W Mark Lanier

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Mark Lanier founded The Lanier Law Firm in 1990, and has earned widespread recognition for his skills in the courtroom -- so much so that The New York Times described him as “one of the top civil trial lawyers in America.” Known for his intense trial preparation and engaging style with juries, Mr. Lanier has garnered more than $20 billion in cumulative verdicts during his highly acclaimed career.

He is currently engaged in representing a range of governmental entities in multidistrict litigation claims against the manufacturers, distributors and retailers of opioid medications. This ongoing work has already led to liability findings and significant settlements from the defendants.

Mr. Lanier is recognized for a landmark $4.69 billion jury verdict on behalf of 22 women and their families who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products caused their ovarian cancer. Later reduced to a $2.2 billion award by the appellate courts, those damages were upheld following consideration by the United States Supreme Court.

In recent years Mr. Lanier secured three jury verdicts in multidistrict litigation trials alleging serious medical complications caused by hip implants made by Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, DePuy. Collectively the verdicts in those cases totaled more than $1.75 billion.

Mr. Lanier is also renowned for his win in the first case tried to verdict involving the medication VIOXX, and the courtroom victory against Takeda Pharmaceutical and Eli Lilly over the diabetes drug Actos. Mr. Lanier also has significant experience representing businesses in cases involving in a range of commercial disputes, particularly actions against companies using unfair and unlawful business practices to gain a competitive edge.

Among his numerous accolades, Mark has been listed in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Lawyers in America list since 2006 and was named the Top Class Action Attorney in America by the publication in 2013. He was recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Association as the organization’s Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2016 and 2019, as one of the 50 Most Influential Lawyers in the U.S in 2018 and has been honored as a member of the NTL Hall of Fame. He was further selected as the 2018 Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year by the editors and reporters of The National Law Journal.

Mr. Lanier earned his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1984. He remains active at the university by serving on the Law School's Foundation Board. He was selected as the Texas Tech University School of Law Distinguished Alumnus for 2015 and also was awarded the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.