Margaret Terwey

Overview


As a trial lawyer with more than a decade of experience, Margaret Terwey helps corporate decisionmakers understand their duties, manage risk, and act with integrity under pressure, both in and out of the courtroom.

Margaret’s clients range from major public companies to closely held entities and has extensive experience guiding boards, officers, and organizations through complex governance challenges and high-stakes litigation. She has counseled officers and directors navigating government investigations—including proceedings before the SEC and FDIC—and has represented clients in complex M&A disputes, shareholder litigation, and governance conflicts before the Delaware Court of Chancery and other state and federal courts.

Margaret brings the same rigor to pro bono and public interest work. She has secured the return of a child in a federal Hague Convention international abduction case, obtained asylum for a persecuted minor child, and collaborated with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Texas Association of Broadcasters, and education nonprofit Giveducation on amicus briefs before the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Margaret also advises nonprofit boards on governance matters, including reviewing governing documents for compliance with Texas and IRS requirements.

Outside of her practice, Margaret enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, reading, and running marathons to fundraise for the National Brain Tumor Society. She is an active member of the St. Rita Catholic Community and a member of the PTO Board at The Winston School.

Representative Experience


Margaret’s representative experience includes*

  •  As a member of the trial team, obtaining an opinion allowing a major midstream energy company to exit a multi-billion-dollar merger after a highly expedited proceeding before the Delaware Court of Chancery, a victory later affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court.
  • As a member of the trial team, defeating a unitholder class action seeking to unwind an equity issuance.
  • As a member of the trial team, defending a former CEO of a federally chartered bank in removal proceedings brought by the FDIC on basis of alleged breach of fiduciary duties and unsafe and unsound banking practices.
  • Securing emergency temporary restraining order on behalf of a limited partner blocking an unfair, conflicted transaction negotiated by fund managers.
  • Lifting an emergency temporary restraining order improperly obtained against limited partnership based on the violation of the partnership agreement’s forum selection provision.
  • Obtaining early dismissal of a complaint in Texas state court asserting direct and derivative breach of fiduciary duty claims against shareholder and former bank CEO.
  • Obtaining dismissal on the pleadings in federal court against investors asserting breach of fiduciary duty and fraud claims against a fellow investor.

Margaret has also represented media companies in cases involving defamation and other First Amendment-related claims.  For example, Margaret obtained the dismissal of RICO, conspiracy, tortious interference, and defamation claims brought against a local newspaper and its employees and owner in federal district court, a judgment affirmed by the Fifth Circuit.  Margaret was also part of a team that secured a reversal in favor of the Dallas Morning News in a defamation case before the Texas Supreme Court.  Additionally, Margaret collaborated on a pro bono basis with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on two amicus briefs filed in the Fifth Circuit addressing the applicability of Texas’s anti-SLAPP statute in federal court.

Margaret is also committed to pro bono work on behalf of children and families.  She was part of a trial team that secured the return of a child in an international child abduction case brought in federal court under the Hague Convention.  She was also part of a team that secured asylum for a minor child fleeing persecution in his home country.

From 2015 to 2021, Margaret was an associate with Vinson & Elkins in Dallas and San Francisco as part of its securities and M&A litigation practice.  While at Vinson & Elkins, Margaret was selected for the Super Lawyers Rising Stars Lists in Northern California (2019) and Texas (2020-2021).  Prior to entering private practice, Margaret served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Catharina Haynes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and to the Honorable David C. Godbey of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

*Includes matter handled before joining Reese Marketos

Education


University of Michigan Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2013

Order of the Coif, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
Contributing Editor, Michigan Law Review

Princeton University, A.B., Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, 2009

Member, Cap & Gown Club

The Hockaday School, 2005

Admissions


  • State Bar of Texas
  • State Bar of California
  • All U.S. District Courts in Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of California
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Awards


Awards:

  • Super Lawyers Northern California Rising Star (2019)
  • Super Lawyers Texas Rising Star (2020-2021)
  • Best Lawyers Ones to Watch (2024-2025)