J. Hunter Craft

J. Hunter Craft

Hunter Craft graduated as the Casey Presidential Scholar from Baylor University with a B.B.A. in Finance, and earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Baylor University School of Law. He began his legal career in litigation defense of business and catastrophic injury disputes at Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P. (now Norton Rose Fulbright LLP). He then refocused his career to advocate for those harmed by others, joining Watts Law Firm, later becoming Watts Guerra Craft. In 2013, after nearly 14 years in the legal profession, he founded Craft Law Firm, P.C., and continues to represent victims of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. He has litigated on behalf of clients in more than 30 states in cases against more than 50 different Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies.

Focusing primarily on transportation and trucking, workplace, product liability, and other catastrophic injury litigation, Mr. Craft has represented victims against large corporate defendants including Alcoa, Arkos, Autoliv, Axip Energy, BF Goodrich, BMW, Bridgestone/Firestone, Chrysler, Chubb, Coastal Corporation, Continental Tire, Cooper Tire, Cummins, Daewoo Motors, Discount Tire, Dorel Juvenile Products, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Gilbane, Goodyear, Hilcorp Energy, Home Depot, Honda, International Truck & Engine, Isuzu, Land Rover, Mattel, Mazda, Michelin, Mitsubishi, Newmar Corporation, Nissan, Pioneer, Schlumberger, Tire Rack, Titan Tire, Toyota, Trican, TRW, TXU, Union Pacific, Volkswagen, Williams, Witco/Chemtura, and Yokohama Tires, among others.

Mr. Craft has twice been named the Best Lawyers® Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston (2020, 2022), and has been recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America© since 2015. At the age of 29, he was elected a “Texas Super Lawyer” for the first time, making him the youngest such recipient in the history of the award, a designation he has now received more than 10 times. He was later chosen as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 40 Under 40 by The National Trial Lawyers and America’s Top 100 High Stake Litigators (2020) by America’s Top 100 Attorneys. Mr. Craft has multiple verdicts included in both the Texas and U.S. Top 100 list, and is a member of the Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame.

While he has been honored to receive numerous other professional awards and recognitions, he cares most of all for his clients, and the results he is able to obtain for them.

 

