Christopher Martin

Mr. Martin is one of the most recognized insurance coverage and insurance bad faith trial lawyers in the country.  As far as we know, he has tried and won more insurance coverage and insurance bad faith cases to verdict in the last 35 years than any other lawyer currently practicing in the country.  He's the author of three legal treatises on Texas Insurance Law, he is a frequent speaker at state and national insurance programs and conferences, he has served as the Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law at Baylor University School of Law since 2018, and he previously served as the Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law at University of Houston Law School for 10 years.  He has defended insurance coverage and bad faith cases in 38 different states and tried coverage and bad faith cases to final jury verdict in 14 different jurisdictions, including his home state of Texas.  He has received multiple recognitions for his skills in trying insurance lawsuits. 

Best Lawyers in America© Insurance Law, (2006–2023)

Texas Top Insurance Litigation Attorney; Chambers USA (2005–2023)

Named to “Super Lawyers List” by Texas Monthly Magazine, (2004–2023)

Named one of the top five “Go To” Insurance Lawyers in Texas by The Texas Lawyer (October 2002, November 2012)

Named one of “The World’s Leading Insurance Lawyers” by Legal Media Group (2006)

Named one of the “Top 40 Lawyers in Texas under 40” (September 2001)

Representative Matters

Mr. Martin has handled more than 10,000 insurance coverage and bad faith cases across the country in the last 25 years.  In addition to serving as lead counsel in numerous insurance lawsuits arising out of every major hurricane, tornado, earthquake and wildfire to hit a major metropolitan area in the US in the last two decades, he has handled some of the largest insurance matters in the country.  His work includes the coverage litigation and/or insurance disputes arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, the Las Vegas shooting, the Twin Towers coverage litigation after 9/11, the Uvalde Texas school shooting, the Travis Scott/Astroworld litigation and many more.  Mr Martin served on the Insurer Steering Committees for the many thousands of first party bad faith suits arising out of both Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Hurricane Ike in Texas.  He obtained the first Insurance MDL certification in  history on behalf of State Farm following Hurricane Ike and he obtained the first multi-storm/multi-event Insurance MDL for Farmers Insurance following the state-wide avalanche of wind/hail suits in Texas in 2015.

While he has tried more than 175 insurance coverage and bad faith cases to verdict and handled more than 100 appeals, some of his representative cases on appeal include:

Clients

Professional

American Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters

State Bar of Texas

Defense Research Institute

International Association of Defense Counsel

Houston Bar Association

News

Publications

Treatises

CORNELL & MARTIN’S TEXAS INSURANCE DIGEST (American Legal Media 2007).  This digest of significant Texas insurance decisions from 1995 through 2011 covers the spectrum of commercial and personal lines policies popular in Texas, the contractual and extra-contractual claims available in Texas, and the procedural issues in Texas insurance litigation.

TEXAS ANNOTATED INSURANCE CODE (LexisNexis 2007 - 2016). Chapter author on statutory causes of action and UM/UIM provisions of the Texas Insurance Code.

TEXAS PRACTICE GUIDE: INSURANCE LITIGATION (West Publishing 2001 - 2016). This legal treatise examines all aspects of insurance law and insurance litigation in Texas.

THE LAWYERS GUIDE TO TEXAS INSURANCE CODE ARTICLE 21.21 (Lexis Legal Publishing 3rd Ed., 1998): This legal treatise examines the private action provisions of the Texas Insurance Code.

CORNELL & MARTIN’S TEXAS INSURANCE DIGEST (American Lawyer Media 2006). This legal digest summarizes Texas’ key insurance decisions from the past two decades.

Editor

Mr. Martin served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Texas Insurance Law, for 18 years, a journal published by the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Periodicals

"The Science of the Apology: Insurance Claims and Litigation." JOURNAL OF TEXAS INSURANCE LAW; Winter 2015 - 2016, Vol 13, No. 5.

