Derek H. Potts
Attorney Profile
Top Rated Class Action & Mass Torts Attorney in Houston, TX
Derek H. Potts is an attorney and the national managing partner of Potts Law Firm in Houston, Texas. Mr. Potts serves clients in Houston and Kansas City, Missouri, and devotes his practice to personal injury, products liability and medical malpractice law. His legal experience includes both individual and class action lawsuits.
Admitted to practice in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and New York, Mr. Potts is also licensed before several federal courts. Over the course of his career, he has received many awards and honors for his work and has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars.
Involved in dozens of professional organizations, Mr. Potts is especially active in the American Association for Justice. He is co-chair of the group’s Alloderm Litigation Group and a member of the Kugel mesh, nursing home and transvaginal mesh litigation groups. He has served in several other groups, including the Kansas Association for Justice and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.
Mr. Potts belongs to several state bar associations, including the Arkansas Bar Association, the Kansas Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, the New York State Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas. He has been listed in publications, including “The Best Lawyers in America” and the Kansas City Business Journal, and been selected as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” by The National Trial Lawyers. In addition to these accolades, he is an AV Preeminent* rated member of the peer review organization Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Potts graduated from William Jewell College and earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Outside of his law practice, he volunteers his time with Legal Aid of Western Missouri’s Volunteer Attorney Project.
*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
- 80%Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff
- 10%Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- 10%Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
Class Actions, Medical Malpractice
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2016 - 2022
Additional Sources of Information About Derek H. Potts
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About Derek H. Potts
First Admitted: 1996, Missouri
Professional Webpage: https://www.potts-law.com/attorneys/derek-h-potts-law-firm-f...
Educational Background
- William Jewell College, Bachelor of Arts in History
Pro bono/Community Service
- Jackson County Bar Association Volunteer Attorney Project
Verdicts/Settlements
- In Re: American Medical Systems Litigation settlement
- Wilburn vs. Bethany Medical Center Jury Trial- Wyandotte District Court, 1995
- Millard vs. Gard, M.D. – U.S. District Court of Kansas, 2010
- In re: Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Litigation settlement
- State of Kansas vs. John Cheek Jury Trial- Wyandotte County District Court, 1995
- Novogradac vs. Shirshekan- Platte County Circuit Court, 2009
- Callen vs. Heartland- Buchanan County Circuit Court, 2008
- In Re: AT&T Mobility Class Action Settlement
- Sgroi vs. St. Louis University Hospital- St. Louis City District Court, 2009
- Whitfield vs. C.R. Bard- U.S. District Court of Rhode Island, 2011
Scholarly Lectures/Writings
- 2001 Moderator/Speaker – “Evaluation and Prosecution of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Cases”, Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri
- 2000 Moderator/Speaker – “Nursing Home Negligence: Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives”, Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri
- 1999 Speaker/Witness – “Understaffing in Nursing Homes”, Missouri Senate Elder Law Committee
- 1999 Speaker/Witness – “Prevalence of Nursing Home Abuse”, Missouri House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Elderly Abuse
- 1999 Speaker – “Nursing Home Negligence”, Missouri Ombudsman Program Winter Meeting
- “Wrongful Death Settlements,” 2009, Chapter Supplement, Missouri Bar Litigation Settlements Deskbook
- “Proving Liability for Pressure Ulcers,” August 2002, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- “Proving Traumatic Brain Injury With Positron Emission Tomography,” August 2000, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- “Handling HMO Negligence Cases in Missouri,” July 1999, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- “Newman v. Ford Motor Company, the Confusion Remains over Product Defects,” Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers’ Journal, Winter 1999 edition, page 5
- “Defective Product Design, What Does “Unreasonable Dangerous” Mean?” December 1998, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- 2016 Speaker – “Current Status and Future Potential for the Use of Mesh and Slings in Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery,” American Urogynecologic Society Conference, Denver, Colorado
