LEWIS R. SIFFORD |

Bio

Lewis R. Sifford is an accomplished trial lawyer with substantial experience in dispute resolution. His practice includes complex commercial litigation as well as catastrophic personal injury and death cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He has tried more than 150 civil jury trials to verdict. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate and as a Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr. Sifford has served as an arbitration judge in complex securities cases and disputes involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices and is an experienced mediator. He served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at the Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law for 20 years.

Mr. Sifford is a Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (“ABOTA”), one of the most prestigious legal associations in the United States. In 1997, he was the national winner of Masters in Trial Award presented by ABOTA. He was also named as the Texas Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2000 by the Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates. One of his most significant honors was his election to serve as the 2007 National President of ABOTA. On January 14, 2012, Mr. Sifford was awarded the highest honor that the ABOTA Foundation gives: The Mark P. Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award. On January 20, 2018, he received the highest honor that National ABOTA gives: The National ABOTA Lifetime Achievement Award. He is only the second recipient of both awards in the more than 60-year history of the organizations and on November 17, 2018 Mr. Sifford received the J.H. “Blackie” Holmes Award from the Dallas Chapter of ABOTA for “Honor, Integrity and Professionalism.” He was the first recipient of the Blackie Holmes Award.

Mr. Sifford is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American College of Trial Lawyers and Litigation Counsel of America. He has been repeatedly named by D Magazine as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” and by Texas Monthly as one of the state’s “Super Lawyers”. On April 3, 2018, Mr. Sifford received the Texas Trial Legend Award from the Dallas Bar Association.

Mr. Sifford has served the legal profession by making more than 300 continuing legal education presentations including trial demonstrations and ethics lectures in 26 states and many foreign countries. He became a Leon Jaworski Fellow of the Baylor Law School in 2012. Since 2012, Mr. Sifford has served as a faculty member and the accredited speaker on Ethics at the ABOTA National Trial College at Harvard Law School. In 2018, Mr. Sifford served in those same roles at the ABOTA National Trial College at Yale Law School. He has also served as a faculty member of the Academy of the Advocate, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

LEWIS R. SIFFORD
RESUME

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS:
• Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
• Civil Trial Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy
• Civil Practice Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy
HONORS AND AWARDS:
• ABOTA Blackie Holmes Award, 2018
• Texas Trial Legend Award, Dallas Bar Association, 2018
• ABOTA Lifetime Achievement Award, 2018
• Mark P. Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award, 2012
• Texas Super Lawyers, Texas Monthly, 2003-2018
• The Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine
• Texas Trial Lawyer of the Year, ABOTA, 2000
• Certificate of Excellence in Law Focused Education, State Bar of Texas, 1998
• National Masters in Trial Award, ABOTA, 1997
PROFESSIONAL OFFICES ELECTED TO OR HELD:
• National President, ABOTA, 2007
• National President-Elect, ABOTA, 2006
• National Vice-President, ABOTA, 2005
• National Treasurer, ABOTA, 2002 to 2005
• Trustee, American Board of Trial Advocates, 1999-2001
• President, ABOTA, Texas Chapter, 1999
• Chairman of the Board of Directors, ABOTA, Texas Chapter, 1999
• Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee, National Board of Directors, ABOTA, 1999
• National Board Member, ABOTA, 1995 to Present
• President, ABOTA, Dallas Chapter, 1994
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
• Faculty, ABOTA National Trial College, Yale Law School, 2018
• Faculty, ABOTA National Trial College, Harvard Law School, 2012 to 2016
• Faculty, Academy of the Advocate, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 2014
• Leon Jaworski Fellow, Baylor Law School 2012-Present
• Faculty, ABOTA Trial College at Princeton University, 2010
• Faculty, American Bar Association/Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section; National Trial Academy, National Judicial College; Reno, Nevada, 2004, 2005 and 2007
• Legal Ethics Committee, Dallas Bar Association, 1991-1992
• Arbitrator, New York Stock Exchange, Approved List of Arbitrators, 1988 - 2006
• Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy, Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law, 1986 - 2006
• Instructor, Dallas Bar Association Trial Skills Course, 1985 to 1990
• Faculty, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Southern Regional Trial Program, Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law, 1985 to 2000
• Prosecutor, Dallas Bar Subcommittee of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, State Bar of Texas, 1982-1991
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
• State Bar of Texas
• American Bar Association
• American Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• American College of Trial Lawyers
• International Academy of Trial Lawyers
• Litigation Counsel of America
▪ Barrister, Order of Centurions
▪ Barrister, Order of Certus
• Member, The Trial Law Institute
• American College of Legal Medicine
• College of the State Bar of Texas
• Dallas Bar Association
• Texas Bar Foundation
• Fifth Circuit Bar Association
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE:
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• United States District Court, Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas
• United States Tax Court
• Supreme Court, State of Texas
EDUCATION:
• Baylor University, Waco, Texas, B.A., 1971
• Baylor University School of Law, Waco, Texas, J.D., 1972

LEWIS R. SIFFORD

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