When Michael Lyons left a large firm to start a trial firm in 2008, he had a simple mindset that captured everything about his practice. Simply stated, he believed he was a warrior for his clients’ causes. “My clients’ problems are my problems, and we have that approach to everything we do,” said Lyons. Twelve years later, when Lyons joined forces with Chris Simmons, that same mindset continues on times two. “We match our clients’ problems with the kind of tenacity and seriousness every case deserves, and the results we’ve obtained speak to that.”
That could not be truer when you look at the cases that Lyons and Simmons have handled over the last several years. “We’ve been involved in some of the most consequential and technically challenging cases, not just in Texas but around the country, and we’ve seen the difference it’s made in the lives of our clients,” said Lyons. “With Lyons & Simmons, we plan to continue that track record of excellence.”
Lyons and Simmons were previously partners at the Dallas-based trial boutique Lyons & Simmons, LLP. By example, here is a cross section of some of their cases just over the past five years:
- Wrongful Death: Worker killed in a gas well blow-out in Quinton, Oklahoma; the deadliest oil and gas disaster since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty: A nine-figure fraud and breach of fiduciary duty case involving a complex series of aviation transactions
- Sexual Assault: Disabled person was sexually assaulted in her home by employee of cable installer
- Breach of Contract: Former Power 5 head football coach sued university over the failure to pay liquidated damages provisions in his written contract
- Wrongful Death: Patron drowned in spa’s unsupervised aquatic sensory deprivation tank
- Catastrophic Personal Injury: Former lead singer of a rock band sustained life-altering injuries when she was crushed by motorist in parking lot
- Brain Injury: 3-year-old child sustained catastrophic brain injuries after being struck by falling tree limb on a playground
- Catastrophic Personal Injury: 2-year-old child sustained life-altering injuries by defectively designed and installed gate operator
- Gross Negligence: Teenager sustained life-altering brain injuries when she was struck by delivery driver who was intoxicated, distracted and on the wrong side of the road
- Airplane Crash: Man was killed along with two others when multiple system failures occurred mid-air in instrument conditions
Together with senior counsel Chris Carr and Stephen Higdon, who has joined the firm as an associate, Lyons & Simmons will continue to focus its practice on wrongful death, personal injury and products liability litigation along with “bet the company” type business disputes.
“For Mike and I, the goal is to level the playing field,” said Simmons. “Our clients are often facing the most challenging situation they will ever encounter when we’re brought in to help. So we have a tremendous responsibility to do everything we can to get the best possible outcome.”
Already with a reputation for huge outcomes on the biggest cases, Lyons & Simmons is poised to continue the crusade for their clients’ causes — even if that means a little less sleep.
