HAGAN NOLL & BOYLE - Key Persons
For over two decades Mr. Hagan's practice has focused in the area of complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on prosecuting and defending unlawful competition, intellectual property infringement, cyber security/circumvention, and business contract disputes before federal courts around the country. Mr. Hagan represents a wide array of media, technology, and cyber security corporate clients, including industry-leading Fortune 500 companies. In addition to traditional litigation, Mr. Hagan also represents content distributors and encryption providers in executing writs of seizure under the DMCA/FCA, and works in close connection with both domestic and foreign enforcement agencies in joint litigation efforts including the FBI, US Attorneys Office, US Customs and Border Protection, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Another significant focus of Mr. Hagan's practice includes assisting clients in obtaining injunctions, asset freeze orders, and post-judgment enforcement actions to seize financial accounts and other property, as well as upholding judgements through bankruptcy challenges.
Christine Hagan is an experienced litigator representing clients in matters involving intellectual property rights, employment, and commercial business disputes in both state and federal court. Her representation spans the full spectrum of litigation, ranging from pre-filing investigation to discovery, complex motion practice, trial, post-trial filings, and appeals.
The focus of Christine's practice is intellectual property litigation, with a particular emphasis on anti-piracy matters involving violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Federal Communications Act, and Electronic Communications Privacy Act. She recently secured judgments of $585 million, $90 million, and $30 million on behalf of her clients alongside permanent injunctions in three federal court cases involving the theft and unauthorized re-transmission of her clients' television programming.
Christine credits her record of success to her attention to detail and ability to assimilate those details into a persuasive case within the relevant legal framework. Well-respected among her peers, Christine was selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2013-2020, an honor given to the top up-and-coming attorneys in Texas. She is a competitor at heart, a quality which helped earn her All-American accolades as a collegiate athlete, and which continues to serve her clients' best interests.
PERSONAL
Christine enjoys traveling and hiking with her husband, Chad. She is also a sports fan and loves cheering on her favorite athletes, their three children, as they compete in football, baseball, swimming, and dance.
Christopher Craven has been a licensed attorney in Texas since 1998. Mr. Craven's focus throughout his career has been complex commercial litigation. He has represented clients in cases involving business contract disputes, intellectual property infringement, content distribution and commercial foreclosures, and bankruptcy law with a focus on creditors' rights.
Mr. Craven has represented such diverse clients as DISH Network L.L.C., Viacom18 Private Media Limited, MSM Asia Limited, NagraStar LLC, KTRK Television, Inc., Frost National Bank, Bank of Texas, N.A., Amegy Bank, N.A., AT&T, Noble Energy, Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages, Inc., and Reliant Energy amongst many others.
Mr. Craven joined Hagan, Noll, and Boyle's litigation team in 2010.
PERSONAL
Mr. Craven is married to Kendra Baze-Craven, and lives in the Montrose Museum District close to downtown Houston. He has two identical twin sons attending high school at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. Mr. Craven enjoys chess, reading speculative fiction, and spending time with his family when not in the office.
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, Mr. Swick has been representing both defendants and plaintiffs for more than 20 years. Mr. Swick represents corporations, individuals, and families in the areas of wrongful death, automobile collisions, commercial vehicle cases, motorcycle accidents, product liability claims, premises liability claims, and work-related accidents.
David Noll is a trial attorney with extensive experience in complex commercial litigation. Mr. Noll primarily represents Fortune 500 clients in the direct broadcast satellite industry and routinely handles cases involving business disputes.
A substantial portion of his law practice is also devoted to prosecuting and defending labor and employment-related cases. Mr. Noll is Board Certified in Labor & Employment by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has successfully litigated cases brought under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and numerous other state and federal anti-discrimination and retaliation statutes.
Throughout his legal career he has litigated a wide array of business issues with millions of dollars at stake, ranging from software development and television programming disagreements to complex asset purchase agreements.
Joe Boyle specializes in commercial litigation and intellectual property matters, with a focus on handling copyright, signal theft, and piracy-related cases across the United States. He represents over 170 television channels, as well as television distributors and companies that provide security and conditional access measures to protect television content. Joe also serves as outside counsel to the International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP).
Joe's experience extends to both domestic and international entertainment law issues, including the distribution of international sports programming, foreign-language television programming, and disputes over media distribution rights. Joe is experienced with enforcement actions during live sporting events such as the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, where his team secured emergency court orders to shut down multiple websites illegally streaming matches to the public.
Joe and his team recently won a multi-day bench trial in Florida federal court against a streaming set-top box distributor, receiving a judgment of $600,000 plus attorney fees. He and his team have led over 30 lawsuits involving illegal streaming of copyrighted content or circumvention of encryption systems resulting in numerous $50 million to $100 million judgments against foreign manufacturers and domestic product distributors.
Joe's appellate work includes a recent oral argument before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals leading to the court upholding a $100 million judgment in favor of his clients against intellectual property infringers from China and Hong Kong, and the defendants' petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court was denied after briefing.
Nhu-Thinh Nguyen is a graduate of Texas A&M University School of Law where he graduated cum laude, served as a citations editor for the University's Law Review and clerked at the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas. Nhu-Thinh developed his advocacy skills as a member of the school's moot court team. Prior to attending Texas A&M University School of Law, Nhu-Thinh earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Practice Areas
Intellectual Property Litigation
Stephanie A. Waller is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has spent the last 17 years focused primarily on employment litigation. Her litigation practice includes representing employers in a broad range of matters, including:
Discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, religion, or disability
Sexual harassment and hostile work environment
Retaliation, including workers' compensation retaliation
Claims under The Family and Medical Leave Act
Collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Moving to enforce arbitration agreements
Breach of contract disputes, including non-compete and non-disclosure agreements
Claims for negligent hiring and negligent retention, sexual assault, defamation and slander, conversion, unjust enrichment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress
Stephanie represents employers in federal and state court, as well as in arbitration. Her representation extends to proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board.
In addition to her litigation practice, Stephanie advises employers on all manner of employment-related issues, ranging from advising on terminations and internal investigations to drafting employment handbooks, arbitration agreements, severance agreements, and reviewing wage and hour policies.
Stephen M. Ferguson joined Hagan Noll & Boyle, LLC in January 2009 as an associate attorney and has been a partner since December 2017. He has been a licensed attorney since November 2005.
Mr. Ferguson focuses his practice on commercial litigation matters. He has represented the firm's clients in cases involving complex commercial litigation, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, satellite signal theft, breach of contract, construction, employment, and other business issues.
Prior to attending South Texas College of Law, Mr. Ferguson earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from Texas State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Ferguson was also employed as a financial analyst for a semiconductor research and development consortium. He utilizes his business education and experience in his practice of law.
PERSONAL
Mr. Ferguson was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1978, and was raised in Mount Vernon, Texas. He enjoys time at the lake and beach, attending sporting events and concerts, and traveling.
Mr. Frank focuses his practice on anti-piracy and intellectual property litigation. For more than fifteen years, he has represented major players in the entertainment industry, accumulating a number of significant victories against businesses engaged in copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, and violations of other content protection laws such as the DMCA, Communications Act, and Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Mr. Frank enjoys fly fishing with classic cane rods, upland bird hunting, and spending time with his family, including his two German Shorthaired Pointers.