Commercial litigation · Dallas, Texas
When the stakes are high, strategy matters.
Strategic representation for Dallas businesses, owners and executives navigating complex commercial disputes. Tina Wysk is a litigation shareholder at Hallett & Perrin, P.C., with experience handling demanding matters in state and federal courts.
- Shareholder, Hallett & Perrin, P.C.
- State and federal courts
- Plaintiffs and defendants
ShareholderHallett & Perrin, P.C., litigation section
State and federalTexas courts and all U.S. District Courts of Texas
Texas Bar CollegeMember since 2022
J.D., summa cum laudeWhittier Law School; Managing Editor, Law Review
Downtown Dallas1445 Ross Avenue, serving Dallas-Fort Worth
Business disputes rarely affect just one thing.
The matters that reach Tina's desk usually start as one of these. Each one carries a business decision before it carries a legal one.
- 01A business partner is withholding money or informationDistributions stop, the books close, and the person you built the company with stops answering. Texas law gives owners real rights to records and to a remedy.
- 02A major customer or vendor has breached a contractAn unpaid invoice, a canceled order, a supplier that walked away. What you can recover, and how fast, depends on the contract and on the first moves you make.
- 03Your company is being threatened with litigationA demand letter, a lawyer's call, a deadline. Most threats are best answered with a measured, well-informed response, not silence and not a counterattack.
- 04A former employee is accused of taking confidential informationCustomer lists, pricing, source files. Trade secret and non-compete law moves quickly when it moves at all, so the first days matter.
- 05A construction project has a significant payment disputeLiens, retainage, change orders, a general contractor who was paid and did not pay. Texas lien law runs on deadlines that do not wait.
- 06A shareholder or investor believes misconduct has occurredSelf-dealing, misrepresentation, money that cannot be traced. Fiduciary duty and fraud claims have specific elements and specific remedies.
Practice areas
Tina represents businesses and individuals on both sides of a dispute, as plaintiffs and as defendants, in Texas state and federal courts and in arbitration.
Commercial Litigation
Business disputes of every kind, from pre-suit strategy through trial and appeal.
Learn moreContract Disputes
Breach of contract, unpaid invoices, terminations, warranty and indemnity claims.
Learn moreShareholder & Partnership Disputes
Owners who disagree about money, control, records and exits.
Learn moreBusiness Fraud & Fiduciary Duty
Misrepresentation, self-dealing and breach of loyalty, for claimants and defendants.
Learn moreConstruction & Real Estate Litigation
Payment, lien, defect, lease and purchase disputes over property and projects.
Learn moreIntellectual Property & Trade Secrets
Trade secrets, trademarks, copying and licensing disputes between businesses.
Learn moreEmployment-Related Business Disputes
Employer-side matters: departing employees, non-competes, executive agreements.
Learn moreSecurities & Investment Disputes
Private placements, advisors and brokers, syndications, class actions.
Learn morePre-Litigation Strategy & Dispute Resolution
Demand letters, evaluation before filing, arbitration, mediation and settlement.
Learn moreExperience. Judgment. A strategy built around your goals.
Litigation is a means to a business end. Tina's work starts with the end you need and works back to the steps that get there.
Sophisticated commercial matters
Contract, partnership, fiduciary, fraud, construction, trade secret and investment disputes, in state and federal court and in arbitration.
Both sides of the table
Tina represents plaintiffs and defendants, businesses and individuals. Knowing how the other side builds its case changes how you build yours.
High-stakes experience
Her firm-published experience includes class actions, federal jury trials and multi-party payment disputes. Each matter is judged on its own facts.
Risk measured in business terms
Exposure, cost, time, distraction and relationships are weighed before a strategy is recommended, not after.
Negotiate when it serves you, litigate when it does not
Many matters start with a demand letter and end in a settlement. Some need a courtroom. The judgment is in knowing which is which.
A business decision first
Litigation decisions are business decisions.
A dispute costs more than legal fees. Before recommending a course, Tina looks at what the fight itself would cost the company and whether there is a shorter road to the same result.
Leadership attention
Owners and executives who spend their weeks on a lawsuit are not spending them on the business. Strategy should protect their time, not consume it.
Cash flow
Money tied up in a dispute, money spent pursuing it and money at risk in it are three different numbers. Each one matters to the decision.
Relationships and partnerships
Some counterparties will be partners again once the dispute ends. The approach should leave that possible where it is worth preserving.
Confidentiality
Court filings are public. Protective orders, sealing and the choice between court and arbitration decide what the market learns.
Reputation and continuity
Customers, lenders and employees read a dispute as a signal. The way it is handled is part of the message.
Professional experience
Selected matters from Tina's firm-published experience, described without client names or amounts. Every matter turns on its own facts; prior results do not predict another outcome.
- Contract Disputes
Breach of contract defense for an entertainment-industry client
Favorable settlement of a suit brought by a former business partner.
- Securities & Investments
Class action defense for an international financial services provider
Voluntary dismissal of the class action lawsuits.
- Non-Competes
Federal jury trial, non-compete claims
Judgment as a matter of law at the close of evidence, defeating the claims against the client.
- Construction Disputes
Payment disputes for an electrical contractor
Settlements in a series of disputes with subcontractors, general contractors and owners.
Meet Tina
A trial lawyer who reads the balance sheet as closely as the brief.
Tina Wysk is a shareholder in the litigation section of Hallett & Perrin, P.C. in downtown Dallas. Her practice covers federal and state civil litigation from the first demand letter through trial: breach of contract, partnership and shareholder disputes, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud, construction and real estate, trade secrets and non-competes, and securities and investment disputes.
She represents businesses and the people who own and run them, on whichever side of the dispute they find themselves. Clients describe the work the same way she does: direct advice, a clear plan, and a lawyer who tells them what she thinks.
- Shareholder, Hallett & Perrin, P.C.
- J.D., summa cum laude, Whittier Law School
- Texas Bar College member
- State Bar of Texas; all U.S. District Courts of Texas
Insights
Plain-English guides to the questions business owners ask before they call a litigator.
Shareholder, Partnership & LLC Disputes
My Partner Is Taking Money From the Company. What Can I Do?
Secure the evidence, demand the records in writing, then choose the claim: fiduciary breach, conversion, civil theft, fraud or an accounting. Courts can stop the bleeding fast.
Demand Letters & Pre-Litigation
Someone Sent My Business a Demand Letter. Should I Respond?
In most cases, yes: a measured, deliberate response protects you better than silence. The real decision is who responds, when, and what the letter should and should not say.
Contracts & Breach of Contract
A Customer Owes My Company a Large Unpaid Invoice. What Now?
Gather the paper, present the claim in writing, then negotiate or sue. Texas gives unpaid vendors interest, a sworn-account pleading, and fees if the claim was presented first.
Employer Disputes & Non-Competes
Is My Non-Compete Enforceable in Texas?
Yes, if it was part of an otherwise enforceable agreement and its time, territory and scope are no broader than needed to protect the company. Here is the two-part Texas test.
Litigation Process, Fees & Risk
How Much Does a Business Lawsuit Cost in Dallas?
No honest lawyer can quote a total on day one. The cost is set by the discovery level, the motions, the experts, the court and the other side. How each one moves the number.
Arbitration, Mediation & Settlement
Should I Settle or Go to Trial?
Settle when the certain payment beats the probable judgment after fees, time, collection risk and appeal. Try the case when it does not, or when more than money is at stake.
A dispute can change the direction of a business. Your next step matters.
Describe your situation in a few sentences. Tina reviews every inquiry personally to determine the appropriate next step, usually a short call. Sending a message does not create an attorney-client relationship.