Kirk D. Willis is a respected trial attorney and has a breadth of experience in products, construction, professional malpractice, and officer and director liability defense, having represented boat manufacturers, crane and hoist companies, construction contractors, brokers, and financial and non-profit institutions in litigation nationwide. He is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Kirk has tried more than 100 jury trials to verdict and established himself as a premier trial lawyer in his defense practice, which includes construction litigation, commercial disputes, medical malpractice, employment litigation and environmental litigation. Kirk’s experiences have led him to author two books “Corporate Justice: Fight Back In the Court Room and Save Your Company” and “Intellectual Property Law in the Sports and Entertainment Industry.” He has also utilized his knowledge to conduct numerous seminars on topics such as Wrongful Death, Survival Claims, Ethical Considerations for Adjusters, Construction: Contract Termination and Subcontractors, Bad Faith, What Juries Really Think, Appropriate Use of Expert Witnesses, and many more.
Kirk is a Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent-rated attorney and has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters (2003-2010, 2014-2015). This list is published in Texas Monthly, as well as the stand-alone Texas Super Lawyers magazine. Under Kirk’s leadership as Managing Partner, his former firm was recognized as the “Construction Law Firm of the Year in Texas” in 2010 and “Insurance & Reinsurance Law Firm of the Year in Texas” in 2011 by Corporate INTL magazine. His experience leading a firm includes serving as Section Head of the Civil Defense section of a major Texas litigation firm. Kirk also was on the Executive Committee of a 250-man statewide litigation firm.
Representative Clients
- ACE USA
- Arch Insurance Group
- Archon Group
- Aspen Specialty Insurance Management
- Atlas Van Lines, Inc.
- BioMed Realty
- Brown Foundation Repair
- California Guaranty
- Chubb
- Collier Investments, Inc./Manpower
- Goldman Sachs
- NCMIC Insurance Company
- Northeast Texas Power, Ltd.
- North Texas Tollway Authority
- Oklahoma Property and Casualty
- Old Republic Construction Program Group
- On the Border
- Pennsylvania Guaranty
- Pillar Commercial
- SafeAuto Insurance
- Safelite Group
- Stanley Steemer International
- Starr Indemnity & Liability Company
- State Auto Insurance
- Texas Guaranty Association
- Texas Motor Speedway
- Universal North America Insurance
- Western Litigation
- XL Insurance Company
Presentations & Publications
- Corporate Justice: Fight Back In the Court Room and Save Your Company
- Reading a Jury: How to Prepare a Corporate Defense
- Frack You: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Fracking Controversy in Texas
- Why Smart Employers Opt Out from Texas Workers’ Compensation Coverage
- Anticipating a Vioxx defense strategy: Will Corporate Honesty Be Enough?
- Wrongful Death, Survivorship and Bystander Claims
- The Big “D” in Construction Litigation
- Premises Liability
- Slip and Fall or Loitering
- Defending Cases with Imperfect Documentation
- Bad Faith, Unethical Settlement Practices and the DTPA
- Third Party Indemnity Obligations in a CGL Insurance Policy
- New Legislation-Creation of Rules for Offers of Settlement
- Ethical Considerations for Claims Adjusters
- What You Need to Know About the Dram Shop Act
- An Overview of Coverage Issues in Personal Injury Claims
- An Inside Look at New Tort and Insurance Legislation
- Settlement Hazards
- Claims Arising Under Texas Tort Claims Act
- Evaluating a Case Involving Texas Tort Claims Act
- Dealing with Probate Matters While Handling Tort Claims
- Potential Expert Witnesses and Application of Daubert
- Expert Witnesses and Daubert
- Damages Arising Out of an Automobile Accident
- Using Discovery Tools to Prove Damages from Auto Accidents
- Adjusting Auto Accidents from Simple to Catastrophic
- Dealing with Default Judgment
- Overview of New Tort and Insurance Legislation
- First Party Bad Faith
- Everything You Need to Know About Bad Faith
Representative Experience
- American Bar Association, Litigation Section
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- State Bar of Texas
- State Bar of Arkansas
- Texas Association of Defense Counsel
- Claims Litigation Management (CLM)
- Dallas Claims Association (DCA)
- Dallas Builders Association (DBA)
- Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce
- Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)
- Minority Supplier Development Council (MSDC)
- Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA)
- National Bar Association (NBA)
- The Voice of the Defense Bar (DRI)
- The Risk Management Society (RIMS)
