Justin Demerath

Mr. Justin Demerath serves as the managing partner of the firm's contingent fee litigation department, specializing in the areas of institutional first-party insurance, multi-district litigation, product liability, personal injury, pharmaceutical, and medical device litigation. His tenure with the firm began in 2001 as a law clerk, marking over two decades of dedicated service.

 

Mr. Demerath earned both his BBA in Finance and his JD from Southern Methodist University. During his legal studies, he spent his third year as a visiting student at the University of Texas School of Law. His academic journey also included international instruction at University College, Oxford University in England, and the University of Sydney Law Facility in Australia.

 

In recognition of his professional excellence, Mr. Demerath has been selected by his peers for inclusion on the Thompson Reuters Super Lawyers list every year from 2020-the present. He is licensed to practice law in Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska and maintains memberships with several professional associations. Additionally, his charitable contributions include serving as a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

 

Throughout his career, Mr. Demerath has held various leadership roles within the legal community. Notably, he has served as President of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association as well as other organization leadership roles over the years. 

 

Notably, Mr. Demerath represented the most individuals and families affected by the Sutherland Springs Mass Church Shooting of any law firm in the litigation. In serving in the leadership team of that complex case, he successfully sought compensation from the U.S. Air Force, which was found 60% responsible for the tragedy due to its failure to report the shooter's prior felony convictions to the FBI, a lapse that allowed the perpetrator to acquire firearms used in the incident where 27 people were killed.  After years of litigation and a lengthy trial against the US Government, a federal judge entered a verdict ordering the Air Force to pay more than $230 million to the survivors and victims’ families. 

 

Mr. Demerath has represented a diverse clientele in weather-related insurance claims.  This includes institutional entities such as Texas independent school districts and private corporations, including the Circuit of the Americas Formula One Racetrack.   To date, he has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients in this practice area.  

 

Mr. Demerath is actively involved in representing numerous Texas school districts in litigation against major social media companies. These lawsuits allege that platforms such as Meta, Snap, and ByteDance have knowingly designed their services to be addictive and harmful to students' mental health and seeks to recover the related increased costs incurred by school districts in educating students.   

 

His commitment to assisting clients in times of need is evident in his meticulous and compassionate approach to Multi-District Litigations (MDLs) involving Syngenta GMO Corn Litigation, NFL Concussion Litigation, GM Ignition Switch Litigation, product liability, vehicular accidents, and weather related first-party insurance claims.

 

On a personal note, Mr. Demerath is married to attorney Janelle Collier Demerath and is the proud father of identical twin boys.