Benjamin T. Major

Benjamin Major has vast experience in trial and appellate matters. In his role for the Lanier Law Firm, he has served as lead appellate counsel on a number of appeals; has worked to preserve seven-to-ten-digit judgments on appeal;  and has headed up motion practice efforts in large scale and complex litigation, including personal injury cases, commercial disputes, 42 U.S.C. section 1983 litigation, and oil and gas cases.This past year, Ben successfully prosecuted an ERISA action against a large insurance company on behalf of a Fortune 500 company. The theory was largely untested in American jurisprudence, but Ben successfully gained the client access to and the right to analyze health claims data of its self-funded plan, thereby allowing the client to fully assess the insurer's use of plan funds. Ben has also defeated numerous dispositive motions in an array of cases, including litigation relating to a fatal railroad crossing crash, a dispute arising from a catastrophic fall in an NBA stadium, and claims arising from a botched circumcision of an infant.In the past, Ben helped preserve one of the largest tort judgments ever to survive an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In that case, the firm represented twenty-two women (and their families) who developed ovarian cancer due to exposure to asbestos in the defendant's talcum powders. Leading the briefing effort on multiple dispositive issues, Ben helped the firm's clients preserve a multi-billion dollar judgment on appeal. Ben's work on this case helped the firm's appellate group gain recognition by the National Law Journal as among the nation's elite appellate teams.Ben received a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence Summa Cum Laude from The Texas Tech School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal and received Order of the Coif honors. Before attending law school, Ben taught English and coached basketball and tennis in the public school system.Ben is a native Texan who is licensed in Texas. He is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern and Eastern District of Texas, as well the federal Fifth Circuit and Ninth Circuit courts.