Mark A. Alexander, P.C.

Core Practice Focus

• Civil litigation for victims of investment fraud, with a concentration in:
• Oil and gas investment fraud (fake or misrepresented drilling programs, oversold interests, royalty schemes).
• Securities and private placement fraud, including offerings that should have been registered.
• Ponzi schemes and commingled drilling programs that pay earlier investors with later investors' money.
• Working interest and royalty interest fraud.
• Business and commercial fraud related to investment schemes.

Geographic Focus

• Based in Dallas, Texas.
• Represents clients throughout Texas and nationwide.
• Many cases are filed in Texas courts because so many fraudulent oil and gas offerings are organized and sold from Texas.

Legal Framework

• Regularly uses the Texas Securities Act and related Texas and federal law.
• Common civil claims include:
• Violations of the Texas Securities Act.
• Fraud and fraud in the inducement.
• Breach of contract.
• Breach of fiduciary duty.
• Requests for exemplary (punitive) damages, attorney's fees, and costs where the evidence supports them.

Approach to Cases

• Concentrated practice in investment fraud and oil and gas fraud since 2007.
• Heavy emphasis on documentary evidence:
• Offering documents and promotional materials.
• Texas Railroad Commission well records (permits, completion reports, production volumes, plugging reports).
• Secretary of State filings and other corporate records.
• Securities filings, where applicable.
• Bank and financial records showing the path of investor funds.
• Cases are built so that, where possible, the court can rule on summary judgment based on the written record.

Representative Types of Matters

• Unregistered and fraudulently sold oil and gas securities.
• Fractional working interest and royalty interest schemes based on inflated reserves, costs, or misrepresented well status.
• Ponzi-type programs and commingled drilling programs.
• Receivership and bankruptcy matters arising from collapsed investment schemes.
• Post-judgment collection to turn a paper judgment into actual recovery.

Past results, including specific judgments and defense wins, do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case depends on its own facts and the assets available to satisfy any judgment.

Office Address

• The Gild

8150 North Central Expressway 10th Floor Dallas, Texas 75206

Telephone and Fax

• Phone: 972-544-6968
• Fax: 972-421-1500

Email

• Email: mark@markalexanderlaw.com

How to Contact the Firm

• Prospective clients can contact the Firm by:
• Calling the office.
• Sending an email.
• Using the secure contact form on the Firm's website.

Important Notices

• Contacting the Firm, including through the website contact form, does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.
• Do not send confidential or time-sensitive information until an attorney-client relationship has been formally established.
• The information on the Firm's website is for general information purposes only and is not legal advice for any specific situation.
• Attorney advertising: past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

For the most current contact information or to schedule a consultation, visitors should refer to the contact page on the Firm's website or call the office directly.

Lists Central, Lawton, Dallas, Dearborn, Detroit, Lansing, Wayne, and Mentor as a location. Names Michigan, Texas, and United States as a service area. Areas beyond these are not published.

Hybrid Fee Arrangements

• In rare cases, the Firm may agree to a hybrid fee structure, which can include:
• A reduced hourly rate, and
• A percentage of any recovery.
• Whether a hybrid arrangement is available is determined on a case-by-case basis after reviewing the facts and scope of the work.

Written Fee Agreements

• Every engagement is governed by a written attorney-client agreement signed before substantive work begins.
• The agreement explains:
• The fee structure (hourly or hybrid).
• How retainers are handled.
• Responsibility for court costs and litigation expenses.

What Clients Can Expect

• A candid discussion of likely scope and cost at the initial consultation, based on the available facts.
• No guarantees of results or recovery amounts, consistent with legal and ethical rules.

The Firm does not publish specific hourly rates or total case costs on this site. For current fee information tailored to your situation, please contact the Firm directly.

Preparing for a First Consultation

To make the initial conversation as productive as possible, prospective clients are encouraged to prepare:

• The documents received and sent about the investment.
• A chronology of events — a dated list of contacts with the promoter or company, what was said, and what was promised.
• Contact information for any other investors known to be in the same deal.

The First Conversation

• You describe the investment and what has happened.
• You receive a candid assessment, including:
• Whether the known facts suggest fraud.
• Which legal remedies may be available.
• What obstacles the case may face.
• Whether pursuing the claim appears to make economic sense.
• Not every loss is fraud, and not every fraud claim is worth bringing; the purpose of the review is to determine where your situation falls.

After the Firm Accepts a Case

If the Firm agrees to represent you and an attorney-client agreement is signed, the work typically includes:

• Detailed review of offering documents and your payment records.
• Investigation of the promoter, operator, and wells using public and regulatory records.
• Identifying every viable legal claim and every potentially liable defendant, including individuals such as salesmen, closers, and control persons under the Texas Securities Act.
• Determining whether related receivership or bankruptcy proceedings already exist and how they affect your recovery.

Lawsuit Process

When a lawsuit is warranted, steps generally include:

1. Demand Letters

• Written demands to each potential defendant, explaining the basis of liability and demanding a return of what the law entitles you to.

2. Filing Suit

• Claims often include violations of the Texas Securities Act, fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and requests for exemplary damages, attorney's fees, and costs.

3. Discovery

• Formal exchange of information, including:
• Document production.
• Written questions (interrogatories).
• Requests to admit or deny specific facts.
• Depositions of key witnesses.
• In the Firm's experience, this is where most fraud cases are truly won, as the money trail and misrepresentations are documented.

4. Mediation and Settlement Discussions

• Many cases are referred to mediation after discovery.
• Thorough preparation of the record is often what drives favorable settlements.

5. Summary Judgment or Trial

• Where the documented evidence is strong enough, the Firm seeks summary judgment — a court ruling based on the record without a jury trial.
• If a case cannot be resolved on the papers or through settlement, it proceeds to trial.

Timeframes

• Timelines vary widely by case.
• A matter resolved by an early demand and settlement may conclude significantly faster than fully contested litigation.
• Litigation prepared for summary judgment is typically shorter than a case that must be tried.
• Where a collapsed scheme is in receivership or bankruptcy, investors should expect the process to take a year or more as the court-appointed fiduciary gathers and distributes assets.

Parallel Regulatory and Criminal Actions

• Regulatory enforcement or criminal prosecution does not replace your civil claim.
• Reporting fraud is appropriate and does not prevent you from pursuing your own lawsuit to seek recovery.

No outcome can be guaranteed. Whether a case is worth pursuing depends on the specific facts, the strength of the evidence, and the availability of assets to satisfy a judgment.

Experience and Approach

• Has represented more than 210 investors across the United States in fraud-related matters.
• Focuses on building cases on documents and records, including:
• Offering materials and promotional documents.
• Texas Railroad Commission well files (permits, completions, production volumes, plugging records).
• Corporate and securities filings.
• Bank and financial records tracing investor funds.
• Prepares each case as though it may be decided on the written record, often seeking summary judgment where the evidence supports it.
• Continues work post-judgment to pursue collection so that a judgment becomes actual recovery where possible.

Representative Types of Matters

• Unregistered and fraudulently sold oil and gas securities.
• Working interest and royalty interest fraud.
• Ponzi schemes and commingled drilling programs.
• Receivership and bankruptcy proceedings arising from collapsed schemes.
• Post-judgment collection efforts.
• Select defense of industry executives in large securities and fraud cases.

Recognition

• AV Preeminent® Rated, Martindale-Hubbell — the highest rating available for legal ability and ethical standards, based on evaluations by judges and fellow attorneys.
• Life Member, Million Dollar Advocates Forum — membership limited to attorneys who have obtained million-dollar verdicts and settlements.
• Life Member, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum — membership limited to attorneys who have obtained multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements; fewer than 1% of attorneys in the United States are members.

Court Admissions

• Supreme Court of Texas.
• Supreme Court of Michigan.
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits.
• U.S. District Courts:
• Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas.
• Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan.
• Additional state and federal courts by pro hac vice admission, as permitted.

Education

• J.D., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan (1985) — Academic Dean's List.
• B.A., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan (1979).

Teaching and Mentoring

• Adjunct Professor of Business Law, Henry Ford College, Dearborn, Michigan.
• Mentor to law students at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law.

Working Style with Clients

• Clients work directly with Mark Alexander throughout the engagement.
• Caseload is deliberately selective to allow close attention to each matter.
• Communication is direct and in plain language about what is happening and why.
• Provides candid assessments from the first conversation, including when a claim is weak or uneconomical to pursue.

Past results and recognitions do not guarantee future outcomes. Every matter depends on its own facts and circumstances.

Ask anyway — the agent will say plainly that it is not published rather than guess.