Super Lawyers Advisory Board

Carter G. Phillips is the Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin LLP, and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee.  He served as a law clerk to both Judge Robert Sprecher on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Chief Justice Warren E. Burger on the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Phillips served as Assistant to the Solicitor General for three years, during which time he argued nine cases on behalf of the federal government in the United States Supreme Court.  Since joining Sidley Austin LLP, Mr. Phillips has argued 59 cases in the Supreme Court and his career total of 68 appearances before this Court is the most of any lawyer in private practice, and he has argued over 80 cases in the federal courts of appeals.  Mr. Phillips is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.  His practice is devoted almost exclusively to appellate matters.  In September 2007, Mr. Phillips received the Lewis F. Powell Award for Business Advocacy from the National Chamber Litigation Center, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  In 2008 the Legal Times named him one of the “90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years”.  In March 2010 he was named one of “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers” in Appellate Law by the National Law Journal.

Nancy S. Shilepsky is co-managing partner of Shilepsky Hartley Robb Casey Michon LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2000, Ms. Shilepsky has been a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. She represents primarily executives and professionals across a wide range of industries, and is well known for her pioneering work in wrongful termination and employment discrimination. Her many accolades include the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MLCE) Scholar-Mentor Award, the Massachusetts Bar and Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Associations Kevin Larkin Memorial Award for Public Service, and the Boston University School of Law Women's Law Association annual Alumnae Award. In 2009, Ms. Shilepsky was listed by Law & Politics/Boston magazine on the Top 10 Super Lawyers list in Massachusetts and one of the Top 100 in New England. She has been named both a “Lawyer of the Year” and a “Top Woman Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (MLW), and was featured in MLW’s  2004 “Power Issue.”  In 2010, Chambers USA named Ms. Shilepsky a Leader in the Field of Executive Compensation; and she was designated as a member of the Lawdragon national Top 3000.  Ms. Shilepsky served as co-chair of the Women’s Bar Association’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Task Force for many years, resigning in 2010, and she co-founded (and continues to co-facilitate) the Amicus Group. Ms. Shilepsky is co-author of Representing a Plaintiff in a Wrongful Termination Case and co-editor of Massachusetts Employment Law.  She has served as Treasurer of the Boston Bar Association (BBA), on the MLW Board of Editors, and as Chair of MCLE’s Employment Law Curriculum Advisory Committee and Chair of the BBA Labor and Employment Law Section.

Roy Black, senior partner of Black Srebnick Kornspan & Stumpf, is one of the nation's premier trial lawyers. With 40+ years’ experience in criminal defense, he also handles select civil lawsuits, offering a complete service in high-stakes cases.  Included for the past 23 years in Best Lawyers in America®, he has handled hundreds of cases in Florida and the US. Ranked top in Chambers and Partners, inducted into Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite Hall of Fame,” and listed in “Top 10 Florida Super Lawyers,” Mr. Black was a legal analyst for NBC’s “Today Show,” and often appears on other major network and cable news shows, explaining newsworthy legal cases. He authored Black's Law, a book that recounts his legal strategies to safeguard the freedom of four clients, and has taught advanced criminal evidence at UM Law School for over 30 years.

Thomas Girardi, a partner in Girardi|Keese, has been practicing law since 1965.  Mr. Girardi specializes in commercial litigation, product liability law, toxic torts, and bad faith cases. He is an associate professor for Loyola Law School, and was the youngest member to ever be admitted to the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an organization limited to 500 lawyers in the world. He was president of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers 2005 to 2006. Among Mr. Girardi's other associations, he is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization limited to 100 lawyers in the country who have obtained the largest verdicts in the United States.  In 2010, he was honored the “Compassionate Gladiator”, one of three lawyers in the United States. He is the past national president of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been listed in the "Best Lawyers in America" for 20 years and the "Daily Journal's" top lawyers in California since the list was first printed. In 2002, he was honored by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the “Most Powerful Attorneys” in Los Angeles.  He was inducted into the “Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame” by the California State Bar in 2003. With this presentation, he joined eleven other lawyers in the State who have been so honored since the award was first presented. He was awarded for his outstanding public support for the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs in 2003. He is the recipient of the 2004 Ted Horn Memorial Award from the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles and was just inducted into their 2008 Hall of Fame. He is listed in 2008 Benchmark’s America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys.  In a recent survey of 65,000 lawyers to determine the finest lawyer in California, he was the highest vote-getter. He has been appointed to the Judicial Council of California by Chief Justice Ronald M. George.  He is the recipient of the Irish American Bar Association’s Daniel O’Connell Award and the Italian American Bar Association’s Champion of Justice Award. He’s on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of California-Irvine, School of Law.  At the Litigation Counsel of America’s Fall Conference 2008, he was inducted as a fellow.  Fellowship in this organization is highly selective and by invitation only.  He is a member of the 2008-2009 Order of Distinguished Attorneys of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He is currently a trustee of the National Judicial College, serves on the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board and 2010 National Advisory Board Member of the Association of the Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America.

