Bar Admissions

  • Texas, 1997
  • Arizona, 2004
  • New Mexico, 2017
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court District of Arizona
  • U.S. District Court District of New Mexico

Education

  • Baylor University School of Law – Waco, Texas
    • Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1997
    • Law Review: Baylor Law Review, Member, 1995-1997
    • Law Review: Baylor Law Review, Editor-in-Chief, 1996-1997
  • Texas A&M University – College Station, Texas
    • Bachelor of Science, 1993

Professional Affiliations

  • American Association for Justice
  • Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America
  • Attorneys Information Exchange Group
  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Life Fellow
  • Bar Association of Arizona
  • Corpus Christi Bar Association
  • Corpus Christi Young Lawyers Association (President, 2003-04, Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year, 2005-06)
  • Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Life Member
  • Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Life Member
  • New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association (NMTLA)
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Member
  • Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow

Publications & Presentations

  • “How to Turn the Trucking Case Into a Case About Corporate Responsibility, the $37M Verdict”
    • New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association’s Verdict Just In!
  • “How to Turn the Trucking Case Into a Case About Corporate Responsibility, the $37M Verdict”
    • Houston Trial Lawyers Association
  • “Turning the Work Truck Wreck Into a Case About Corporate Responsibility”
    • Corpus Christi Bar Association – Advanced Civil Litigation CLE
  • “Hours of Service Oilfield Exceptions — Increasing Fatigue”
    • AAJ TLG Journal of Trucking Litigation, Fall 2014 (co-writer with Stuart R. White)
  • “Winning at Trial and Mediation: Telling the Visual Story, Using the Urge to Punish, Neutralizing Bad Facts”
    • University of Houston Law Center
  • “Fire Protection in Frontal Impacts: Using Ford’s Defense Against Them”
    • Attorneys Information Exchange Group

Kevin W. Liles

Kevin Liles has more than two decades of experience representing clients in safety-related lawsuits all over the U.S. His commitment to his clients has resulted in settlements and verdicts of seven and eight figures. He is frequently called upon to share his expertise in lectures on how to represent victims of heavy truck wrecks in both Texas and New Mexico.

Position

Partner

Licensed

Texas, New Mexico and Arizona

Raised in the west Texas town of Abilene, Mr. Liles earned his B.S. from Texas A&M University in 1993 and a Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School in Waco, Texas in 1997. After law school, Mr. Liles independently handled several litigation dockets with a large international law firm, Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P., representing both plaintiff and defense clients. In 2001, Mr. Liles joined Harris & Watts, PC where he exclusively represented plaintiffs. The addition of Mr. Liles helped the firm to grow and become a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ litigation firm.

In 2010, Mr. Liles formed Liles Harris PLLC, an injury law firm, focused on representing plaintiffs injured because of trucking negligence, workplace-related accidents and auto product defects. Stuart White joined the firm shortly after and partnered with Mr. Liles to form Liles White PLLC.

Mr. Liles has served as lead trial counsel in complex commercial cases and in multiple auto product liability and personal injury cases involving 18-wheeler collisions, work truck crashes, oilfield workplace injuries and various defective products, resulting in significant verdicts and settlements for his clients across the U.S. Mr. Liles’ practice is entirely devoted to litigation.

Notable Experience

In 2016, Mr. Liles obtained one of the largest trucking verdicts in the country in a wrongful death trucking case in Dallas County, Texas. The jury returned a $37.9 million verdict against O’Reilly Auto Enterprises. The verdict is believed to be one of the largest wrongful death trucking verdicts in Dallas County history.

In 2017, Mr. Liles obtained a $7 million trucking verdict in New Mexico on a $0 offer case. He resolved the case against a previous defendant for a confidential settlement that was in excess of the later verdict.

Mr. Liles served as trial counsel in a four-fatality commercial motor vehicle and road construction case that resolved favorably with one defendant in the first week of trial and with the second defendant in the second week of trial. The defendants refused to accept responsibility and offered $0 until a week before the trial. The case settled confidentially well into 7 figures.

Mr. Liles obtained an $18.75 million verdict in 2013 in Nueces County, Texas for parents of an 18-year-old boy who was killed when a drunk driver drove the wrong way down a highway. The suit was against the topless bar that over-served the driver and then kicked him out of the bar. The verdict appears to be the largest wrongful death dram shop case in Nueces County history.

Mr. Liles has and continues to represent victims of 18-wheeler crashes involving large, national interstate motor carriers such as Stevens Transport, Said Motor Freight Lines, Knight Transportation, TN Transport, Cardinal Logistics, CRST, Con-way Truckload, Transwood, Quality Carriers, FedEx, UPS, Atlas Van Lines and other carriers. In addition, he has prosecuted cases against large freight brokers and shippers such as C.H. Robinson.

Mr. Liles has and continues to represent victims of oilfield-related deaths, including crashes involving oil field trucks and injuries and deaths arising from unsafe working conditions in the oil field and gas pipeline facilities and locations.

Mr. Liles has represented numerous clients who have suffered spinal cord injuries (SCI), including quadriplegia and paraplegia, against international automobile and tire manufacturers responsible for unsafe and defective products causing injuries. Mr. Liles has obtained successful settlements in the 7 figures and 8 figures, with experience in unique issues facing clients with such disabilities.

Mr. Liles has and continues to represent catastrophic burn injury victims, as well as victims of brain injuries, to assist with the particular issues and treatments that such injuries bring to victims and their families.

Mr. Liles has handled numerous tractor-trailer, company vehicle and product liability cases that settled favorably within the year of the crash for amounts in excess of $5 million.

Mr. Liles’ experience includes the favorable settlement of numerous cases involving automotive and tire defects, trucking and commercial vehicle litigation, dram shop liability and contamination.

Honors and Awards

  • ‘AV Preeminent’ Peer Review rated by Martindale Hubbell
    • Highest level for ethical standards and legal ability
  • Corpus Christi Under 40 Award, 2007
    • 2007, for professional excellence and community contributions
  • Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year, 2005-2006
    Corpus Christi Bar Association
  • Texas Super Lawyer and Rising Star 2005, 2007-2019
  • Life Fellow, The Texas Bar Foundation, 2015
    • Elected by a nomination offered to the top 1/3 of 1% of Texas attorneys based on outstanding record in the legal profession as well as proven commitment to support community at large
  • Litigator Award winner, 2014-2015
    • Trial Lawyers Board of Regents, recognizing Liles Harris White PLLC as ranking among the top 1% of all lawyers for extraordinary achievement in fields of Truck Accident, Wrongful Death, Products Liability, Liquor Liability, Personal Injury, and Automobile Defect Litigation Member, Pro Bono College,
  • State Bar of Texas, 2004-06,2010, 2014-15
    • Recognizes attorneys who have far exceeded the State Bar’s aspirational pro bono goal in their efforts to address the needs of the community poor
  • 10 Best Attorneys
    • Exceptional and Outstanding Client Service, American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys
  • Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers
  • The National Trial Lawyers, 2017