DALLAS – Dallas trial lawyer Richard A. Sayles, co-founder of the Dallas trial boutique Sayles Werbner, has been named “Lawyer of the Year” by TEX-ABOTA, Inc., the Texas chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Sayles was selected at the August 14 TEX-ABOTA Board Meeting, held in Houston. He will receive the award at the TEX-ABOTA Annual Black Tie Dinner on October 16 at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel.

“This award is truly humbling,” Mr. Sayles says. “To have been singled out by lawyers I consider to be the best in the profession means more than I can say. I am honored, and will do my best to continue to be deserving of this recognition.”

The award was in recognition of Mr. Sayles work representing clients in bet-the-company litigation. Among his recent victories are:

• A record-breaking $1.67 billion verdict on behalf of a unit of Johnson & Johnson in an intellectual property trial over patents used to produce a popular arthritis medication;
• A $3.7 million patent infringement verdict on behalf of Commil USA LLC against Cisco Systems Inc. in a dispute over wireless network technology;
• A defense verdict for Newegg Inc., the world's second-largest online retailer, in a patent infringement lawsuit over the technology used in online shopping.

In addition to his work in the courtroom, Mr. Sayles served as a faculty member at the prestigious Texas Trial Academy at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin on June 7-10. The Academy is sponsored by the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the American College of Trial Lawyers, and its purpose is to train legal aid attorneys in the vital skills necessary to provide quality civil legal services to poor Texans.

Mr. Sayles led a workshop on direct and cross examination of expert witnesses at trial.

The TEX-ABOTA award is just the most recent honor Mr. Sayles has received. He was recently recognized in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, as well as the 2010 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America list.

In addition to recognizing Mr. Sayles, TEX-ABOTA will recognize two other lawyers at the Oct. 16 dinner. U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas Ed Kinkeade will receive the “Jurist of the Year” award, and Jan Miller, Director of the State Bar Law-Related Education Department and Executive Director, Law-Focused Education, will receive the “Champion of the 7th Amendment” award.

Sayles Werbner has an international reputation as a "go to" trial law firm in multifaceted business litigation, intellectual property, patent litigation, life-altering personal injury cases, product safety lawsuits and other areas of the law.