Practice Areas
John Zavitsanos is a highly regarded trial lawyer who loves trying cases and loves winning. He has achieved success for a multitude of clients – both defendants and plaintiffs, from big energy companies to lone whistleblowers battling the odds.
He has tried over 100 cases to verdict in litigation that runs the gamut: financial services, oil and gas, construction, complex commercial disputes, director and officer liability, non-compete and trade-secret disputes, real estate development, and defamation/business disparagement. He is the primary author of O’Connor’s Texas Rules * Civil Trials 2018-2024, the premiere civil trial rules guide for Texas lawyers and judges.
He has learned from every jury trial by surveying the jurors after the case and learning what conventional wisdom has outlived its usefulness. That’s a lot of input, since he has tried more than a dozen cases in just the last few years
And his willingness – delight, actually – at trying a case with confidence has impressed numerous heavyweight clients. As one happy customer put it, “I find that many large law firms are willing to capitulate too quickly and pressure me to settle too soon.” He said he knows that Mr. Zavitsanos is “serious about going to trial.”
Mr. Zavitsanos’ considerable talents have been recognized by every possible legal rating service. For 19 consecutive years, he’s been listed by Best Lawyers in America. He’s recognized for his General Commercial Litigation work in Texas by the highly respected Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, published by London-based Chambers and Partners. He was also named a Benchmark Litigation Star in 2016-2024. And he is a Litigation Counsel of America Senior Fellow. And he was named on Lawdragon 500 leading lawyers in America lists for 2021- 2024 with a focus on commercial litigation, intellectual property, and securities.
He has achieved the highest possible peer rating, AV Preeminent, by Martindale-Hubbell, the premier legal directory, for his Business Litigation practice. He’s been named by his peers as one of the top 100 Texas Lawyers on the annual Texas Super Lawyers list for more than a decade. He was recently featured on the cover of Texas Super Lawyer magazine as one of only a handful of lawyers in Texas to be named a Super Lawyer every year for the past 20 years. He is board certified in civil trial law by both the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, an accomplishment held by less than 2 percent of all practicing lawyers in the state of Texas.
Career
Board Certified, Civil Trial Advocacy Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
Board Certified, Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Leader in Texas General Commercial Litigation in the 2014- 2024 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Chambers USA Texas Trial Lawyers Spotlight honor 2021
Band 1 Chambers Trial Law
The Best Lawyers in America, 2006-2023
National Elite Trial Law Firm 2021 Award Winner
2019 Nicholas J. Bouras Award for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship presented by the National Council of the Order of Saint Andrew
Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America lists for 2021-2024 with a focus on being a leading litigator in commercial litigation,
intellectual property, and securities. Also named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers.
National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazer, 2022.
One of only 10 lawyers named nationally by Law360 as a Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar, 2022.
2023 Top 10 Trailblazing Commercial Litigation Lawyers in Houston named by Business Today
Litigation Counsel of America Senior Fellow including Trial Law Institute, Diversity Law Institute and Order of Justitia
Houston Bar Association Speakers Bureau Committee for the 2020-2021
Benchmark Litigation Star in 2016-2024
Texas Super Lawyers, 2003-2024
Top 100 Texas Lawyers, 2011-2023
Top 100 Houston Super Lawyers, 2007-2024
Top 100 Regional Business Litigators, 2007-2016
Who’s Who in American Law
Million Dollar Advocate Forum
Outstanding Lawyers of America, 2003 – present
Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
Texas Bar Foundation Fellow
Who’s Who in Energy, 2011-2014
College of the State Bar of Texas, 2005
Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell – Highest Possible Rating in Both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards
Publications
Mr. Zavitsanos’ authorship and presentations at seminars include:
Primary author of O’Connor’s Texas Rules * Civil Trials 2018-2024
“How to Use and Defend Against the Reptile Theory,” Houston Bar Association Civil/Appellate Bench Bar Conference, April 2024
“Voir Dire and Preserving Error,” Houston Bar Association Civil/Appellate Bench Bar Conference, April 2023
“The Art of Business Litigation: A Conversation (Business & Ethics) & CLE,” March 2023
“How to Screw Up Your Voir Dire,” Houston Bar Association Litigation Section CLE, October 2022
“How to Command a Room: Impactful Presentations to Juries and Clients,” Houston Bar Association seminar, February 2022
“Strategies from Trial Titans: Trying a Case to the Modern Jury of the 2020s,” Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, September 2021
“Civil Case Update,” Texas Center for the Judiciary Spring Regional Conference, May 2021
“Live Jury Trials in the Time of Covid: Lessons from the Front Lines,” Litigation Counsel of America webinar, November 2020
“How the Pandemic is Impacting the Future of Jury Trials in Texas,” Texas Lawbook webinar, Houston, October 2020
“The Art of Business Litigation: A Conversation,” ALM’s Texas Business Litigation CLE presentation, Houston, March 2020
Contributing author of Texas Business Litigation 2019, published by Texas Lawyer
“The Art of Business Litigation,” University of Houston Law Center CLE, Houston, November 2019
“Opening Statements in David vs. Goliath,” America Bar Association, Litigation Section, New York City, May 2019
“Tactical Considerations in Business Trials,” Houston Bar Association, Litigation Section, Houston, April 2019
“Mining for Silver: Discovery Update,” 2019 HBA Civil/Appellate Bench Bar Conference, Houston, April 2019
“Voir Dire Panel Perspective – Effective Voir Dire and Opening,” Texas Bar CLE, Houston, October 2017
“Lies in Business and Under Oath” CLE course in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, December 2016
“Punitive Damages in Commercial Litigation: Pursuing and Defending Claims – Leveraging Pretrial Motions, Discovery and Trial Strategies, Navigating Constitutional Restraints” webinar, Strafford Publications Inc., April 2014
“Witness Credibility in Trial and Depositions,” Texas Lawyer’s In-House Counsel Summit, April 2014, November 2013, May 2012
“Witness Credibility at Depositions and Trial – Do’s and Don’ts,” State Bar of Texas – Texas Minority Counsel Program, 18th Annual Conference, September 2010
“Lessons Learned from Trying a Breach of Fiduciary Case,” Houston Bar Association, Litigation Section, December 2008
“Cross Examination,” University of Houston Law Foundation, Civil Litigation, February 2008
Credibility and Impeachment – University of Houston Law Foundation; Advanced Evidence and Discovery, November 2007
Witness Credibility – How To Prepare, Achieve, And Destroy It; Lorman Education Services, June 2006
Preparing Your Witness for Deposition and Trial, Houston Bar Association, March 2006
Types of Claims and Their Values, Houston Bar Association, September 2005
Preparing Your Witness for Deposition and Trial, Houston Bar Association, November 2004
Witness Credibility – How To Prepare, Achieve, And Destroy It, Lorman Education Services, September 2004
Credibility and Impeachment: Fundamentals of Direct and Cross- Examination, University of Houston Law Foundation – How to Offer and Exclude Evidence, September 2002
Preparing Your Witness for Deposition and Trial, University of Houston Law Foundation, June 2002
Punitive Damages – Phase II, University of Houston Law Center – Litigation and Trial Tactics, December 2000
Asserting, Contesting and Preserving Privileges Under the New Rules, University of Houston Law Foundation – Advanced Civil Discovery Under the New Rules, June 2000
