Personal Injury Ethics: Clarifying the Rules for Referrals, Fee Sharing, and Co-Counsel Agreements

Mr Johnston handles cases involving professional malpractice and breaches of fiduciary duty as well as other business disputes. He is regularly featured as one of the city’s best litigators by D Magazine and is a fixture on the list of the Texas Super Lawyers from 2003-2022 by Thomson Reuters. He was chosen by his peers and independent researchers as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Texas (by Thomson Reuters 2010-2011, 2013). Texas Lawyer named him the premier plaintiff’s legal malpractice lawyer in the State in its Go-To-Guide.  The Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the Dallas Bar Association awarded him the 2012 Texas Trial Legends Award, and the Dallas Bar Association named him Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2016.  He also has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Professional Malpractice Law, Legal Malpractice Law, Commercial Litigation, and Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation (BL Rankings 2011-2020).  Mr Johnston has been recognized as Lawyer of the Year in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2017-2023 by Best Lawyers in America. From 2020–2022, he was named to the Lawdragon 500, which annually recognizes the 500 Leading Lawyers in America.

Mr. Leizerman’s entire caseload consists of catastrophic truck crash claims, including a recent settlement of $34 million and recent verdicts of $16 million, $13.2 million and $11 million. He was the first Chairman of the American Association for Justice's (AAJ) Trucking Litigation Group. He is the co-founder of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys and author of the three volume treatise Litigating Truck Accident Cases.

Mr. Lear is a 1983 graduate, cum laude, of Dartmouth College and a 1987 graduate of U.C.L.A. School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and the Moot Court Honors Program. He joined Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges immediately after law school and worked for four years as a “big firm” litigation associate before becoming a Los Angeles-based State Bar prosecutor. For three years, Mr. Lear prosecuted California attorneys, never losing a trial, before co-founding Gerry & Lear in 1994. In 2002, Mr. Lear founded Century Law Group. Mr. Lear has tried over 150 cases. He is a recognized speaker at legal and real estate seminars, has published numerous articles, and has been qualified as an expert witness in state and federal courts. Mr. Lear served as Commissioner for the City of Manhattan Beach from 2000 through 2008. Since 2008 Mr. Lear has served as elected Chairman of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Bond Oversight Committee, supervising the expenditure and allocation of over $60 million of bond proceeds.