2016 Distinguished Alumni Recipient

Mark Lanier

Attorney, Author, Teacher, Pastor and Expert Story Teller, Mark Lanier is no stranger to the public platform. Since he founded The Lanier Law Firm in 1990, Mark has earned international recognition as one of the top trial attorneys in the United States with firm offices in Houston, New York and Los Angeles supporting his work for clients across the country.

Mark’s courtroom experience is significant and diverse, including:

• In March 2016, he secured an astounding verdict when a federal jury in Dallas found in favor of his clients in a products liability case over defective hip implants against defendant DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of health care giant Johnson & Johnson.
• Mark scored another headline-grabbing verdict in April 2014 against Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Eli Lilly & Co. over the diabetes drug Actos.
• From the very beginning of his career, Mark has proved again and again that he is not one to slow down or rest on the laurels of his recent victories. Early in 1993, he made a huge impact in the world of courtroom litigation by winning a then-record verdict for a small oil company in a business fraud case against one of the nation’s largest oil providers
• His winning verdict in the nation’s first trial over the painkiller Vioxx, Ernst v. Merck, set the tone for similar cases nationally.
• Mark followed up the record Vioxx verdict with two more substantial trial wins over the same drug.
• He obtained a precedent-setting settlement for a national sugar association trade group and several of the largest U.S. sugar manufacturers regarding a false promotion lawsuit against one of the world’s leading distributors of artificial sweeteners.
• He also was responsible for reaching a sizeable settlement for syringe manufacturer Retractable Technologies in an antitrust case against Becton Dickinson & Company, which served as the basis for the movie “Puncture,”starring Chris Evans.
• His verdict on behalf of 21 asbestos victims is considered one of the largest asbestos liability awards in U.S. history.
• Mark also secured a settlement for 130 Ingersoll Rand Plc employees in a lawsuit over unpaid bonuses related to the sale of an Ingersoll Rand subsidiary.

A strong supporter of his alma mater, Mark did two years of undergraduate work at Texas Tech University, then returned to earn his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1984. He remains active at Texas Tech by serving on the law school’s Foundation Board. He was selected as the Texas Tech University School of Law Distinguished Alumnus for 2015 and also was awarded the Texas Tech University’s  Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.

Mark is enthusiastically involved in government and community activities outside the practice of law. Chairmen, company presidents and senior executives from major American corporations and universities often call on him for his respected business views on national and international issues.

In 2011, Mark was also bestowed the distinguished Ambassador of Peace award by the Guatemalan government.  He has received honorary doctor degrees from Pepperdine University, St. John’s University, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Mark also is the founder of the Lanier Theological Library (www.LanierTheologicalLibrary.org), one of the nation’s largest private theological collections. He teaches a weekly, 700-plus-member Sunday school class focusing onBiblical Literacy at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston. Mark is the founder of the Christian Trial Lawyers Association, a non-profit organization whose goal is to create a network of principled attorneys to minister to others through civic-minded endeavours. He serves on the boards of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) and the Albright Institute. An accomplished author, Mark recently published the book, Christianity on Trial (IVP 2014).Mark is the father of five wonderful children and lives in Houston with his wife, Becky.