Mark Lanier

Mark Lanier is the founder of The Lanier Law Firm, a nationally recognized trial attorney, and one of the country’s most accomplished courtroom advocates. Based in Houston, Texas, he has spent more than 35 years representing individuals, families, and businesses in complex litigation involving personal injury, mesothelioma and asbestos exposure, pharmaceutical liability, defective medical devices, product liability, and major commercial disputes. Throughout his career, his trial work has produced more than $20 billion in settlements and verdicts.

Lanier has led trial teams in some of the nation's most significant litigation, including the $4.69 billion jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson in Ingham, later reduced to a $2.1 billion judgment; a $9 billion verdict involving the diabetes medication Actos; and the $253 million verdict in Ernst v. Merck, the nation's first Vioxx trial. His experience also includes multiple billion-dollar and multimillion-dollar verdicts involving defective DePuy hip implants, landmark opioid litigation against major pharmacy chains, and a $6 million verdict in the nation's first social media addiction trial against Meta and Google's YouTube.

Known for his ability to translate complex scientific, medical, and technical evidence into compelling courtroom narratives, Lanier combines meticulous preparation with distinctive storytelling and persuasive trial presentations. His courtroom accomplishments have attracted national attention, with coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and other prominent media outlets.

Lanier is among the nation’s most decorated trial attorneys, earning the rare distinction of being the only lawyer nationwide ranked as a “Star Individual” by Chambers USA in both Product Liability: Plaintiffs and Litigation: Trial Lawyers. He has also been inducted into the Lawdragon Leading Lawyers Hall of Fame and the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and received The National Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Beyond the courtroom, Lanier is dedicated to educating the next generation of trial lawyers, sharing his experience through lectures at leading law schools, including Harvard and Stanford, and his annual Lanier Trial Academy, which draws more than 1,000 plaintiffs’ attorneys.