint in a virtual hearing in front of the Honorable Elizabeth Cowan Wright of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. After a lengthy hearing, and in a detailed opinion, Judge Wright granted the motion. You can read a full transcript of Krisina’s argument here and the Court’s opinion here. Two years later, the court denied a summary judgment motion filed by ReliaStar and opposed by Krisina and the Susman Godfrey team and simultaneously granted class certification. The case settled on terms that included a $39 million cash fund.

PRO BONO

Krisina is deeply committed to pro bono work. Some of her work in this area includes:

• participating in a historic case taken on by the firm challenging Harris County’s bail system (see coverage of the case from The New York Times, The Houston Chronicle, and Lawdragon);
• bringing a suit on sworn account on behalf of a small business owner for unpaid fees through Susman Godfrey’s Minority Owned Business (MOBUS) program, in partnership with the University of Houston’s Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship (SURE) program;
• representing through a referral from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) two undocumented minor siblings who arrived in the United States unaccompanied and were seeking legal guardianship; and
• volunteering with the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) to provide intake services for detained children along the border.

BACKGROUND

Krisina joined Susman Godfrey after clerking for the Honorable Diana Saldaña of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in her hometown of Laredo, Texas, and the Honorable Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Krisina earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School after graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. from Rice University. Krisina speaks Spanish (ILR Level 3).

Krisina is the co-chair of Susman Godfrey’s Diversity Committee. She is also active in the Houston legal community and currently serves as a vice chair of the Houston Bar Foundation (HBF) and as a director of the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston (HisBA). From 2020-2021, Krisina served as the president of the Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA). During her bar year, HYLA created a podcast called “Hylights,” on which she was interviewed about her career path and leadership of the organization. Listen here.

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