- 2015 Speaker – GM Litigation for the Harris Martin Conference, Miami, Florida
- 2015 Speaker – “Breakout GM Strategy Session,” at the Mass Torts Made Perfect Conference
- 2014 Speaker – HTLA- Law Practice Management, Houston, Texas
- 2014 Speaker – HBA- TVM
- 2014 Speaker – HarrisMartin’s CLE Summit- Major Developments in Drug and Medical Device Litigation (TVM), New Orleans, Louisiana
- 2013 Speaker – Chicago- TVM
- 2012 Speaker – “Mentor ObTape and Transvaginal Mesh (TVM) Litigation Update”, American Association for Justice Teleseminar
- 2010 Speaker – “Weaving Community Safety Standards Through Discovery and Trial”, Kansas Association for Justice Annual Convention, Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri
- 2010 Speaker – “Implementing Community Safety Standards in Trail”, Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Bentonville, Arkansas
- 2009 Speaker – “The Reptile And Trial Techniques”, David Ball and Don Keenan Seminar, Dallas, Texas
- 2008 Speaker – “Vytorin and Zetia Class Action”, American Association for Justice Annual Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2007 Moderator/Speaker – “Emerging Hospital Liability Trends”, Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri
- 2005 Moderator/Speaker – “Update on Nursing Home Litigation,” Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri
- 2003 Speaker/Witness – “Prevalence of Medical Malpractice and Its Correlation to Systemic Breakdown in Hospitals”, Missouri Patient Safety Commission
- 2003 Speaker – “Advanced Nursing Home Litigation Strategies”, Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri
- 2003 Planning Co-Chair/Speaker – “Hot Topics in Medical Malpractice, Hospital and Nursing Home Neglect-Decubitis Ulcers, Malnutrition, and Dehydration”, Missouri Bar, CLE, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri
- 2002 Speaker – “Investigation of Nursing Home Resident Abuse and Neglect”, Missouri Ombudsman Program/Northwest Region Winter Training Meeting
- 2002 Moderator – “Proving Catastrophic Damages”, Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri
- 2002 Speaker – “What is Medical Malpractice?”, American Society of Registered Nurses, ASORN, Annual Meeting, Kansas University Medical Center
Bar/Professional Activity
- Kansas State Bar
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Texas
- Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, 2001-Present
- U.S. District Courts for the Middle District of Georgia
- New York State Bar
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Alloderm Litigation Group/ Co-Chair
- UMKC School of Law’s Litigation Advisory Committee, 2008- Present
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Transvaginal Mesh Litigation Group
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Missouri
- Houston Trial Lawyers Association
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York
- Kansas Association for Justice, Board of Governors, 2009-2014
- U.S. District Courts for the District of West Virginia
- Missouri State Bar
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Board of Governors for New Lawyers, 2001-2004
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Kugel Mesh Litigation Group
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri
- Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, 2008 – present
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Arkansas
- Kansas Association for Justice, 2000-Present
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Texas
- Missouri Bar Professionalism Committee
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), 1995-Present
- Texas State Bar
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Nursing Home Litigation Group
- U.S. District Courts for the District of Kansas
- Arkansas State Bar
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Honors/Awards
- Super Lawyers® Top 50 Kansas City, 2011
- Thomas J. Conway Young Trial Lawyers’ Award, Kansas City Missouri Bar Association, 2008
- Up and Coming Lawyers Under 40, Missouri Lawyers Weekly, 2002
- Best Lawyers in America, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
- Super Lawyers® Missouri & Kansas, 2016
- Chosen to Super Lawyers® Missouri/Kansas, 2008-2014
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, 2006 – present
- Phi Alpha Delta
- The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2011-2014
- Super Lawyers® Top 100 Missouri & Kansas, 2011
- Chosen to Super Lawyers® Missouri/Kansas, 2008-2014
- Best of the Bar, Kansas City Business Journal, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Judge Conrad B. Duberstein Appellate Advocacy Award
- American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, Top Rated Lawyer in Mass Torts, 2013
- Super Lawyers® Texas, 2016
Last Updated: 8/10/2022