M. Kaylan Dunn

Kaylan is a litigator who excels at courtroom advocacy and legal writing. She focuses her practice on commercial, energy, and fiduciary matters. Kaylan represents clients across industries in complex energy, banking, real estate, and trust and estate disputes, tackling actions involving breach of contract, fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, trespass, and other torts in state and federal court, arbitration, and mediation. Her experience includes multi-million dollar lawsuits, bankruptcy proceedings, class actions, and more. She counsels public and private energy companies, fiduciaries, commercial property owners, national banks, tech start-ups, trust companies, private equity firms, and individuals alike.

Commercial/Energy Litigation

• Represents product manufacturer in suit against former corporate executive for violation of contractual confidentiality and non-compete obligations and misappropriation of trade secrets, among other allegations.
• Represented midstream company in arbitration and bankruptcy adversary proceedings against oil and gas producer. Allegations involve breach of contract, contract recharacterization, and fraudulent transfer.
• Served as lead counsel for electric cooperative in arbitration proceeding against major electricity provider. Allegations involved provider’s failure to credit cooperative for the value of natural gas when the gas index settled at negative values and the disputed termination of the parties’ contract.
• Defended the former parent companies of a long-dissolved oil and gas company in an alter ego dispute seeking recovery of plugging and abandonment expenses for wells that the subsidiary divested itself of a decade before. Kaylan’s deft handling of motion practice convinced the court to limit discovery and helped position the case for settlement at mediation to the satisfaction of the client.
• Hired just three weeks before trial and served as co-counsel in a multi-million dollar fraud and breach of contract dispute regarding stock option valuation for a NASDAQ-traded technology company and its CEO. Obtained settlement for the client mid-trial to the satisfaction of the client.
• Represented the owner of a commercial office building against a dissolving law firm in a breach of lease dispute. Kaylan’s arguments in court defeated two motions for summary judgment. She subsequently negotiated a settlement to the satisfaction of the client
• Assisted with the defense at trial of one of the nation’s largest banks in a $47.5 million suit involving the foreclosure of drilling rigs.
• Assisted with the representation of a major shale gas producer in a federal putative class action involving saltwater disposal wells and the alleged migration of injected hydraulic fracturing fluids.

Fiduciary Litigation

• Represented five animal charities, including PETA, the Houston SPCA, and the Houston Humane Society, in a will contest for an approximately $30 million estate. After preparing the case for trial in only about one month, Kaylan served as lead counsel in presenting the case to the court, and ensured the will was admitted to probate.
• Represented a publicly traded offshore oil and gas trust in a sprawling trust termination suit that presented the challenge of bringing the trust’s 7,500+ shareholders into the case. As lead counsel, Kaylan presented the case to the court and obtained the requested termination.
• Served on a team that represents a trust protector in a multi-million dollar trust dispute pending in The Netherlands.
• Represented a charitable organization as an applicant in a cy pres matter filed by the Texas Attorney General’s Office, seeking modification of a charitable trust and distribution of funds in excess of $1.8 million. During a lengthy hearing, Kaylan convinced the court to deem the client (one of six organizations seeking the trust funds) the sole recipient of such funds.

• Named a Future Star, Texas, Benchmark Litigation, 2024-2025
• Recognized for Energy Law (2022-2024) and Commercial Litigation (2023-2024), Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
• Recognized in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Energy Lawyers, 2024
• Named to the Leaders in Diversity Awards (2023), Houston Business Journal
• Received Presidential Award (2022), Houston Bar Association
• Named to “40 & Under Hot List” (2020-2022), Benchmark Litigation
• Received President’s Award of Merit, Texas Young Lawyers Association
• Received Trial & Appellate Advocate Award, Texas Young Lawyers Association

• Houston Bar Association, First Vice President (2023-2024) and Board Member
• Houston Bar Association, Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Secretary
• Houston Bar Association, Attorney Wellness Committee, Past Co-Chair
• Houston Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Committee, Former Board Member
• Houston Bar Association, Lawyers for Literacy Committee, Co-Chair
• Houston Bar Association, Gender Fairness Committee
• Houston Young Lawyers Foundation, Fellow
• Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
• Houston Health Foundation, Board Member – Finance Committee
• Texas Young Lawyers Association, Chair Emeritus – State Moot Court Committee (2020 – 2021) and Director (2016-2020)
• Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Houston Office Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Co-Chair
• Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Houston Office Women’s Mentoring Circle, Co-Chair
• Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Litigation Skills Training, Co-Chair
• Dress for Success Houston-Corporate Guild, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Representative
• Dress for Success Houston’s Women 2 Women’s Mentorship Program, Mentor