Erin M. Eckhoff

Erin Eckhoff is a litigator with experience representing clients in civil and criminal matters. Erin’s current practice is focused on litigating, arbitrating, and mediating complex commercial matters, including contractual disputes, business torts, securities litigation, and product liability disputes. Before returning to private practice, Erin was a Post-Conviction Attorney with the Texas Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, where she represented indigent clients in writ litigation in state courts across the State of Texas. Prior to moving to Austin, Erin practiced in commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense and investigations in the New York office of Goodwin Procter and the Chicago office of Ice Miller.

Erin received her law school degree from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. While in law school, Erin represented indigent clients through the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Center on Wrongful Convictions and served as the Senior Articles Editor for the Journal of Law and Social Policy. Before law school, Erin graduated from Truman State University with honors and worked for the American Bar Foundation, a nonprofit organization engaged in the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law.

• American Bar Association (Member)

Trade Secret, Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Litigation

• Secured voluntary dismissal with prejudice following trial and appellate level denial of a request for preliminary injunction on behalf of a successful startup company in misappropriation of trade secret claims brought by an established competitor in the semiconductor equipment trading industry;
• Enforced breach of non-compete and non-solicit covenants on behalf of mortgage broker after former employees joined a competitor and solicited former clients using mortgage company resources.

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Business Disputes and Business Torts

• Successfully settled breach of contract and business tort litigation filed against publicly traded wind-power company across several jurisdictions;
• Obtained favorable summary judgment ruling on behalf of a contract manufacturer in a dispute with a vendor about manufactured products;
• Secured settlement agreement for commercial real estate listing company in breach of contract litigation with marketing services provider;
• Advised clients on how to avoid, anticipate, or resolve contract and business litigation issues, including avoiding litigation related to dissolution of licensing and other contractual agreements and navigating litigation against State of Texas agencies in order to resolve contract disputes litigation.

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Public Information Act and Books and Records Requests

• Assisted multiple clients in the process of protecting proprietary, confidential, and trade secret business information otherwise subject to requests under the Texas Public Information Act without having to seek court intervention;
• Litigated under the Texas Public Information Act to both enforce protections of proprietary, confidential, and trade secret business information of businesses that contract with State of Texas entities and agencies, and to enforce statutory rights under the Texas Public Information Act to public information held by State of Texas entities and agencies;  
• Represented LLC member in suit against LLC to compel access to LLC books and records pursuant to Texas law.

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Pro Bono

• Prepared clemency application for woman convicted of murdering her husband, who physically, emotionally, psychologically, and financially abused her for decades;
• Submitted amicus curiae brief to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in support of an individual challenging his capital murder conviction;
• Advised detained immigrant women on how to understand and prepare for the Credible/Reasonable Fear Interview necessary to seek asylum under United States law.