JAMES B. ("Jim") LEWIS was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, and attended the North Dakota State School of Science, where he graduated in 1982 with an A.S. degree and Summa Cum Laude honors. He continued his education at the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, earning a B.A. degree and Summa Cum Laude honors in 1984. Jim then followed in his father's footsteps to pursue a legal career, and traveled south, where he graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas, in 1987.

At Lewis, Davenport & Hildebrand and Miller, Lewis & Davenport, Jim's practice is in civil litigation and civil appellate law. As a skilled civil trial lawyer, he is licensed to practice in all Texas State and Federal courts and has been Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law since 1994. Jim's extensive experience gives him a unique advantage in presenting legal arguments before trial judges and appellate justices. By anticipating the legal issues that will likely arise in complex civil trials, and preparing briefs and arguments to address each issue, Jim earns the respect of opposing counsel and the trial judges, and gives his clients the best possible opportunity to win their cases.

Tens of Millions Worth of Recoveries Obtained for His Clients

Early in his career, Jim earned the highest AV Martindale Hubbell* rating available for legal ability and ethics. He has put his legal knowledge and trial and deposition skills to work - benefiting his clients primarily in cases involving truck company negligence, commercial motor vehicle accidents, jobsite accidents, insurance disputes, and commercial litigation. Jim has obtained over 35 million dollars in settlements and judgments as lead counsel for clients injured as a result of trucking accidents. He has an intimate knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Regulations and State regulations pertaining to the operation of commercial motor vehicles. These recoveries include single settlement or judgment sums for his clients of a confidential eight-figure settlement, $3.8 million, $2.8 million, $2.7 million, $2.3 million, and $1.1 million in cases involving death, brain injury, and other serious personal injuries.

Jim has prevailed by verdict, settlement or mandate against large companies including Allied Waste, Inc., Alliant Food Services, Aspen Mfg., Autumn Hills Convalescent Center Inc., BFI Waste Services of Texas, LP, Clinic Resources Management, Inc., Con-Way Southern Express, Crane Technologies, Inc., Cummins Engine Company, FFE Transportation Services, Inc. FFE, Inc., Fortis Benefits Insurance Co., Freightliner, LLC, Grocer's Supply, Hookem Express, Inc., Key Energy Services, Inc., Kirby Trash Co., Kroger, la Madeleine French Bakery, Pate & Pate Enterprises, Inc., Tribble-Stephens Co., Venture Transport, Inc., Waste Management, Inc., West Oaks Hospitat, Inc., and dozens more.

Jim also works hard as an appellate lawyer to sustain the judgments awarded to his clients, and has achieved substantial success in protecting multi-million dollar awards.

His scores of published decisions include the often-cited Convalescent Services, Inc. v. Schultz, 921 S.W.2d 731 (Tex. App. - Houston [14th Dist.] 1996, writ denied) (punitive damages award affirmed) and Russell v. Ramirez, 949 S.W2d 480 (Tex. App. - Houston [14th Dist] 1997, no pet).

Click here to see some of the firm's verdicts.

Jim's professional memberships include the Houston Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, American Bar Association, the College of the State Bar of Texas, and the State Bar of Texas Appellate, and Litigation sections.

Published works by Jim include Sale of Alcohol to Interstate Travelers: Personal & Choice Of Law Analysis, Drake Law Review, Vol. 39, No. 2, 39 Drake Law Review 349, 1990, and Federal Preemption of Product Liability Claims: An Overview and Discussion of the Recent Limitations Imposed by the Texas Supreme Court, Products Liability Seminar, South Texas College of Law, July, 1994.

*Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.