10 Feb 2026
Latham & Watkins bolsters Texas litigation with partners Taj Clayton and Scott Thomas
"Taj Clayton and Scott Thomas join Latham & Watkins as partners in its Complex Commercial Litigation Practice in Texas; Clayton will also chair the firm's Litigation & Trial Department in Texas."
Taj Clayton is a nationally recognized litigator who represents Fortune 500 companies, major sports franchises, and private equity firms in high-stakes complex commercial disputes across the United States. Highly regarded for his courtroom skills, his experience includes bet-the-company disputes, sensitive investigations, and multi-jurisdictional litigation. His practice frequently manages regulatory, transactional, and compliance issues and involves defending mass tort claims, negligence and vicarious liability claims, prosecuting and defending multibillion-dollar contract and fraud disputes, class actions, shareholder counseling, climate change matters, and other complex tort litigation. Clayton has secured dismissals, dispositive rulings, favorable settlements, and defense verdicts in federal and state courts nationwide. He joins Latham & Watkins as a partner and will serve as Chair of Latham's Litigation & Trial Department in Texas. Clayton joins from Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He received his JD from Harvard Law School, his BA from Harvard College, and clerked for Judge Mark L. Wolf of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Scott Thomas is an accomplished trial lawyer whose practice spans commercial litigation, securities litigation, and white collar matters in federal and state courts, including Texas, New York, and California. He has a track record of handling complex, high-stakes disputes at the intersection of regulatory, commercial, and governance issues. Thomas represents technology, energy, financial services, and sports and entertainment companies, as well as individuals, in matters involving fiduciary duty, fraud, shareholder claims, trade secrets, insurance coverage, breach of contract, and criminal investigations and trials. He has secured multiple nationally recognized jury verdicts and judgments for both plaintiffs and defendants. Thomas joins Latham & Watkins as a partner from Winston & Strawn LLP. He received his JD from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, an MA in Taxation from Baylor University, and a BBA in accounting and finance from Texas Christian University, and he clerked for Chief Judge A. Joe Fish of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.