Lyons & Simmons co-founder’s practice focuses on incentivizing change
DALLAS – Recognized for a fearless courtroom approach and a focus on incentivizing change, Michael Lyons is one of 52 attorneys nationwide to be honored by The National Law Journal for their groundbreaking approach to plaintiffs’ representation.
Co-founder of the Dallas trial firm Lyons & Simmons, Lyons was selected to the 2023 Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers listing based on his work on behalf of clients involved in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as his proven record of obtaining outstanding results in high-stakes, high-exposure litigation.
“I adopted a mindset and overall mission when I began practicing law that there is more to the civil justice system than compensating victims of civil wrongs. A big feature of the civil tort system is to uncover and identify the cause and to incentivize wrongdoers to correct their misdeeds. Many of my cases deal with wrongs committed by large companies. In my experience, the best incentive a corporate entity has to avoid harming others is the looming threat to its leadership that it will have to answer for its wrongs through a big verdict,” Lyons told the NLJ.
“Corporations don’t go to jail. The civil justice system is the best way to police those who aren’t regulating themselves.”
Among his most recent court wins is a $10.1 million jury verdict in a 2022 medical malpractice case involving “willful and wanton negligence” against a joint-venture North Texas hospital in treating a woman who was left a paraplegic due to delayed treatment and ignored policies.
Most recently, Lyons was part of the trial team that secured an $860 million verdict in April for the mother and estate of Kiersten Smith who died when a tower crane crashed through her Dallas apartment. He also currently serves in a leadership role on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee appointed by the Multidistrict Litigation Court in the Astroworld festival mass-casualty incident that occurred in 2019.
The full Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers listing is featured in a special supplement to the May 2023 edition of The National Law Journal.
About Lyons & Simmons, LLP
Dallas-based Lyons & Simmons, LLP is a trial boutique representing clients in wrongful death, personal injury, products liability, and complex “bet-the-company” business litigation matters across the country.