J. Hunter Craft
AWARDS AND HONORS
Ranked in The Best Law Firms in America® – U.S. News & World Report: 2016-current Included in The Best Lawyers in America® by U.S. News & World Report: 2015-current Recognized as the Best Lawyers® 2022 Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston, Texas Recognized as the Best Lawyers® 2020 Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Houston, Texas Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer: 2004, 2012-current Texas Verdict Hall of Fame Top 100 Verdicts in Texas, Verdict Search: 2005, 2006, 2010 Top 100 Verdicts in U.S., Verdict Search: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2016 Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, The National Trial Lawyers: 2012-2014 Million Dollar Advocates – Million Dollar Advocates Forum, LLC
EDUCATION
B.B.A. in Finance, Baylor University
  • Casey Presidential Scholar
  • Athletic Director’s Honor Roll Award Recipient
J.D., Baylor University School of Law
  • Harvey M. Richey Moot Court Society
  • Phi Delta Phi Honors Society
  • Order of Barristers
  • Inaugural Student Member – Abner V. McCall Inn of Court
LICENSES AND ADMISSIONS
Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
State Bar of Texas Texas Trial Lawyers Association Houston Bar Association Houston Trial Lawyers Association American Association of Justice Baylor University School of Law, Lifetime Alumni Association Member
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Small v. Vestal, Cause No. 08-01-18000-CV, In the 82nd Judicial District Court of Robertson County Texas (2010). VerdictSearch United States Verdict Hall of Fame and Texas Verdict Hall of Fame 2010, VerdictSearch’s Top 25 Texas Verdicts in 2010 (#23), VerdictSearch’s Verdict of the Week, VerdictSearch Texas, Vol. 10, Issue 14 (2010). Esther Lerma, et al v. Hilcorp Energy Company, et al, Cause No. 2009-08235, In the 55th Judicial District Court of Harris County Texas (2010). VerdictSearch Texas Verdict Hall of Fame (2010), VerdictSearch’s Top 100 Texas Verdicts in 2010 (#2). Sara Wojewski, et al v. TXU Electric Delivery Co., et al., Cause No. 06-07584, In the 95th Judicial District Court of Dallas County Texas (2009). VerdictSearch’s Top 100 Texas Verdicts in 2009, the Number 2 verdict in negligence, VerdictSearch’s Verdict of the Week, VerdictSearch Texas, Vol. 9, Issue 39 (2009). Barahona v. Levine Trucking, Cause No. 03-22, 254, In the 12th Judicial District Court of Walker County, Texas (2006). VerdictSearch’s Top 100 Verdicts for the United States and for Texas, 2006 (#72 nationally), VerdictSearch’s Verdict of the Week, VerdictSearch Texas, Vol. 7, Issue 3 (2007). Garcia v. Ford Motor Company, Cause No. 2004-04-2099-A, District Court, Cameron County, Texas (Brownsville), Texas (2004). VerdictSearch’s Top 100 Verdicts for the United States and for Texas, 2004.
SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS
2021
  • “Cross-Examination: Live from the Civil District Courthouse” Houston Trial Lawyers Association
  • “Setting the Stage with Your Opening Statement” Trial Advocacy College of Texas
2020
  • “Step II: Confronting the Corporate Representative at Trial” Texas Trial Lawyers Association Annual Midyear CLE
2019
  • “Proving Damages in a Catastrophic Injury Case” Houston Bar Association CLE Seminar, Houston, Texas
2018
  • “Deposing the Corporate Representative with an Eye on Trial” San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association Annual Real World Seminar: Trial Mechanics and Beyond, San Antonio, Texas
  • “Maximizing Recovery in Catastrophic Injury Litigation” Permian Basin Trial Lawyers Association CLE, Horseshoe Bay, Texas
  • “Fundamentals and Secrets of Deposing a Corporate Representative” Texas Trial Lawyers Association
2017
  • “Big Cases in the Big Easy: Commercial Vehicles and Workplace Injuries” CLE New Orleans, Louisiana
  • “Discovering and Utilizing Electronic Data in a Wireless World” Permian Basin Trial Lawyers Association CLE Horseshoe Bay, Texas
2016
  • “Emerging Trends in Accident Reconstruction” Texas Trial Lawyers Association Conference on Expert Witnesses and Voir Dire, Horseshoe Bay, Texas
2015 and earlier
  • “The Money You’re Missing, and How to Find It” Permian Basin Trial Lawyers Association
  • “Automotive Products Liability” Southern Trial Lawyers Conference New Orleans, Louisiana
  • “Pharmaceutical Products Liability: Pradaxa and Prompt Pay Litigation” Texas Trial Lawyers Association Las Vegas CLE Las Vegas, Nevada
  • “So You Want To Be A Lawyer?” Houston Bar Association Houston, Texas
  • “Personal Injury Trial Law” Houston Bar Association Houston, Texas
  • “The State of Brain Injury Litigation: Litigation Trends, New Theories of Liability, and Emerging Defenses” American Conference Institute: Brain Injury Litigation Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • “Trial Procedure” State Bar of Texas Federal Court Practice Course Houston, Texas
  • “Avoiding the Great Daubert Fraud: How to Properly Use and Resist Expert Challenges” Texas Trial Lawyers Association Las Vegas CLE Las Vegas, Nevada
  • “Striking a Tire Expert” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Orlando, Florida
  • “The People v. Harold Herzlich” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Houston, Texas
  • “Chemical Products and Toxic Torts: Handling the Media When a Catastrophic Event Occurs” American Bar Association Houston, Texas
  • “Rollover Activated Air Curtains: A Look at Ford Motor Company” Attorneys Information Exchange Group San Francisco, California
  • “Recent Experiences in Automotive Product Liability Trials” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Fall Conference, San Francisco, California
  • “Combating Ford Motor Company in Trial” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Napa, California
  • “Strategies and Secrets for Discovery in Automotive Product Liability Cases” Attorneys Information Exchange Group Las Vegas, Nevada
  • “Recognizing and Preserving Evidence in Automotive Cases” Texas Trial Lawyers Association CLE Port Aransas, Texas
  • “Is Your Car Wreck a Products Case?” Texas Trial Lawyers Association Port Aransas, Texas
  • “Accident Reconstruction and Physical Evidence” State Bar of Texas Dallas, Texas
  • “Admitting and Excluding Evidence” University of Texas CLE, Houston, Texas
Best Law Firms 2024
American Board of Trial Advocates
Best Law Firms U.S. News 2023
Best Law Firms 2022
Lawyer of the Year 2022 J. Hunter Craft
Best Law Firms 2021
Best Lawyers U.S. News Best Law Firms 2020
Best Law Firms 2019
Best Law Firms 2018
Best Lawyers U.S. News Best Law Firms 2017
Top 100 Verdicts Texas
Top 100 Verdicts United States
J. Hunter Craft 2020 Lawyer of the Year
The National Top 100 Trial Lawyers
The National Top 40 under 40 Trial Lawyers
Multi-million dollar advocates forum
Million dollar advocates forum
America's top 100 personal injury attorneys