Lisa Shirley

I went to law school to do good in the world. I knew I wanted to practice public interest law and represent regular people who really need legal help but cannot afford a lawyer. I grew up in Texas but decided to go to law school in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was involved in my school’s Public Interest Law Foundation, and both of my summers in law school I received grants to work for organizations providing free or low-cost legal representation to people who really need legal help. I graduated second in my class at Tulane Law School in 1999, and because of my commitment to public interest work, I was honored with the John Minor Wisdom Award, named after a truly great federal judge known for writing legal opinions championing important constitutional rights. After graduation, I worked for a judge on the Louisiana Supreme Court and then received a fellowship to litigate civil rights cases for legal services clients in Florida.

In 2006, I moved back to Texas and began representing clients harmed by asbestos, other environmental toxins, and pharmaceuticals. I specialize in writing legal briefs to advocate for my clients on the many legal issues that arise in these cases. For the past decade, I have briefed trial court motions and appeals in state and federal courts for plaintiffs across the country.

I have always felt a calling to stand up against injustice and to be a voice for those whose stories need to be told. One of the cases I am most honored to have briefed is Bobo v. Tennessee Valley Authority, which resulted in a favorable decision in the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals for a woman who died of mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos brought home on her husband’s work clothes from his maintenance job at a nuclear power plant. The case upheld a multi-million dollar verdict for the plaintiff and established a number of important legal principles, including that the owner of the plant, the Tennessee Valley Authority, owed a duty of care to the family members of its employees and was responsible for its negligent practices that allowed asbestos to cause harm outside the plant.

I try to live with kindness and compassion, and to spend time serving others. For many years I have been an active volunteer with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Project, a non-profit organization that provides free legal assistance in family law, probate, landlord-tenant, and other matters. I have twice been honored by this organization for my volunteer work at Dallas neighborhood legal clinics. I have recently served on the non-profit boards of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Aberg Center for Literacy in Dallas, and I participate in a number of attorney organizations that stand up for the rights of plaintiffs in the legal system. There is so much more to do, but these are some of the ways I try to make my community and world better.

Tulane University School of Law, J.D., 1999, New Orleans, LA, summa cum laude, Order of the Coif

Austin College, B.A. with Honors, 1994, Sherman, TX, magna cum laude

State Bar of Texas, 2006

State Bar of Florida, 2001

State Bar of Louisiana, 1999

United States Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Dallas Attorney Volunteer Program, Outstanding Clinic Attorney Volunteer, 2008, 2015

The Florida Bar Foundation Steven M. Goldstein Award for Excellence, 2003

John Minor Wisdom Award, Tulane Law School, 1999

American Association for Justice

Texas Trial Lawyers Association

Dallas Trial Lawyers Association

National Lawyers Guild