AREAS OF PRACTICE
HIGH STAKES LITIGATION
Our attorneys have spent their entire professional careers handling “bet-the-company” cases in courtrooms across the country, where the continued existence of the company depends on the outcome. We thrive under that kind of pressure. At times, we’ve disposed of cases before trial by sending a carefully crafted letter, filing a motion or negotiating a settlement. But other times, we’ve had to take those cases to trial. We’ve routinely defended clients against damage claims of tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars. We routinely go against some of the largest law firms in the world. We haven’t been out-gunned yet. It doesn’t take a hundred lawyers to win your case. Having a team of high-rate associates bill your file every day doesn’t win your case. Having a team of experienced trial lawyers who personally handle your case makes all the difference in the world. Check our track record. You won’t find a better team, not at the big firms, not anywhere. In an age where few cases go to trial, it’s nice to know you have lawyers who aren’t afraid to try tough cases.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Geren Steiner spent four years in this industry and he is used by companies in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado to draft and negotiate their leases and other real estate transactions.
CONSTRUCTION LAW
Geren Steiner worked for four years in the real estate industry. Tony Rupert worked on construction jobs throughout high school and college. They can read a set of plans and they understand how a Change Order works. They have tried construction dispute cases to verdict in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas and the District of Columbia. Their largest construction case involved a $600 million dispute over the building of four natural gas processing plants in Texas, and it was tried in Houston for over 6 months.
CONTINGENCY LITIGATION
We’ve spent decades at large law firms mostly defending corporations. And we still do that, in commercial litigation. But one of the reasons we left to form our own practice is that in personal injury cases we are rededicating our practice to helping the little guy. We will no longer represent corporations in personal injury litigation but have taken on a number of cases on the Plaintiff side, and we will continue to do so. We have tried and won Plaintiff personal injury cases in the past, but now this is our dedication.
OUR STORY
HOW WE STARTED
Tony Rupert and Geren Steiner handle cases large and small, but when the stakes are “bet the company,” they are among the small select group of lawyers who are called upon. Between the two of them, they have tried 70 cases to verdict, including many victories in “bet the company’ cases, each completely different from the last: an 8 figure dispute over an oilfield additive used Norway, a 9 figure dispute over 4 gas processing plants that was tried in Houston for 6 months, a securities fraud dispute between multiple telephone companies over cell phone service, an antitrust suit against the big aluminum companies, a below-cost pricing suit against one of the biggest retailing companies in the world, and even a case against a bank that lost a million dollars – “lost” in the sense that they could not find their depositor’s money. OU asked them to represent them in a construction dispute over the bowling-in of the OU stadium that would have meant not having the bowl ready for the 2017 Ohio State game.
Each case was an adventure, but in 2016, they left that downtown firm to begin a new adventure, forming their own firm, Rupert & Steiner. If you have ever met Tony and Geren, you know they share a love of what they do: strategizing and working and planning to win cases. Somewhere along the way, Tony was named a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, perhaps the highest honor a trial lawyer can achieve.
WHAT WE DO
Tony and Geren continue their complex litigation practice. The more complex, the better we like it. We go to the mat with firms many times bigger than we are. All three of us have all been in a big firm practice. We can do it quicker, leaner, better.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We prepare each case as if it is going to trial, even though in the modern world many cases settle. But we have found that by positioning our clients to win at trial, they can both control a negotiation, and maximize their position if the case goes to trial. We do not see cases as opportunities to bill; we do the things that make sense to win.
Our clients bring us their problems; we work to solve them. Some of our best work involves conceiving a solution that resolves a matter with just a careful phone call or letter. And a minimal bill. But when the solution requires litigation, well, that is what we do.
