Michael F. Pezzulli is an accomplished Dallas civil trial attorney in practice for over 44 years, Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1986. Pezzulli has prevailed as the first- chair litigator in dozens of jury trials, obtaining multi-million-dollar verdicts in many cases, including the highest domestic violence jury verdict in U.S. history in 2016.
He founded a Dallas litigation firm, the Law Office of Michael F. Pezzulli, to advocate for businesses and individuals with lawsuits, appeals, and mediated settlements. Pezzulli is a gifted communicator, keynote speaker and media commentator. He is an avid legal scholar who has authored sections of legal practice manuals and board certification examinations. His exceptional recall of case law across all disciplines is a formidable advantage in court and when preparing alternative resolution strategies.
Experience- Complex commercial disputes
- Banking, mortgage, securities fraud, and fiduciary duty
- Real estate and property disputes
- Catastrophic personal injury and medical malpractice
- Domestic violence
- Institutional sexual abuse and child-on-child sexual abuse
- Family law, custody, child support and modifications
- Collaborative divorce and alternative dispute resolution
- Emerging legal issues including internet domains, intellectual property, pandemic business operations
- Obtained landmark $40M jury verdict in a 2016 Dallas, TX domestic violence case; reportedly the largest domestic violence verdict in U.S. history (www.verdictsearch.com), and the 44th highest U.S. jury verdict in 2016 (National Law Journal).
- Obtained the largest jury verdict in U.S. history in a child-on-child sexual abuse case.
- Successfully represented Marina Oswald, widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, who sought to exhume her husband’s body, to confirm his identity and end conspiracy theories.
- Obtained six of the highest settlements in U.S. history against a religious organization involving sexual abuse claims, Dallas, TX.
- Obtained a defense jury verdict for a national bank in a lender liability claim, Dallas, TX.
- Obtained a defense jury verdict for a securities defendant in blue-sky securities fraud case, Columbia, SC
- Successfully represented a target defendant in a bank failure case against the FDIC; a national mortgage company in a complex bankruptcy adversary proceeding; and obtained a jury verdict on behalf of a plaintiff in stock put agreement litigation.
- Obtained a verdict in a Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case in the northern district of Texas.
- Best Lawyer / Best Law Firms (U.S. News & World Report, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013)
- Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame, inducted 2019
- Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Lifetime Member, awarded 2019
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Lifetime Member, awarded 2019
- Collin County Bar Association – Member, Board of Directors, 2019 - present
- Chairman, Collin County Bar Association Pandemic Committee, 2020 - present
- Martindale-Hubble AV Preeminent Lawyer for 30 years, recognizing exceptional legal ability and ethics
- Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the U.S. (National Trial Lawyers, 2014, 2013)
- Texas SuperLawyer (Thompson Reuters, 18 years)
- Best Attorneys in Texas (Best Lawyers, 2010 - 2020)
- Best Lawyers in America (Best Lawyers in America, 2010 - 2020)
Juris Doctorate, West Virginia University College of Law, Morgantown, WV - 1976
- Distinguished as the Graduating Senior Contributing Most to Overall Legal Scholarship
- Law Review - authored three articles
- Moot Court Team
Bachelor of Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV - 1973 (magna cum laude)
- President, Political Science Honorary
- Debate Scholarship Recipient - four years
- First Seed Debate Team - four years
- Law Clerk to the Honorable John A. Field, Jr., Senior United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1976 - 1977
- Associate, Hughes, Luce, Hennessy, Smith and Castle (now K&L Gates), 1977 - 1978
- Associate, Kelsoe & Ayres, 1978 - 1980
- Principal, the Law Office of Michael F. Pezzulli, PLLC, 1980 - present
- Squadron Commander, Civil Air Patrol Squadron TX 295, McKinney, TX, 2010 - 2013
- Awarded Honorary Green Beret by the Department of the Army, 2013
- Town Council Member, Town of Fairview, TX, 2002 - 2010
Business Interruption Losses and Covid-19 After Friends Of Danny Devito, Et. Al V. Tom Wolf, Governor Of Pennsylvania, 2020 Wl 1847100, posted on Courtroom.com blog Texas Law Updates, May 2020.
The Perils of Email, presented at Collin County Bench Bar Conference, Glen Rose, Texas, May 2019.
Criminal Law and Civil Litigators: Parallel Prosecution, the Fifth Amendment and a Review of Three Little Known Federal Statutes. State Bar of Texas CLE Webinar, Austin, Texas, March 2019.
Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation, Protecting and Defending Confidentiality (Fourth Edition), Author of Chapter 6, American Bar Association, 2008.
Attorney-Client Privilege in Civil Litigation, Protecting and Defending Confidentiality (Third Edition), Author of Chapter 18, American Bar Association, 2004.