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Shawn Cowles

Shawn E. Cowles

Partner

Shawn Cowles is an experienced trial attorney with a proven track record of success. Shawn is a bold and fearless litigator who is unafraid to take a case to trial when it’s in the best interest of his client. Shawn has taken “bet the company” cases to trial, and he has won. Shawn specializes in complex commercial litigation, construction defect and real estate litigation, and insurance coverage matters on behalf of policy holders.

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Shawn Cowles is a seasoned trial attorney with an established record of success.  Shawn has worked for twenty-six years as a commercial litigator specializing in complex commercial litigation, construction defect and real estate litigation, and insurance coverage matters on behalf of policy holders. Shawn has been named a “Rising Star” and a “Super Lawyer” in Southern California, and he has represented Fortune 500 companies in multi-million dollar lawsuits.  Shawn’s clients have trusted him with their “bet the company” commercial lawsuits, which he has won at trial.  He is known for being tough and aggressive, which arises out of his football background when he played Middle Linebacker.  Shawn litigates with a “Middle Linebacker’s mentality” as he quickly diagnoses plaintiff’s intended strategy, and aggressively responds in the appropriate manner, e.g. securing the best venue to resolve the dispute or filing a dispositive motion such as an anti-SLAPP Motion or a Motion for Summary Judgment.  Shawn is also adept at formulating a strategic plan to get his clients out of litigation, and then efficiently executing on this plan. He is a creative litigator who has obtained successful results in many contentious and complex cases. Shawn’s business clients include companies and executives related to corporate governance matters, manufacturers, automotive related companies, computer products companies, aircraft parts companies, packaging businesses, premises liability, media companies, restaurants and an assortment of other companies.   Shawn’s commercial lawsuits typically include claims for fraud, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices.  His real estate clients include real estate developers, general contractors, design-builders, architects, and property owners in their real estate disputes which include delay claims, breach of contract, defect, slope failure, licensing claims, land use entitlement issues, and lien claims. Shawn is primarily a defense attorney, and as such, he provides insurance coverage advice to his clients.  When one of his clients is sued, Shawn works to obtain insurance coverage so they do not pay for any defense costs, settlement funds, or other indemnity amounts.  Shawn has represented a wide range of insureds in their “bad faith” and other insurance coverage litigation against their insurers, and he has demonstrated an ability to secure coverage for his clients. Shawn is a litigation partner at the Dhillon Law Group which is a commercial litigation firm with offices across the country.  Shawn graduated from a top ten law school at the University of Virginia, and he also graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from Pepperdine University. Shawn has published articles and lectured on multiple business and real estate litigation topics.  He has been active in AGC, ULI and CREW-OC.

In addition to his extensive civil litigation experience, Shawn worked for almost five years at the Texas Attorney General’s Office where he was the Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation.  As the Deputy AG for Civil Litigation, Shawn was a member of TXOAG’s Executive Leadership Team, and he was responsible for managing and supervising 400 attorneys with 30,000 cases and a budget of $50 Million across 11 Civil Litigation Divisions, including Administrative Law, Antitrust, Bankruptcy and Collections, Civil Medicaid Fraud, Consumer Protection, Environmental Protection, General Litigation, Law Enforcement Defense, Tax, Torts, Transportation.

Shawn led TXOAG’s Big Tech lawsuits as he was responsible for directing and managing litigation against Big Tech companies by formulating legal strategy and supervising between 10-30 attorneys and 5-15 experts per lawsuit in the following cases led by the State of Texas: (1) Texas, et al. v. Google (Ad Tech Antitrust); (2) Texas v. Google (Pixel phone misrepresentations); (3) Texas v. Google (Geolocation and Incognito mode); (4) Texas v. Facebook (Facial Recognition/Biometrics); and (5) Texas v. Google (Facial Recognition/Biometrics).  Shawn also supervised TXOAG attorneys in multistate lawsuits where Texas was a Plaintiff: (a) U.S., et al. v. Google (Antitrust Search Monopoly); (b) New York, et al. v. Facebook (Antitrust Divestiture); and (c) Utah, et al. v. Google (In-App Purchases). As TXOAG’s Big Tech leader, Shawn was responsible for managing and supervising investigations into TikTok, Twitter, GoFundMe, and Meta/Facebook.

