Aaron C. Dilbeck is a partner at Munck Wilson Mandala, practicing in the complex litigation/dispute resolution group.  His practice is focused on intellectual property disputes and commercial litigation.

Aaron advocates for national and international clients throughout the country and on both sides of the docket. He has experience with matters involving business torts, fraud, and breaches of fiduciary duties; complex contractual relationships; broker and finder controversies; confidentiality and non-disclosure disagreements; trade secret and patent infringement battles; partnership and investment disputes; securities fraud litigation; and tortious interference claims.

Aaron advocates for national and international clients throughout the country and on both sides of the docket. He has experience with matters involving business torts, fraud, and breaches of fiduciary duties; complex contractual relationships; broker and finder controversies; confidentiality and non-disclosure disagreements; trade secret and patent infringement battles; partnership and investment disputes; securities fraud litigation; and tortious interference claims.

Aaron received his J.D. with honors from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law where he was executive editor of the SMU Science and Technology Law Review.  Prior to law school, Aaron worked as a ceramics engineer providing research and development as well as quality assurance and control. Aaron is also the first listed inventor on US Patent Nos. 10,047,002; 10,899,655; and 11,565,465.

  • Represented plaintiff at trial which resulted in eight-figure patent infringement verdict in federal case involving motion detection technology, which was reversed by the Federal Circuit on patent validity grounds
  • Represented corporation defending against claims for fraud and fraudulent inducement arising from a business transaction.  The plaintiff demanded more than $1.9 million in damages.  After a one-week trial, the jury found entirely in favor of the client
  • Co-defense counsel in federal court action in California, in which investment banking firm sued company for breach of contract, promissory fraud, and declaratory judgment relating to multi-million dollar deals for the purchase of hotels where, after removing the lawsuit to federal court, achieved dismissal of the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiff filed a new lawsuit in Texas State Court. After deposing the plaintiff’s corporate representative, the parties reached a settlement favorable to our client
  • Co-appellate counsel defending company and executive in securities fraud lawsuit. The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment against the defendants and remanded with directions, and the state’s Supreme Court adopted our client’s argument. The case is currently remanded to the trial court
  • Co-defense counsel for a company allegedly liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuant to purported breach of contract. After filing a counter-claim and motion to compel, the plaintiff settled for a walk-away
  • Represented plaintiff asserting single, double, and triple derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty and seeking appointment of a receiver. After filing motion for a receiver, the plaintiff received a favorable settlement
  • Co-defense counsel for borrowers and guarantors sued by lender seeking millions in monetary damages related to multi-million dollar commercial loans across multiple jurisdictions. Facilitated settlement whereby the lender agreed not to seek monetary damages
  • Represented plaintiff in infringement cases against prior licensees in Texas and California
  • Co-defense counsel in multi-million dollar business torts lawsuit where defeated emergency Rule 202 Petition and, in subsequent lawsuit, defeated application for temporary restraining order (after evidentiary hearing) filed against client
  • Facilitated confidential and non-confidential settlements for various clients on both sides of the docket regarding various disputes

  • Article: How Derivative Will Derivative Claims Go?, Law360, April 13, 2023.
  • Article: ‘Dual Purpose’ Communications, the Attorney-Client Privilege, and the ‘Primary Purpose’ Test in Texas: SCOTUS Punts, But Does Texas?, Expert Opinion, ALM, February 6, 2023.
  • Article: More Efficient International Service of Process: To Hague, or not to Hague, that is the question.,  Featured Law Article, International Law Section, State Bar of Texas, March 4, 2022.
  • Article: Justices’ CFAA Ruling Shows Contract Safeguards Insufficient, Law360, June 25, 2021.
  • Article: When ESI Spoliation May Lead to Termination, ABA, June 26, 2020.
  • Article: Password-Sharing May Be a Federal Crime Under the Muddied Waters of the CFAA, Corporate Counsel, January 5, 2018.
  • Presentation: assisted with July 2017 seminar on Hotel Litigation,
    at La Quinta Corporate Headquarters in Irving, Texas.
  • Presentation: assisted with December 2017 seminar on Hotel Data & The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,
    at Phoenix American Hospitality Corporate Headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
  • Article: Password-Sharing May Be a Federal Crime Under the Muddied Waters of the CFAA,
    Cybersecurity, Law & Strategy (Law Journal Newsletters), February 2018
    Corporate Counsel, January 5, 2018.
  • Presentation: assisted moderator and speaker for presentation, Data Protection & Cybersecurity,
    at the NACDL 14th Annual White Collar Seminar on November 9, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
  • Article: Supreme Court Participates in Patent Reform: Judicial Case Management,
    18 SMU Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 3 (2015)

In the News

How Derivative Will Derivative Claims Go?

