Dara Hegar joined the Lanier Law Firm in 1999 and is currently the Managing Attorney for the firm’s offices in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York. A Houston native, she has represented clients in each of the firm’s practice areas and has focused on trial coordination in intricate litigation matters. Dara has represented clients and Fortune 500 companies from across the nation. While her proficiency spans across all of the firm’s practice areas, her specialty has been managing complex litigations and providing specific insight at trial that has resulted in many significant verdicts and settlements over the past 18 years.
Personal Information
Served as briefing attorney to the Honorable Richard H. Edelman at the Fourteenth Court of Appeals from 1998 through 1999, before joining the Lanier Law Firm. She resides in Katy, Texas with her husband, Glenn, and their three children.
Community and Professional Activities
Member of the Houston Bar Association
Member of The State Bar of Texas
Member of the American Association of Justice
Serves on the Board of Directors of The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University
Representative Cases
Member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the Opioid Multidistrict litigation in the state of Texas and has actively worked to negotiate and achieve over a billion dollars to the counties and cities in the state to combat the opioid crisis
Part of the national trial team that won a historic verdict against retail pharmacies operated by Walmart, CVS and Walgreens finding that they failed to follow guidelines that would have curtailed the staggering distribution of highly addictive opioid painkillers
A record setting $4.69 billion verdict on behalf of 22 women and their families who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-laden talcum powder products caused their ovarian cancer
$247 million verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson
$528 million verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson
$1.05 billion verdict against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and giant Johnson & Johnson
$9 billion-dollar Actos verdict against Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Eli Lilly & Co
$253 million in the first Vioxx® verdict in the U.S. (Ernst v. Merck)
Education
Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with honors from Texas A&M University
Master of Arts degree in International Relations – St. Mary’s University
Juris Doctor – St. Mary’s University, where she served with distinction as Associate Editor of the Law Journal
Admissions and Certification
Admitted to the Texas Bar in 1998
Awards
Named a Super Lawyer™ by Thomson Reuters from 2018 to 2021.
Named a “Rising Star” in the legal community eight times by Texas Monthly, receiving the honor each year from 2006 through 2013.
Honored as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” by The National Trial Lawyers
Listed in U.S. News and World Report’s The Best Lawyers in America.
Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, one of the most respected guides to the legal profession.
PRACTICE AREAS
Asbestos Exposure
Business Litigation
Federal Employers’ Liability Act Claims
Issues & Appeals
Maritime Law
Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury
Pharmaceutical Liability
Product Liability