Biography
Charles “Chip” Babcock is a Texas-based trial and appellate lawyer who litigates at both the trial and appellate levels across the United States. He has tried over 100 cases to a jury and argued over 50 appeals. He handles all types of commercial trial work and has particular experience in media and First Amendment litigation. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the Litigation Counsel of America. He is a Fellow of the American Law Institute. Chip has represented individuals such as Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil McGraw, George W. Bush, and Reggie Love (aide to President Obama). His corporate clients have included ORIX USA, Celanese Corp, Fox News Network, CNN, Google, CBS Television Studios, Vantage Drilling International, Warner Brothers Pictures, New Line Cinema, 3M Corporation and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
Chip has tried highly publicized cases such as Turner v. Dolcefino, which was covered gavel to gavel for nine weeks on CourtTV (now TruTV); Texas Beef v. Oprah Winfrey, which was litigated for six weeks in Amarillo, Texas, and concerned the popular talk show host’s statements about “mad cow” disease; Knight v. The Chicago Tribune, a case tried in Cook County, Illinois, involving a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist defendant and his highly acclaimed series about prosecutorial misconduct; In re Sharon Keller, which involved an effort to remove the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals from the bench; and In re Hecht, where the Judicial Conduct Commission attempted to admonish the (now) Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court over statements he made in support of a nominee to the United States Supreme Court.
Education
A.B., Brown University
- Rowing Team (4 years), Freshman and Varsity Crews
- WBRU FM, Sports Director
J.D., Boston University School of Law
- Executive Editor, Boston University Law Review
Bar Admissions
Texas, 1977
New York, 2016
Arkansas, 2020
Court Admissions
United States Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits
United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
- Bet-the-Company – Southern Chemical Corporation v. Celanese Ltd. 2012 (U.S. District Court – 190th Judicial District, Harris County, TX) (breach of contract/fraud; Jury Trial)
- First Amendment – Speech First, Inc. v. Fenves 2019 (U.S. District Court – W.D. Tex.) (constitutionality of University of Texas at Austin speech policies) (preliminary injunction hearing)
- Commercial Litigation – BSAG v. North America 2014 (U.S. District Court – 127th Judicial District, Harris County, TX) (breach of contract, tortious interference with contract fraud; Jury Trial)
- Intellectual Property – Paul Natkin, et al. v. Oprah Winfrey, et al. 2000 (U.S. District Court-N.D. Illinois at Chicago) (copyright infringement – Jury Trial)
- Government Investigations – (Confidential)
- Media Litigation – Texas Beef Group, et al. v. Oprah Winfrey, et al. 1998 (U.S. District Court – N.D. Tex. at Amarillo) (veggie libel statute, business disparagement-Jury Trial); Rodney Allan Henderson v. MediaOne L.L.C. d/b/a The Monitor (U.S. District Court – 3rd Judicial District, Henderson County, TX) (defamation claim) (appeal pending in Tyler Court of Appeals, 2019)
- Appellate Practice – Deepak Kalpoe et al. v. Phillip C. McGraw et al., 2015 (Second District Court of Appeals); Jones v. Warner Brothers, 2019 (Texas Supreme Court)
- Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award, 2018
- Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award, The Texas Bar Foundation, 2016
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
- Ranked for First Amendment Litigation – Nationwide, 2007-2020
- Ranked for Litigation: Trial Lawyers – Nationwide, 2010-2019
- Ranked for Litigation: Trial Lawyers – Texas, 2020
- Ranked for Litigation: General Commercial – Texas, 2006-2020
- Trial Ace, Law360, 2015
- Lion of the Texas Bar, Texas Lawbook, The Dallas Morning News, 2015
- Professional Excellence Award: Lifetime Achievers, Texas Lawyer, 2015
- 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century, Texas Lawyer, 2010
- Top First Amendment attorney, Commercial Litigation attorney and Trial Lawyer, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
- The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.)
- Appellate Practice, 2020-2021
- Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2010-2021
- Commercial Litigation, 2006-2021
- First Amendment Law, 1992-2021
- Litigation – First Amendment Law, 2011-2021
- Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2011-2021
- “Texas Super Lawyer,” Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2020
- Top 100: Texas Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2004, 2007-2008, 2010-2014
- Top 100: Houston Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2005-2017
- Top 100: Dallas/Fort Worth Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters 2003-2004
- Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, 2009, 2011-2012, 2018
- Top Lawyers in Houston, H Texas magazine
- Texas’ “Go To” Lawyers, Texas Lawyer
- AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
- Who’s Who Legal: Texas, Commercial Litigation
- Best in Civil Litigation Defense, Super Lawyers: Corporate Counsel Edition
- Outstanding Pro Bono Service, Texas Civil Rights Project, 2013
- Meritorious Pro Bono Service Award, 1988
- Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award, 1986
- Alley Theatre, Board of Directors, 2019
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow, 2000
- The International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
- The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Fellow
- Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
- American Law Institute, Fellow
- The Texas Philosophical Society, Fellow
- Brown University Crew, Steward
- The Center for American and International Law, Fellow
Sources in Chambers acknowledge that Chip is a “superstar” and very highly regarded in First Amendment-related litigation. Interviewees go on to describe him as “very engaging, extremely likable and professional, and easily relatable to a jury so you get the benefit of a good mind with mental sharpness but with an amiable exterior, too.”
Among Chip’s many successes is his representation of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions Inc. in numerous litigation matters pertaining to First Amendment law across the United States. He successfully defended The Chicago Tribune in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. He served as lead counsel for Dr. Phil in his game-changing case for the broadcast industry regarding the California Retraction Statute against the Kalpoe brothers – one-time suspects in the murder of Natalee Holloway. He defeated an effort to remove the presiding judge from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. The trial judge ruled in favor of Chip’s client, and a Special [Appellate] Court of Review dismissed all charges. In 2012, he successfully defended Celanese Ltd. in a multi-billion dollar fraud and breach of contract case involving a methanol supply agreement. In 2014, he represented the plaintiff and won a jury trial against Nissan North America, Inc. In 2015, he won a highly publicized case for a Texas District Judge regarding her posts on Facebook. In 2018, he tried a high-profile breach of contract case for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits in Dallas County. In 2019, he successfully defended The University of Texas at Austin in a preliminary injunction hearing regarding the university’s speech code.
Chip has appeared before the United States Courts of Appeal for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the Texas, California, and Illinois Intermediate Appellate and Supreme Courts. He has appeared for oral argument in more than 50 cases including the Dallas Court of Appeals, where the Court heard the first case on the merits of a dismissal under the Texas Citizens Participation Act – anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) statutes. His cases include an important matter concerning the speech and debate clause of the Federal Constitution in the Ninth Circuit. He established the First Amendment right of journalists to protect confidential sources in a Fifth Circuit case involving the TransAmerican Press. In the First Circuit, Chip successfully defended Harpo in a copyright/misappropriation appeal. In January 2013, the California Court of Appeal found that the state’s retraction statute applied to all television broadcasts and not just breaking news, thus vindicating Chip’s clients. Chip has argued and won several significant libel, defamation, and First Amendment law-related cases on behalf of major media defendants, including Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil, FOX Entertainment Group, Bill O’Reilly, and Univision. In 2019, he argued a case of first impression under the new Texas Defamation Act before the Texas Supreme Court.