John J. Spillane

Families comparing Dallas injury lawyers after a catastrophic accident or the death of a loved one will notice something unusual about John J. Spillane of Crain Brogdon: his practice has never been confined to one courthouse or even one state. Over a career spanning more than a quarter century, Spillane has litigated wrongful death and severe injury cases in jurisdictions all over the country, with particular depth in claims built on exposure to hazardous chemicals and minerals. Those cases live or die on science, and mastering the technical evidence is where he built his name.

That scientific fluency is not just self-description. Spillane’s peers and independent legal publications have repeatedly singled him out — he has been named a top litigator by the National Trial Lawyers, appears on Texas Monthly’s Super Lawyers list, and holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating, the service’s highest mark for legal ability and ethics as judged by fellow lawyers and judges. His work shows up in reported appellate decisions in Texas, Delaware, and Georgia, and he served as lead trial counsel in a Georgia case that struck down a state statute as unconstitutional — a ruling the Georgia Supreme Court ultimately affirmed. He has also lectured at national litigation conferences on subjects ranging from Daubert scientific-evidence standards to premises-owner liability.

Spillane sees advocacy as extending past the courtroom door. He has been active in the American Association for Justice and multiple state trial lawyer associations, and he has consulted with lawmakers or testified before legislative committees in four different states as well as at the national level. Industry publications have honored him too, including a 10 Best Attorneys designation from the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys for 2018-2019 and a Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney nod from Attorney and Practice Magazine in 2018.

His path started at Trinity University in San Antonio, where he played four years of varsity basketball — earning Academic All-American honors and serving as team captain and MVP — before graduating in 1988 with a B.S. in finance and human resources management. He earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1993 and today lives in Dallas with his wife, Stephanie, and their son, Jack. His stated philosophy is simple: he takes on his clients’ problems as his own and treats the people he represents like family.

Spillane is a strong fit for families pursuing a wrongful death claim, workers harmed by toxic exposure on the job, and anyone whose case will hinge on expert scientific proof and complex, high-stakes litigation. Consultations are free, and the firm handles injury cases on contingency — you owe nothing unless your case succeeds.