Derek H. Potts
Attorney Profile
Top Rated Class Action & Mass Torts Attorney in Houston, TX
Houston, TX 77098
- Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff (80%),
- Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff (10%),
- Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff (10%)
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.
Class Action/Mass Torts (80%): Class Actions
Personal Injury - Products (10%): Products Liability
Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice (10%): Medical Malpractice
Class Action/Mass Torts: Class Actions
Personal Injury - Products: Products Liability
Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Medical Malpractice
Selections
Super Lawyers: 2016 - 2017
To: Derek H. Potts
Super Lawyers: Potential Client Inquiry
Additional Sources of Information About Derek H. Potts
About Derek Potts
Admitted: 2010, Texas
Professional Webpage: http://www.potts-law.com/attorneys/derek-potts/
Honors and Awards:
- Judge Conrad B. Duberstein Appellate Advocacy Award
- Phi Alpha Delta
- Up and Coming Lawyers Under 40, Missouri Lawyers Weekly, 2002
- Best of the Bar, Kansas City Business Journal, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, 2006 – present
- Thomas J. Conway Young Trial Lawyers’ Award, Kansas City Missouri Bar Association, 2008
- Chosen to Super Lawyers® Missouri/Kansas, 2008-2014
- Chosen to Super Lawyers® Missouri/Kansas, 2008-2014
- Super Lawyers® Top 50 Kansas City, 2011
- Super Lawyers® Top 100 Missouri & Kansas, 2011
- Super Lawyers® Missouri & Kansas, 2016
- Super Lawyers® Texas, 2016
- The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2011-2014
- Best Lawyers in America, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
- American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, Top Rated Lawyer in Mass Torts, 2013
Bar/Professional Activity:
- U.S. District Courts for the Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Courts for the District of West Virginia
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Arkansas
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri
- U.S. District Courts for the District of Kansas
- UMKC School of Law’s Litigation Advisory Committee, 2008- Present
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Texas State Bar
- New York State Bar
- Missouri State Bar
- Missouri Bar Professionalism Committee
- Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, 2001-Present
- Kansas Association for Justice, Board of Governors, 2009-2014
- Kansas Association for Justice, 2000-Present
- Kansas State Bar
- Houston Trial Lawyers Association
- Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, 2008 – present
- Arkansas State Bar
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Transvaginal Mesh Litigation Group
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Kugel Mesh Litigation Group
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Nursing Home Litigation Group
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Alloderm Litigation Group/ Co-Chair
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), Board of Governors for New Lawyers, 2001-2004
- American Association For Justice (AAJ/ATLA), 1995-Present
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Jackson County Bar Association Volunteer Attorney Project
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- “Defective Product Design, What Does “Unreasonable Dangerous” Mean?” December 1998, 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
- “Handling HMO Negligence Cases in Missouri,” July 1999, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- “Proving Traumatic Brain Injury With Positron Emission Tomography,” August 2000, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- “Proving Liability for Pressure Ulcers,” August 2002, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Newspaper
- “Wrongful Death Settlements,” 2009, Chapter Supplement, Missouri Bar Litigation Settlements Deskbook
- 1999 Speaker – “Nursing Home Negligence”, Missouri Ombudsman Program Winter Meeting
- 1999 Speaker/Witness – “Prevalence of Nursing Home Abuse”, Missouri House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Elderly Abuse
- 1999 Speaker/Witness – “Understaffing in Nursing Homes”, Missouri Senate Elder Law Committee
- 2000 Moderator/Speaker – “Nursing Home Negligence: Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives”, Missouri Bar CLE, Kansas City, Missouri
- 2001 Moderator/Speaker – “Evaluation and Prosecution of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Cases”, 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
- 2002 Moderator – “Proving Catastrophic Damages”, 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
- 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
- 2003 Speaker – “Advanced Nursing Home Litigation Strategies”, 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
- 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
- 2008 Speaker – “Vytorin and Zetia Class Action”, American Association for Justice Annual Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2009 Speaker – “The Reptile And Trial Techniques”, David Ball and Don Keenan Seminar, Dallas, Texas
- 2010 Speaker – “Implementing Community Safety Standards in Trail”, Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Bentonville, Arkansas
- 2010 Speaker – “Weaving Community Safety Standards Through Discovery and Trial”, Kansas Association for Justice Annual Convention, Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri
- 2012 Speaker – “Mentor ObTape and Transvaginal Mesh (TVM) Litigation Update”, American Association for Justice Teleseminar
- 2013 Speaker – Chicago- TVM
- 2014 Speaker – HarrisMartin’s CLE Summit- Major Developments in Drug and Medical Device Litigation (TVM), New Orleans, Louisiana
- 2014 Speaker – HBA- TVM
- 2014 Speaker – HTLA- Law Practice Management, Houston, Texas
- 2015 Speaker – “Breakout GM Strategy Session,” at the Mass Torts Made Perfect Conference
- 2015 Speaker – GM Litigation for the HarrisMartin Confrence, Miami, Florida
- 2016 Speaker – “Current Status and Future Potential for the Use of Mesh and Slings in Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery,” American Urogynecologic Society Conference, Denver, Colorado
Verdicts and Settlements:
- In Re: AT&T Mobility Class Action Settlement
- In Re: American Medical Systems Litigation settlement
- In re: Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Litigation settlement
- Callen vs. Heartland- Buchanan County Circuit Court, 2008
- Whitfield vs. C.R. Bard- U.S. District Court of Rhode Island, 2011
- Millard vs. Gard, M.D. – U.S. District Court of Kansas, 2010
- Novogradac vs. Shirshekan- Platte County Circuit Court, 2009
- Sgroi vs. St. Louis University Hospital- St. Louis City District Court, 2009
- Wilburn vs. Bethany Medical Center Jury Trial- Wyandotte District Court, 1995
- State of Kansas vs. John Cheek Jury Trial- Wyandotte County District Court, 1995
Educational Background:
- William Jewell College, Bachelor of Arts in History
Derek H. Potts:
Last Updated: 7/24/2017