Thomas “Tommy” Malone is a recognized pioneer in obtaining just awards for victims of careless physicians, tractor trailer drivers, pilots, as well as the manufacturers of dangerous products. His multitude of million-dollar jury verdicts include a record-setting $45 million verdict, which changed the way managed care providers operate, and a verdict in excess of $49 million for a 23-year old pre-med student who suffered traumatic brain injuries as the result of a tractor-trailer wreck.  Tommy is the former President of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, and has held leadership positions with prestigious legal organizations in Georgia, as well as the International Society of Barristers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American Association for Justice. Some of Tommy’s Honors and Achievements include: Tradition of Excellence Award, State Bar of Georgia, 1999; Pursuit of Justice Award, American Bar Association/Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, 2004; Trial Lawyer of the Year, Melvin M. Belli Society, 2001; Compassionate Gladiator Award, Florida Justice Association, 2009; Warhorse Award, Southern Trial Lawyers Association (STLA), February 1996; and  STLA has honored Tommy by naming an annual award after him—the Tommy Malone Great American Eagle Award.

John Keker, who with his law school classmate Bill Brockett, founded Keker & Van Nest in 1978, is recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in the United States. In 2006, the National Law Journal recognized him as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States. In 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle named him the best lawyer in the Bay Area. That same year, American Lawyer called him "a giant of the IP trial bar." In 2001, California Lawyer identified him as most named by other lawyers as the person they would hire if trouble strikes. Each year since 1998, he was named one of California's most influential attorneys by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He has been listed in every edition of Chambers USA and Best Lawyers In America in two categories, Criminal Defense and Business Litigation, and in Super Lawyers Magazine in intellectual property litigation. He was inducted into the California State Bar's Litigation Hall of Fame in 2002 and received the Significant Contribution to Criminal Justice Award in 1996 from the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American Bar Foundation.

Cases include in 2005 representing Google against Microsoft in a high profile trade secret case; serving as trial counsel in U.S. v. Frank Quattrone in 2003 (hung jury) and in 2004 (conviction reversed by 2nd Circuit, 2006, reassigned to different trial judge then dismissed); in 2002 winning a jury trial for Genentech in a $300 million patent dispute with Chiron; in 2001, representing Cadence Design Systems, Inc., winning $195 million from Avant! in restitution for trade secret theft. Other notable cases: chief prosecutor, United States v. Oliver North, 1989, Iran/Contra Independent Counsel's Office, Washington, DC; defense counsel in United States v. Patrick Hallinan, (D. Nv. 1995); defense counsel in Ventritex v. Intermedics, listed by the National Law Journal as one of the top ten defense verdicts of 1992; plaintiff's counsel in Maglica v. Maglica, listed in the National Law Journal as one of the top ten plaintiff's verdicts of 1994, and plaintiff's counsel (with Robert Van Nest) in Xilinx v. Altera, (N.D. Cal.) one of the most significant patent trials of 2000.

Mr. Schiller represents leaders or their spouses from the business, professional and entertainment/sports communities.  He focuses on settlements, trials and appeals in high stakes divorce cases.  In addition, he teaches at The University Of Chicago Law School.

Mr. Schiller has been recognized as one of Illinois’ and the Country’s top matrimonial lawyers by:  Town and Country Magazine, Worth Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, National Law Journal, and Crain’s Chicago Business.  Schiller is listed in all editions of The Best Lawyers In America and in 2009 was the first to be named as Chicago’s Lawyer Of The Year For Family Law.  He has been and continues to be recognized in peer surveys as one of Illinois’ Top 10 Lawyers by Super Lawyers and Leading Lawyers Network magazines.  Schiller is the subject of a chapter in the book The Divorce Lawyers authored by Emily Couric.

Mr. Schiller has served the profession as President of the Illinois State Bar Association, Chair of the State Bar’s Family Law Section, and member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education; for the American Bar Association he served on its Board of Governors and chaired the ABA’s Family Law Section.  He was a co-founder and is a faculty member of the ABA Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute; for the American Academy Of Matrimonial Lawyers’ he chaired the National Continuing Legal Education Committee.  Mr. Schiller is a Diplomat of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and is a member of The Economic Club Of Chicago.