Shawn initially began working for TXOAG’s elite Special Litigation Unit which is comprised of its best trial attorneys.  Shawn was the lead defense trial attorney in Laddy Valentine, et al v. Bryan Collier, et al, Case No. 4:20-CV-01115, which was a class action lawsuit involving an alleged violation of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution based upon the purported failure to protect prisoners from COVID-19.  In Valentine, Shawn’s clients prevailed as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal determined that there was no Constitutional violation. Shawn was also the lead plaintiff’s counsel in the representation of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in the Bastrop Fire Litigation – which concerned the largest wildfire in Texas State history – that resulted in an eight-figure settlement for TPWD that enabled it to restore the historic Bastrop State Park.  As a member of the Special Litigation Unit, Shawn managed and conducted election law litigation, handled construction defect disputes, as well as Quo Warranto cases, and Clean Water Act cases.

During his time at TXOAG, Shawn developed close working relationships with Attorney General representatives from states across the country as they worked together on both multistate investigations and lawsuits. As Deputy AG for Civil Litigation, Shawn supervised legal teams conducting Texas led multistate investigations regarding violations of consumer protection laws, Qui Tam medicaid fraud statutes, federal and state antitrust laws. Shawn assembled and supervised legal teams handling COVID-19 vaccine\mask mandate ban cases, and lawsuits filed against the State of Texas, Texas’ public universities, and Texas’ agencies and departments.

  • Pepperdine University, B.A. Economics and Philosophy, Graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1989; and
  • University of Virginia, J.D. in 1992.

Shawn specializes in complex commercial litigation, construction defect and real estate litigation, and insurance coverage matters on behalf of policy holders.  Shawn’s business clients include companies and executives related to corporate governance matters, manufacturers, automotive related companies, computer products companies, aircraft parts companies, packaging businesses, premises liability, media companies, restaurants and an assortment of other companies.   Shawn’s commercial lawsuits typically include claims for fraud, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices.  His real estate clients include real estate developers, general contractors, design-builders, architects, and property owners in their real estate disputes which include delay claims, breach of contract, defect, slope failure, licensing claims, land use entitlement issues, and lien claims. 

Shawn’s childhood dream of being a trial attorney came true. After an eighth-grade field trip to a courthouse to observe trial attorneys in action, and a subsequent mock trial in this same eighth-grade class where he was one of the trial attorneys, Shawn wanted to be a trial attorney. For thirty-one years now, Shawn has worked as a trial attorney during which time he’s conducted nineteen trials and arbitrations. Shawn is passionate about pursuing justice and vigorously providing the best possible legal representation to his clients.

  • Licensed in California and Texas
  • United States District Court
    • Central District of California
    • Northern District of Texas
    • Eastern District of Texas
    • Southern District of Texas
    • Western District of Texas
  • Moderator, Texas Attorney General Office’s Constitutional Law Conference for session entitled “Free Speech on College Campuses”. Speaker, Texas Attorney General Office’s Administrative Law Conference for session entitled “Role of the Attorney General”.
  • Moderator and Speaker for seminar entitled “Drones in Real Estate Development: Cutting Edge New Advances”.
  • Speaker at Associated General Contractors of America seminar entitled “Drones in Construction: How to Comply with FAA & Local Regulations”.
  • Panelist at the CREW-OC seminar entitled “What’s Your 2017 Strategic Plan?”
  • Speaker at Seminar on “Trial Strategies – What Worked and What Did Not Work in Idaho – Lessons Learned”.
  • Speaker at seminar entitled “Modification of California’s Mechanic’s Lien and Stop Notice Law – A Guide for Preventing Mechanic’s Liens, Stop Notices and Payment Bonds Pertaining to California’s Modified Law”.
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