Joseph Pevsner
Partner
Joseph Pevsner
+1.214.969.1262
Overview
Joseph Pevsner focuses his practice on products liability, business litigation, real estate and construction cases before state and federal trial and appellate courts, including trials in Texas, California, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington State and other states across the U.S.
His experience encompasses defense of various businesses and manufacturers, complex litigation, breach of contract and business tort cases. Mr. Pevsner has tried wrongful death, catastrophic personal injuries, business litigation and other cases before judges and juries and has resolved more than 10,000 claims and cases in more than 30 years of service to clients.
Representative Experience
- Mr. Pevsner has tried asbestos trials across the U.S., including Illinois, California, Washington and Ohio, as well as trials in rural settings across Texas. Clients have looked to him for their most challenging situations
- Six of the jurisdictions where Mr. Pevsner has tried asbestos matters were identified by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform as "Judicial Hellholes," and more than 30 of the trials lasted more than a month
- Trial counsel in Madison County, Illinois for a Fortune 500 company against nationally prominent plaintiff's lawyers; Mr. Pevsner's opening statement was quoted in Bloomberg Financial News reports
- Defended two Fortune 100 clients in a state court wrongful death asbestos trial and secured a defense verdict after successfully challenging five out of the plaintiff's six trial experts
- Secured a defense verdict for a Dow Jones Industrial Average company in a month-long jury trial in rural Orange, Texas, involving asbestos claims by two deceased and four living plaintiff
- Tried four asbestos cases to verdict in Ohio across a six-year span, with the first trial forming the basis of a successful appeal that established new, favorable law before the Ohio Supreme Court
- In two month-long trials, defended a Fortune 100 national manufacturer of seat belts against claims that paraplegia resulted after ejection from a vehicle
- Represented major manufacturers and retailers/distributors of products in resolving more than 10,000 product liability and negligence claims
- Secured a defense verdict in a U.S. District Court jury trial involving loss of fingers in a manufacturing equipment accident
- Secured a dismissal for a component part manufacturer in claims involving a bus accident resulting in a claimant crushed between two buses
- Secured a dismissal based on summary judgment motions for an automotive component part manufacturer in two U.S. District Court cases involving serious injury or death
- Obtained summary judgment for a product manufacturer in state court based on statute of repose against claims involving partial hand amputation
- Defended a national manufacturer of electrical equipment against claims of electrocution and burn injuries
- Secured a dismissal of case on basis of jurisdiction for a product manufacturer and national retailer against claims of serious burn injuries to a child and defended the case on two appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Secured a defense verdict in a Texas state court jury trial against claims of loss of an eye caused by the client’s industrial product
- Represented a manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride pipe against claims that leakage of natural gas caused an explosion in the plaintiffs' home
- Secured a defense verdict in jury trial in U.S. District Court for a nationally ranked company against claims of theft of trade secrets and alleged breach of confidentiality agreements
- Represented clients in business litigation involving breach of contract, business torts, and other claims
- Represented a valve manufacturer in an international dispute involving alleged breach of contract in Germany
- Represented a software manufacturing company in claims involving alleged defects in its computer software
- Represented an animal feed manufacturer against a Fortune 500 company for breach of warranty and consequential damages for supplying an ingredient outside the client’s specifications
- Defended Texas-based and Hartford-based insurance companies in several jury trials in Texas state courts on liability and coverage claims
- Represented a steel manufacturer in U.S. District Court involving a $21 million business interruption insurance claim
- Represented national and international construction companies and home builders in state and federal courts involving construction accidents, wrongful death claims, contract disputes, construction liens and claims of building defect.
- Defended companies building hospitals, medical centers and apartment complexes
Credentials
Education
- The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors
- The University of Texas at Austin, B.J., with high honors
Bar Admissions/Licenses
- New York
- Texas
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships
- National Trial Team for a Fortune 100 company; trying cases for the company in various locations across the U.S.
- University of Texas School of Law, Keeton Fellow
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Dallas Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
- American Bar Association; Litigation Section; Tort Section; Insurance Practice Section
- Dallas Bar Association
- Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, a national organization of recommended defense counsel
Honors & Awards
- Lawyer of the Year, The Best Lawyers in America, Dallas / Fort Worth Product Liability Litigation, 2021
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invited honorary organization selecting members who "display skill, integrity, and civility," confirmed by interviews with opposing lawyers and judges. Since 1958, ABOTA has sought to preserve and promote the right to a civil jury trial.
- Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, Tort Product & Medical Liability Litigation: Defense, 2016; Business/Commercial Litigation, 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants, Product Liability Litigation-Defendants, 2009-2025
- Top Rated Litigators, The American Lawyer, 2021
- Texas Super Lawyers, Personal Injury Defense: Product Liability Defense; Business Litigation; Construction Litigation, 2003, 2010-2020
- Local Litigation Star, Benchmark: Litigation, The Definitive Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, 2014-2019