He has served the Courts:  Chairing the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Domestic Relations Management Advisory Committee for seven years and he presently Co-Chairs the Court’s Rules Committee.

Schiller lectures and writes extensively in the field of family law.

David E. Keltner is a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman in Fort Worth, Texas, where he heads the firm’s appellate practice group. Formerly a Justice on the Texas Court of Appeals, Mr. Keltner has been widely recognized for his appellate accomplishments, demonstrated by the fact that his legal writings have been frequently cited, with approval, by Texas courts. He has been honored as a Sustaining Life Fellow of the American Bar Association and a Sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Over the years, the Texas Supreme Court has appointed Mr. Keltner to a number of its committees, including the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, chair of the Texas Supreme Court Discovery Task Force, and the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Professionalism. Mr. Keltner has also been active in service to the legal profession: He was chair of the board of directors of the State Bar of Texas in 2000 and he has served as chair of the Litigation Section and chair of the College of the State Bar of Texas. He has shared his expertise in multiple publications and speeches.

Michael Ciresi, one of the country’s top trial lawyers, began his legal career with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. in 1970, when he was hired as a clerk. In the years following, Mr. Ciresi moved up through the firm’s ranks. He is a named partner, served as a member of the firm’s Executive Board for 25 years, and was elected Chairman from 1995 through 2008, when he stepped down.

Mr. Ciresi, who focuses his practice on representing individuals, corporations and government entities in the areas of product liability, intellectual property, business and commercial litigation.  He has taught and lectured nationally and internationally to various professional and business groups. His clients have included the plaintiffs in the Dalkon Shield, Cu7 and Mirapex cases; the government of India as well as representing General Mills Inc., Carlson Companies, Unocal, 3M, Honeywell, Medtronic, and Pitney Bowes, Inc., to name a few.  His most historic case occurred when he represented the State of Minnesota and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota against the tobacco industry which led to a $7 billion settlement.

Mr. Ciresi has received numerous accolades for his professional accomplishments, including: ranked #1 in Minnesota for Litigation: General Commercial and Intellectual Property in Chambers USA (2008-2010); listed in “Minnesota’s Legal Hall of Fame: The 100 Most Influential Attorneys in State History” by Minnesota Law & Politics (2007); awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Minnesota Association for Justice; named as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by the National Law Journal (1997, 2000, 2006); and listed in Best Lawyers in America (1989-2009).

Actively involved in community affairs, Mr. Ciresi sits on the Board of Directors for various organizations, including Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Public Radio International, the Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation, St. Thomas Academy, and the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He is also Board President and Chairman of the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Foundation for Children, which he was instrumental in establishing in 1998 when the firm donated a gift of $30 million to The Minneapolis Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to support Minnesota children in the areas of education, advocacy, and protection from abuse, while promoting equal opportunities.

Mr. Ciresi attended law school at the University of Minnesota Law School and in 2001 an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by Southwestern University School of Law.

David J. Beck, along with Joe Redden and Ron Secrest, founded Beck, Redden & Secrest, L.L.P. in January, 1992. He was formerly a senior partner of Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P. in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Beck is a very active trial lawyer and has been throughout his professional career. He has been named by the National Law Journal as one of the top 10 trial lawyers in the United States, and one of the top trial lawyers in the Southwest. After a poll of Texas lawyers in 2002, he was listed by the Texas Lawyer as one of the “Go To Lawyers For Lawyers In Trouble.”  In November of 2003 – 2009, a statewide survey published in Texas Monthly Magazine named him to Texas’ “Top 10 Super Lawyers” list.  He has been named one of "The Best Lawyers in America" by Woodward & White since the inception of the publication in 1990.  Most recently, the “Best Lawyers” publication named him Houston “2009 Lawyer of the Year” in “Bet-the Company” litigation.

He recently served as President of the American College of Trial Lawyers (2006-07). He has been named a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and an Advocate in the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Mr. Beck served as President of the State Bar of Texas in 1995-96.

Mr. Beck has published numerous law journal articles and has appeared as a lecturer on many bar association and law school continuing legal education programs.  He has won various awards for his legal writing.

Joe Friedberg has been practicing criminal and white collar defense law for more than forty years. His practice has taken him into Federal and State Courts through much of the United States. He has been elected to fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates and is the 2010 President of the prestigious American Board of Criminal Lawyers where he occupied a position on the Board of Governors and the executive committee for many years.

In his career Joe has tried some of the highest profile criminal cases in the history of the State of Minnesota and was recently named as one of the one hundred most influential lawyers in the history of the state. He has represented major corporations, CEO's, Police Officers and some of the most well known professional athletes.  He estimates that he has actually tried between two hundred and fifty and three hundred felony jury trials. He has also tried a number of complex civil cases and at one time was lead counsel in the Breland class action arising out of the A.H. Robins bankruptcy.