“Web Sites of Interest to Texas Consumer Law Practitioners,” JOURNAL OF TEXAS CONSUMER LAW, Summer 1999.

“Insurance Litigation after Maryland v. Head,” JOURNAL OF TEXAS CONSUMER LAW, Fall 1997.

“Insurance Litigation After Allstate v. Watson: An Interim Analysis,” CAVEAT VENDOR (State Bar of Texas), June 1996.

“Polasek and Simmons: Texas Bad Faith at the Crossroads,” TEXAS BAD FAITH BULLETIN (The Rutter Group), January 1994.

THE INSURANCE RECORD (Record Publishing Company, Dallas); contributing author of “Legal Update” feature, 1993-1996.

“The Bad Faith Implications of Texas Insurance Reform Bill,” TEXAS BAD FAITH BULLETIN (The Rutter Group), January 1992.

“Director and Officer Insurance”; THE HOUSTON LAWYER (March/April 2004), Volume 41, Number 5 (pages 38-45).

CLE Publications

Mr. Martin has published more than 100 articles for legal and insurance industry conferences and seminars across the country. For a complete list, contact Mr. Martin.

* “Hot Insurance Issues for the Civil Practitioner” --  TexasBarCLE – San Antonio – July 13-15, 2016.  

* “New Voir Dire Strategies for the 21^st Century” --  TADC 2016 Spring – Nashville, TN – April 27 – May 1, 2016.

"Bad Faith Considerations with Eroding Limits Liability Policies" - ExecuSummit - Uncasville, CT. - November 3 - 4, 2015.

"Institutional Bad Faith: Winning the Discovery & Trial Wars" - DRI Insurance Law and Claims Conference - Hartford, CT - October 28, 2015.

"The Science of the Apology" - TADC - Jackson Hole, WY - July 8 - 12, 2015

"Turning the Tide: Effective Strategies for Defending Bad Faith Claims" - DRI Insurance Bad Faith Seminar - Boston, MA - June 2013

"Discovery and Trial Strategies in 'Institutional' Bad Faith Litigation" - State Bar of Texas 10th Annual Advanced Insurance Law Course - Dallas, TX - April 11 - 12, 2013.

“Ethics Jeopardy: The Most Fun You Ever Had With Attorney Liability and Discipline” – University of Houston Advanced Insurance and Tort Claims – June 22-23, 2006 (Dallas) and June 29-30, 2006 (Houston).

“Jury Selection and Jury Charges in an Insurance World” – State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting Insurance Law Section CLE Program – June 15, 2006.

“Jury Selection to Win the Bad Faith Case” - DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute – May 4-5, 2006.

“Jury Selection to Win the Institutional Bad Faith Case” – 13th Advanced National Forum on Bad Faith and Punitive Damage for the American Conference Institute – April 27- 28, 2006

“Hot Property Insurance and Consumer Protection Issues” – 29th Annual General Practice Institute for the Baylor Law School – April 21, 2006

“Hot Homeowners’ Insurance Issues – Fiess, Hurricane Rita, and Concurrent Causation” – Texas Bar CLE – Third Annual Advanced Insurance Law Course – March 30-31, 2006.

“Hurricane Coverage and the 2005 Hurricanes” - DBA TIPS CLE – March 23, 2006.

“Litigating the Auto Insurance Case: Offensive Ploys and Defensive Plays” – American Conference Institute – January 26-27, 2006.

“Hot Topics in Property and Liability Insurance: 2005 Year-In-Review” – Tenth Annual Insurance Law Institute for the University of Texas at Austin – December 8-9, 2005.

“Jury Selection in Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Cases” – American Conference Institute (“ACI”) – 12th Advanced National Forum on Litigation – November 15- 16, 2005.

“Jury Selection in Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Cases” – University of Houston Advanced Insurance Seminar - October 20, 2005 (Houston) and October 27, 2005 (Dallas).

