Michael M. Guerra

Michael M. Guerra has spent three decades turning courtroom wins into industry change, including trying the first Ford Explorer-Firestone tire case in America ever to reach a jury. Of Counsel at Nix Patterson, LLP, Guerra is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law and has served on the commission that writes the certification exam itself, a measure of how the specialty’s gatekeepers regard him.

His results total hundreds of millions of dollars recovered for clients. The highlights include a $33 million injury verdict that set the Texas record for a case of its type and multiple settlements exceeding $20 million each. He has also represented hundreds of landowners in an aquifer contamination case, and his litigation has been credited with compelling safety improvements in both product manufacturing and premises management, meaning his cases have protected people beyond his own clients.

Guerra learned trial work the demanding way: he opened his career by trying dozens of criminal cases to jury verdict before moving to the plaintiffs’ side of civil litigation. Born and raised in McAllen, he earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, where he served in the Corps of Cadets, and his law degree from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, taking the American Jurisprudence Award in constitutional law. He has been licensed to practice since 1993.

The profession has taken notice. Guerra is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Attorney Information Exchange Group, a Texas Super Lawyer across multiple consecutive years, and one of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. In 2018 the Texas Bar Foundation gave him the Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award, which honors ethics and professional conduct as much as results. His cases have been covered by, or he has been quoted in, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN and Fox News, and he speaks and publishes regularly on civil litigation.

Guerra is a strong fit for serious car and truck accident victims, especially when a vehicle or tire defect may have played a role, and for injury cases involving dangerous premises or environmental contamination affecting many families. His deep jury-trial pedigree matters most when a defendant needs to believe your case really will be tried. Nix Patterson handles cases on contingency, and consultations are free.