His unique approach to the practice of criminal law has made him a well known talk radio and TV guest in the Twin Cities.

E. Lynn Grayson is a partner in Jenner & Block’s Chicago office and a member of the Firm’s Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Law, Climate and Clean Technology Law, Defense & Aerospace, and Environmental Litigation Practices. Ms. Grayson is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability. Ms. Grayson has been recognized as one of the country’s leading environmental lawyers by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, Illinois Super Lawyer and, Leading Lawyers Network.  Her practice includes serving as lead environmental counsel in numerous U.S. and international transactions and counseling corporate leadership on the management of material environmental risks and liabilities. In a recent transaction, Ms. Grayson represented General Motors on environmental matters in its 2009 sale of substantially all of its assets to a newly formed entity sponsored by the U.S. Treasury in connection with GM’s voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11.  She also is the Co-Editor of the Firm’s Corporate Environmental Lawyer Blog, which covers breaking environmental, health and safety issues of interest to the corporate counsel community.

Ms. Grayson is on the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms.  She served as the Inaugural Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Task Force on Diversity. She is the first recipient of the Chicago Bar Association’s Alta May Hulett Award for her contributions to the advancement of women and in 2009 received the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois’ Women With Vision Award.

Gary Naftalis is co-chair of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP where he heads the firm’s extensive litigation practice. One of the nation’s leading trial lawyers, Gary was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America by The National Law Journal. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. For some 40 years, he has represented individuals and corporations including prominent securities industry clients in complex bet-the-company civil, criminal, and regulatory matters.  Mr. Naftalis also has served as counsel to audit and special committees of major public companies in connection with regulatory issues.

Mr. Naftalis successfully defended Michael Eisner, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, in the shareholders derivative lawsuit relating to the hiring and termination of Michael Ovitz; and Kenneth Langone, former chair of the New York Stock Exchange Compensation Committee, in the lawsuit brought by then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer relating to the compensation of NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso.  He recently successfully represented the City of New York in the inquiry relating to the fire at the Deutsche Bank building.

Gary received his AB from Rutgers University, his MA from Brown University, and his LLB from Columbia Law School where he was a member of the Law Review.  After clerking for Judge William B. Herlands, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York holding the title of Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

He has been a lecturer at Columbia Law School and was a member of the faculty of Harvard Law School. Mr. Naftalis is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles, including the leading work on the grand jury system – The Grand Jury: An Institution on Trial (with Judge Marvin E. Frankel).

Stacy D. Phillips, an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, is a Certified Family Law Specialist and founder and Managing Principal of Phillips Lerner, A Law Corporation, a full-service family law firm in Los Angeles.  Ms. Phillips represents business executives, entrepreneurs, sports, entertainment, political and religious figures and other high net worth individuals. She is the author of the book, Divorce: It’s All About Control – How to Win the Emotional, Psychological and Legal Wars, now in its sixth printing. A staunch supporter of victims' rights, Ms. Phillips co-authored Senate Bill 924 which extended the statute of limitations period for victims of domestic violence to sue their abusers in civil court.

She has been a columnist for numerous trade publications and has appeared on CNN’s Headline News, MSNBC’s Live, NBC’s the Today show and Nightly News with Brian Williams. Highly regarded in the legal industry, Ms. Phillips is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, included in Southern California Super Lawyers on the list of “Top 10”, “Top 50 Women” and “Top 100,” and designated as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon. The Recorder acknowledged Ms. Phillips on its list of “Women Leaders in Law” for her champion networking abilities and for mastering the art of creating relationships. Los Angeles Times has featured Ms. Phillips as one of “Los Angeles Women Leaders in the Law” and Los Angeles Business Journal honored her “Best of the Bar” and one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Los Angeles Law”. In recognition of her superior expertise and stellar track record in the practice of family law, the Daily Journal has named Ms. Phillips as one of the “Top Women Lawyers” since the inception of the award. Additionally, The Century City Bar Associated named her Family Law Attorney of the Year in 2009 and in 2006, she was presented with a Certificate of Commendation from the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Ms. Phillips, along with members of her firm, founded the “Adopt-A-Center” charitable program in 1999, which selects a different local charity to assist for a 12-month period, offering hands-on involvement and fundraising support. She has served on numerous philanthropic boards concerned with issues affecting children and their families.  Ms. Phillips is on the Board of Directors of Legal Momentum and is the former Co-Chair of the California Leadership Council of Legal Momentum.  She is also currently a member of the National Partnership of Women & Families. Presently, Ms. Phillips is on the Board of Ambassadors of Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services and she sits on the Board of Trustees of Affordable Living for the Aging. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Trusteeship.

