Talk:W. Mark Lanier
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Even laudatory or neutral material must be removed if it's unsourced, per WP:BLP, so I did remove that material. The subject appears to be notable. Pinging Jytdog, Edwardx, and Eggishorn. Bearian (talk) 15:37, 7 August 2017 (UTC)
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Hello, Sxg169, Smartse, Classicwiki, and any other interested parties. My name is James, and Mark Lanier is a client of mine. I understand this presents a COI which is why I'm reaching out. I would like to help improve the article along the lines of the suggestions in the banner at the top of the page. I want to make sure I'm following Wikipedia's best practices, and would appreciate any help you can offer, including reviewing my suggested edits (pasted below). I've edited this page before under the username Jimmy Bing. However, that account is no longer being used in a professional capacity. Please pardon formatting and I hope to hear back from you soon. Thanks..WriteJames (talk) 22:24, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
William Mark Lanier (born October 20, 1960[1]) is an American trial lawyer.[2]
He lives in Houston, Texas, and is the founder and CEO of The Lanier Law Firm, which maintains offices in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, and Oklahoma City. Lanier also writes about the Bible and teaches Biblical classes at Champion Forest Baptist Church, online and in print. He is the author of Christianity on Trial (2014), Psalms for Living (2016), and Torah for Living (2018).
EDUCATION - After graduating from Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, Lanier attended Texas Tech University and David Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1984, Lanier attended the Texas Tech University School of Law, where he completed his J.D. Lanier was selected as Texas Tech's distinguished alumnus for 2005. He currently serves on the law school’s Foundation Board and contributes to the school financially.[3] In 2008, Texas Tech opened the Mark and Becky Lanier Professional Development Center.
LEGAL CAREER - Lanier began his legal career working in Houston for Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright) in 1984, in the appellate and trial divisions.[1] In 1990, Lanier founded The Lanier Law Firm, which specializes in civil trial work, personal injuries, products liability, corporate disputes, and asset recovery.[4]
Verdicts have included $253 million in the first Vioxx verdict in America (Ernst v. Merck),[10] $480 million in a business fraud case (Rubicon v. Amoco),[8] $4.69 billion in the first trial linking baby powder, asbestos, and ovarian cancer, and a $9 billion verdict in a trial against the diabetes drug Actos.
Some of Lanier's trials have been carried on the Court-TV website and have been the subject of various articles and books. Lanier was the principal subject of All the Justice Money Can Buy, by ex-NPR reporter Snigdha Prakash, in which the author was embedded in the Lanier trial team for the Vioxx lawsuit against Merck & Co.[11] Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson describes the approach used by Lanier in the Ernst trial.[12] Texas Justice: The Legacy of Historical Courthouses details Lanier's involvement in the Rubicon trial.[13]
In 2004 Lanier founded the Christian Trial Lawyers Association.[14] Lanier was elected president of The National Trial Lawyers for 2018.[15]
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION - In a survey of legal peers and from independent research conducted by Thomson Reuters, Lanier was selected to the list of "Texas Super Lawyer" from 2003 to 2019, and a "Top 10 Texas Super Lawyer" from 2007 to 2019.[16]
In 2015, Lanier was named the 2015 Trial Lawyer of the Year by The National Trial Lawyers and The Trial Lawyer magazine. The Best Lawyers in America recognized Lanier by naming him to their Best Lawyers guide from 2006 to 2020.[17] Texas Lawyer newspaper called Lanier one of the twenty-five greatest attorneys of the past twenty-five years.[18] Lanier was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) at the organization's annual convention.[19]
In 2017, Lanier was inducted into The Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by National Trial Lawyers.[20] In 2019, Lawdragon recognized him as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America.[21] Also in 2019, Lanier appeared on the Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, receiving recognition as one of their "Leaders in Their Field" based on his work in product liability and mass tort cases.[22]
JOHNSON & JOHNSON TALC LITIGATION - In 2018, Lanier led a trial team representing 22 women who had filed suit against Johnson & Johnson. The lawsuit alleged that the company's talcum powder products contained asbestos and that, after several years of use, had caused each of the women's ovarian cancer. The trial lasted six weeks and resulted in $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages being awarded to the plaintiffs.[31] The National Law Journal listed this as its Top Verdict of 2018.
ARTIFICIAL HIP LITIGATION - Lanier has represented plaintiffs in several lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Synthes, which Johnson & Johnson acquired in 1998.[25] The lawsuits allege that DePuy marketed a faulty hip replacement system despite knowledge that the devices were defective and that the company failed to warn doctors and patients about the risks involved. This has led to several replacements being removed after failing prematurely.[26]
In March 2016, five North Texas residents represented by Lanier were awarded $497.6 million for alleged complications arising from the hip implants.[27] In November, 2016, Lanier won a lawsuit in which Johnson & Johnson and DePuy were ordered to pay more than $1 billion to six plaintiffs affected by the implants.[28] In 2017, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $247 million in another suit in which six New York residents whose hips were replaced.[29]
VIOXX LITIGATION - Lanier has represented plaintiffs in several lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Synthes, which Johnson & Johnson acquired in 1998.[25] The lawsuits allege that DePuy marketed a faulty hip replacement system despite knowledge that the devices were defective and that the company failed to warn doctors and patients about the risks involved. This has led to several replacements being removed after failing prematurely.[26]
In March 2016, five North Texas residents represented by Lanier were awarded $497.6 million for alleged complications arising from the hip implants.[27] In November, 2016, Lanier won a lawsuit in which Johnson & Johnson and DePuy were ordered to pay more than $1 billion to six plaintiffs affected by the implants.[28] In 2017, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $247 million in another suit in which six New York residents whose hips were replaced.[29]
PERSONAL LIFE - Lanier is married to Becky (Smith) and the two have five children.[4]
Lanier has organized several events on behalf of Guatemala SANA, an organization which provides health and education services in Santa Maria de Jesus, a town near Antigua Guatemala. Performers featured at these events have included Faith Hill, Miley Cyrus, Bon Jovi, and others.[7]
Lanier is the brother-in-law of former state representative and former congressional candidate, Kevin Roberts. Lanier contributed to an opposing super PAC which ran ads against Dan Crenshaw's candidacy for the nomination leading up to the Republican run-off election between Roberts and Crenshaw in the 2018 race to replace retiring Congressman Ted Poe.[6]
Lanier appears as himself as a successful trial attorney in the 2011 film Puncture.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION - Lanier teaches regular classes on biblical literacy at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Lanier and his family built the Lanier Theological Library, one of the world's largest private religious studies libraries open for public usage. The library houses nearly 100,000 volumes in areas of Biblical Studies, Judaic Studies, Church History, Greek and Latin Classical Studies, Linguistics, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, including the collections of a number of now deceased scholars.[32] The library has been featured on HGTV along with a replica 6th century chapel built onsite.[33]
Lanier has published two books focused on integrating Christian faith into daily life, Christianity on Trial: A Lawyer Examines the Christian Faith (2014),[34] Psalms For Living (2016),[35] and Torah for Living (2018). In 2018, Psalms For Living won the Illumination Book Award in the Devotional category.[36]