Charles Babcock

Practice Areas

Trial & Appellate Litigation

Career

Charles “Chip” Babcock is a Texas-based trial and appellate lawyer who litigates at both the trial and appellate levels, including arbitration, across the United States. He has tried over 100 cases to a jury, handled over ten domestic and international arbitrations and argued over 50 appeals. He handles all types of commercial trial work and has particular experience in media and First Amendment litigation. Chip has represented individuals such as Jerry Jones, Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil McGraw, George W. Bush, and Reggie Love (aide to President Obama). His corporate clients have included Independent Bank, 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.

Chip is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American Law Institute, and is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is a member of the Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute. He also qualifies as a Barrister in the Order of Centurions and an Advocate in the Order of Certus.

Professional Memberships

American College of Trial Lawyers; American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); The Center for American and International Law (CAIL); International Academy of Trial Lawyers; Litigation Counsel of America; American Law Institute; The Texas Philosophical Society; Brown University Crew

Previously served on the Texas Commission of Judicial Selection (2019-2020)