Ms. Phillips graduated from Dartmouth College, cum laude, and received her juris doctorate from Columbia University School of Law.

Thomas R. Kline is a founding partner with Shanin Specter in the Philadelphia law firm of Kline & Specter, P.C., practicing in the area of catastrophic personal injury and mass tort litigation. Kline is the immediate past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates, described by The Washington Post as "a select group of 100 of the nation's most celebrated trial lawyers.” Kline, who has a litany of professional accolades, has been voted for seven consecutive years (2004-2010) as the Super Lawyers top point getter in Pennsylvania. He has been described as "the leading personal injury plaintiffs' lawyer in Pennsylvania," and by the National Law Journal, where he is in the Winners Hall of Fame, as one of the America’s top litigators. Kline has scores of seven- and eight-figure jury verdicts and settlements, and has been featured in hundreds of national and local TV appearances, magazine and newspaper articles. Kline was described by The Wall Street Journal as a “key player” in the national Vioxx litigation, and by the Philadelphia Inquirer in an editorial as "the high-powered plantiffs' attorney...who has won a number of eight-figure awards for clients injured or killed due to negligence or incompetence by businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit health-care providers." Kline received an A.B. from Albright College, an M.A. from Lehigh University, and a J.D. degree from Duquesne University School of Law, and has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni award from both his college and law school.

Ted Wells, a partner and co-chair of the Litigation Department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, is considered one of the most influential and outstanding trial lawyers in the country. He has extensive litigation experience in white-collar criminal defense, complex civil and corporate litigation, SEC regulatory work, FCPA investigations, environmental matters and class action litigation. In one of the largest civil fraud jury trials of the decade, Mr. Wells successfully defended Citigroup in 2008 against a plaintiff who alleged that the company aided and abetted in the massive fraud at Parmalat, the Italian dairy and food corporation. The jury rejected the $2 billion claim against Citigroup and awarded Citigroup $364 million on its counterclaim. Some of Mr. Wells’ significant representations include former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Michael Espy; former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Raymond Donovan; former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli; former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer; and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney. He has also represented numerous corporate executives and corporations in jury trials. Mr. Wells has extensive experience in corporate governance issues and previously served on the board of directors of CIT Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange company, where he was a member of CIT’s audit committee. He has also served as co-chair of the White-Collar Criminal Section of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and has been a teacher and lecturer on multiple legal matters.

W. Mark Lanier founded The Lanier Law Firm in 1990. Since then, Lanier has earned widespread recognition as one of the top trial lawyers in the United States. His work for clients across the country is supported by firm offices in Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Palo Alto, Calif.

Lanier’s stunning verdict in the nation’s first Vioxx trial led the editors of Texas Lawyer newspaper to name him the “Impact Player of the Year” in 2005. He previously earned accolades for earning a sizeable verdict for a small oil company in a business fraud case against Amoco Production Co., one of the nation’s largest oil providers. Lanier also is credited with winning one of the largest asbestos verdicts in U.S. history on behalf of 21 Alabama steelworkers.

Mark Lanier consistently is recognized among the country’s leading legal minds by his peers and the media. The National Law Journal named him one of nation’s Top 10 Trial Attorneys in 1998 and 2006, the same year the publication named Lanier as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America. In 2010, The National Law Journal named Mark as one of the most Influential Attorneys of the Decade. He has earned similar honors from other publications, including The American Lawyer and Texas Monthly. He was further recognized by being included in Lawdragon’s list of 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2010. In its coverage of Lanier’s stunning verdict in the nation’s first Vioxx trial, The New York Times described him as “one of the top civil trial lawyers in America . . .”

In addition to national recognition, Lanier also has earned accolades from his peers in Texas. In a statewide attorney survey published in Texas Monthly magazine, Lanier has earned selection to the “Texas Super Lawyers” list in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2002, Texas Lawyer newspaper named Lanier as one of the Top 5 “Go To” Personal Injury Plaintiff Attorneys in Texas. The same publication also recognized him as the Top Personal Injury Lawyer in Texas in 2007.  Most recently they named Mark as one of the Top 25 Attorneys of the Past Quarter Century.

Lanier earned his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1984, and he remains on the school’s Foundation Board. He founded the nonprofit Christian Trial Lawyers Association, and he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Committee for Economic Development. Mark also serves on the Board of Directors for the prestigious National Center for State Courts.

He and his wife, Becky, have five children.