“Cortez Case: How District Judges Are Handling Juror Rehabilitation” – Houston Bar Association – September 20, 2005.

“Insurance Issues Every Trial Lawyer Must Master” – State Bar of Texas – Annual Meeting: Litigation: What’s Hot and What’s Not – June 23, 2005.

“What Every Insurance Lawyer Must Know” – Texas Bar CLE – Second Advanced Insurance Law Course – May 20, 2005.

“Appraising Large Losses” – Property Loss Research Bureau/Liability Insurance Research Bureau (PLRB/LIRB) – April 17-20, 2005 and April 2-5, 2006.

“Practical Tips and Techniques for Effectively Trying Your Bad Faith Case” – American Conference Institute for Bad Faith and Punitive Damages – April 11-12, 2005.

“The Hot Seat: Preparing Company Witnesses to Testify in First-Party Insurance Cases” – DRI Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute – April 7-8, 2005.

“Texas Mold Litigation Update” – Second Annual Advance Insurance Law Course – Advance Insurance Law 2005 March 31 – April 2, 2005.

“Insurance Issues for Trial Lawyers: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask” – Houston Bar Association – January 2005.

“How to Prepare Witnesses for Testimony in First-Party Insurance Cases?” – DRI Insurance and Coverage Practice Symposium– December 2-3, 2004.

“How to Try a Property Case?” – The University of Houston’s Ninth Annual Insurance Law Institute – November 2004

“Preparing Your Witnesses: A Plaintiff and Defense Approach to Getting Your Witnesses Ready for a Bad Faith Trial” – Mealey’s Bad Faith Conference – September 2004

“How to Organize and Manage Your Personal Injury Law Practice From a Defense Perspective” – State Bar of Texas – July and August 2004

“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Discovery in Insurance Cases” – Baylor Law School – Twenty-Seventh Annual General Practice Institute – April 2004.

“Trying Your Bad Faith Case: Defensive Moves and Offensive Plays” – American Conference Institute – The Tenth National Advanced Forum on Litigating – March 29-31, 2004.

“Discovery – Digging the Dirt and Controlling the Paper” – Texas Bar CLE – First Annual Advanced Insurance Law Course – March 19, 2004.

“Litigating Mold Claims – 2004 Update” – Property Loss Research Bureau/Liability Insurance Research Bureau (PLRB/LIRB) – March 14-18, 2004.

“Navigating the Insurance Maze” – Advanced Civil Trial Conference, South Texas College of Law – February 19, 2004.

“Environmental Mold: Legal, Insurance, Legislative, and Regulatory Aspects” – The TeleWeb Virtual Seminar – American Industrial Hygiene Association – February 11, 2004.

“D&O Indemnification and Insurance” – Representing the Private Business Entity – South Texas College of Law – December 2003.

“Protecting the Entity: Advising Business Clients About Insurance: Making Purchases and Making Claims” – South Texas College of Law – December 2003.

“The Rockin’ Rules of Texas Insurance Litigation” – Eighth Annual Insurance Law Institute – University of Texas CLE – November 2003.

“An Attorney’s Guide to the Basics and Trends in D&O Insurance” – Texas General Counsel Forum – September 2003.

“The Texas Mold Solution? An Analysis of the Texas Homeowners’ Policy Endorsements” – The Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas – June 2003.

“Insurance Issues for the General Practitioner: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask” – Twenty-Sixth Annual Baylor General Practice Institute – April 2003.

“Navigating the Insurance Maze: Stowers, Defense Costs, and Coverage Problems” – Advanced Civil Trial Conference – South Texas College of Law – February 2003.

“What Insurance Covers, What Claims? Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask” State Bar of Texas; Advanced Expert Witness Course – November/December 2002.

“The Texas Mold Solution” – Mealey’s Texas Mold Litigation Conference – December 2002/January 2003.

“The New Texas Homeowner Forms” – Seventh Annual Insurance Law Conference; University of Texas – September 2002.

