Kyle Markwardt is a commercial litigator with experience across a wide range of commercial disputes, including trust and estate litigation, director and officer fiduciary litigation, investment fund litigation, shareholder disputes, and partnership disputes. He assists clients across the U.S. in federal and state courts and represents clients in arbitration proceedings.
Kyle has experience representing clients in first-party insurance, trademark, trade secret, copyright, contract, and real estate disputes. He has counseled clients through all aspects of trademark law, including trademark protection, clearance, registration, and licensing. He also assists clients in protecting their trademarks through infringement and anti-counterfeiting actions.
During law school, Kyle served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Irma Ramirez, Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Texas. He also served as Managing Editor of The Year in Review for the SMU International Law Review Association. Kyle was a Quarterfinalist in the 2019-2020 Environmental Moot Court Competition held at Pace Law School in White Plains, New York. He was also a member of the Pro Bono Honor Roll, an honor given to SMU students who volunteer at least 200 hours of free legal assistance in the community.
Prior to practicing law, Kyle worked as a personal lines insurance underwriter for a national property and casualty insurer. He also worked for a foreign exchange brokerage where he helped large-to-medium sized corporate clients manage their international currency exposure.
Representative Experience
- Defended owner of several Texas businesses in an employment and investment dispute with a former employee
- Defended a Texas healthcare company in a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court
- Defended an RIA and major U.S. bank in a FINRA arbitration related to the sale of certain securities
- Defended an officer/director of a public company in a fraud case based on statements in a public filing
- Represented an RIA in an SEC investigation related to the suitability of certain investments under Regulation Best Interest
- Represented UK-based funded trading company in an arbitration with contractual counterparty
- Represented beneficiaries of several family trusts in prosecuting breach of fiduciary duty claims against multiple trustees
- Represented beneficiaries of an estate in separate will contests wherein the contestant asserted claims of undue influence and lack of testamentary intent