Written as Expert Analysis for Law360 on Apr. 13, 2023 by Shain Khoshbin and Aaron Dilbeck Given the continuing complexities of corporate structures, various courts have recently continued to relax certain standing and capacity requirements for a direct derivative claim to permit someone with an ownership interest in a parent company to seek redress for

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Press Releases

Nine Munck Wilson Mandala Attorneys Selected as Texas Rising Stars

Dilbeck and Howison are newly honored this year as Texas Rising Stars and Lopano and Strauss are recognized among the prestigious Up and Coming 50: 2022 Women in Texas Rising Stars.  Lopano was also listed among the Up and Coming 100: 2022 Texas Rising Stars.  The MWM attorneys were selected in the categories of intellectual

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In the News

Justices’ CFAA Ruling Shows Contract Safeguards Insufficient

Justices’ CFAA Ruling Shows Contract Safeguards InsufficientBy Aaron DilbeckLaw360 (June 25, 2021, 3:20 PM EDT) — On June 3, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Van Buren v. U.S. that violating contractual limitations on computer usage cannot form the basis of liability under the CFAA but expressly declined to determine whether violating contractual limitations on computer

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Press Releases

Munck Wilson Mandala’s Litigation Team Successfully Defends Client Valtech in a Fraud Case

Earlier this summer in the first trial, MWM represented Valtech as plaintiff in a dispute against Cornerstone over an earn out payment due under an asset purchase agreement. Cornerstone refused to pay and countersued Valtech for fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. MWM’s Michael McCabe gave a great cross-examination of Cornerstone’s corporate

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Press Releases

13 Munck Wilson Mandala Lawyers Named 2024 Ones to Watch List

Munck Wilson Mandala is pleased to announce that 13 lawyers have been included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, a publication that recognizes up-and-coming attorneys for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice. The majority of the MWM attorneys featured on this year’s list have been named to the list annually

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Press Releases

Munck Wilson Mandala Elects Aaron Dilbeck, Patrick Whitaker, and Brent Lehman as 2024 Partners

“Aaron, Patrick, and Brent are three of the hardest working attorneys in our firm and I am pleased to see their commitment and focus lead to this next phase of their legal careers,” said William A. Munck, MWM’s managing partner.  “Each attorney brings unique talent to critical areas of our litigation team. We are looking forward

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Press Releases

Munck Wilson Mandala Presents Closing Argument on Behalf of Plaintiff in Quadvest v. San Jacinto River Authority 

Quadvest, L.P., is an investor-owned utility in Montgomery County, Texas who sued the San Jacinto River Authority for alleged antitrust violations related to a scheme by which SJRA collects fees from groundwater users like Quadvest and then uses those fees to build and operate a $500 million surface water treatment plant in direct competition with

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In the News

10 Munck Wilson Mandala Attorneys Selected as Texas Rising Stars

This week, 10 Munck Wilson Mandala attorneys were recognized as Texas Rising Stars for 2024, by Thomson Reuters.  The attorneys honored were MWM partners Chase Cobern, Aaron Dilbeck, Keith Harden, William Howison, Sarah Lopano, and Jordan Strauss; principal attorney David Arvesen; senior associates Julie Christensen and Tri Truong; and associate Tiffany Kahler.  Truong is newly

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Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, JD, 2016

cum laude

University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign, BS, 2011

Material Science and Engineering

  • State Bar of Texas
  • American Bar Association
  • Dallas Bar Association

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
    2023-2024
  • Texas Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters
    2022 – 2023

Texas, 2016

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas