William "Casey" Vaughn

William “Casey” Vaughn joined Smith Anderson's Construction and Litigation practice groups in 2018. Casey represents contractors, owners, developers, sureties and design professionals in a variety of disputes and construction related matters.

Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Casey was an associate in the Dallas office of a large international law firm where he worked on a wide range of complex commercial and construction disputes, including domestic and international arbitrations, multi-district class action litigation, regulatory investigations and antitrust disputes.

Recognition

• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Construction (2024)
• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch^® in America
  
  • Construction Law (2022-2025)
  • Litigation - Construction (2024-2025)
  • Litigation - Real Estate (2024-2025)
  • Real Estate Law (2024-2025)
• Member, Texas Law Review
• Recipient, Dean’s Achievement Award – Outstanding Student in Construction Law, Fall 2011

Education

• The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors, 2013
  • Order of the Coif
• University of North Carolina, B.A. in Peace, War & Defense and Political Science, with Honors and Distinction, 2010
  • Phi Beta Kappa

Bar & Court Admissions

• Construction Law Section Council, North Carolina Bar Association (2024-Present)

Select experience includes:*

• Defended an engineering, procurement and construction joint venture against allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in a multi-billion dollar dispute arising out of one of the largest construction projects in North America, resulting in a take-nothing award in favor of the defense after a month-long arbitration.
• Represented a buyer of mid-stream operating plants and related pipelines asserting breach of warranty claims against the seller, resulting in a favorable settlement on the eve of arbitration.
• Conducted an internal investigation into allegations of fraud and misconduct on behalf a national retirement plan provider.
• Defended a non-profit against claims of fraud and breach of warranty, resulting in summary judgment in favor of the defendant.
• Defended trade associations and individual defendants against antitrust claims asserting violations of 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, resulting in a favorable settlement.

*Includes matters handled prior to joining Smith Anderson