“Advising Small Businesses: E&O, CGL, Keyman, Employment Liability, Etc. (What’s Available, What’s Needed and What it Costs)” – University of Houston Law Foundation – March/October 2002; March/April 2003.

“Insurance Law Update” – Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course 2002; State Bar of Texas – November/December 2002.

“The Discovery and Use of Evidence in First-Party Insurance Cases” – Sixth Annual Insurance Law Institute – University of Texas – September 2001.

“Pre-Trial Strategies in First-Party Insurance Suits: Using Dispositive and Other Motion” – Ultimate Insurance Seminar, State Bar of Texas – March 2001.

“Insurance Issues for the Corporate Counsel: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask” – University of Texas and University of Houston Corporate Counsel Institute – February 2001.

“First Party Coverage Review” – 2001 Mid-Year of the ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee – January 2001.

“Ethics Jeopardy” _ Texas Insurance Law Symposium – December 2000, January 2001, January 2002, January 2003, January 2004, January 2005, and January 2006.

“Exploring The Battlefields of Statutory Claims Against Insurers: A More Reasonable Perspective” – Fifth Annual Insurance Law Conference; University of Texas School of Law – August 2000.

“Discovery in First-Party Cases: Better Watch Your Step!” – Ninth Annual Ultimate Insurance Seminar – State Bar of Texas – March 2000.

“Discovery in First Party Coverage Cases” – Ultimate Insurance Seminar, State Bar of Texas – March 2000, 2001, 2002.

“The Occurrence Clause: When is a Liability Insurer Responsible?” – Advanced Insurance Law Seminar; University of Houston – March 2000.

“Defining “Occurrence” and Trigger Theories” – University of Houston Law Center Advanced Insurance Law -- February 2000.

“Privileged and Confidentiality Issues in Insurance Litigation” – Fourth Annual Insurance Law Conference, University of Texas – October 1999.

“Top Ten Insurance Coverage Problems (And How the Courts Resolve Them), Handling Insurance and Tort Claims” – University of Houston – September 1999.

“Coverage Under the Texas Auto Policy” – Texas Insurance Law Seminar, Lorman Education Services – August 1999.

“Recent Developments in Homeowner’s Insurance” – Texas Insurance Law Seminar, Lorman Education Services – August 1999.

“Lost in the Tilley Triangle: Steering Clear of Conflicts of Interest” – Texas Insurance Law Seminar, Lorman Education Services – August 1999.

“Coverage for Long-Tail Claims” – University of Texas Insurance Law Institute – September 1998.

“Texas Top Ten Coverage Issues” – University of Houston Insurance and Tort Claims Seminar – September 1998.

“Settlements Under Reservation of Rights Letters” – University of Texas Marine Admiralty Law Conference – September 1998.

“Independent Counsel Issues” – South Texas Insurance Law Symposium Update – July 1998.

“Coverage Under Texas Personal Auto Policy” – South Texas College of Law – June 1998; April-May-June 1999.

“Allocation of Defense Costs – Insurance Coverage for Defective Construction II” – American Bar Association – June 1998.

“Liability Coverage – Everything You Need to Know About Insurance Law” – Houston Bar Seminar – May 1998; May 1999.

“Bad Faith Litigation: Third-Party Claims Update” – University of Houston Advanced Insurance Seminar – March 1998; March 1999.

“Hot Texas Coverage Issues – Insurance Law for Agents, Adjusters and Insurers” – University of Houston – December 1997.

“Status of Bad Faith Law” – University of Texas Insurance Law Institute – October 1997.

“Independent Counsel Issues” – South Texas Insurance Law Symposium – September 1997.

“Independent Counsel, Insurance Law For Adjusters and Attorneys Who Represent Insurers” – University of Houston – November and December 1996.

“Anatomy of An Insurance Policy” – The Rutter Group Insurance Seminar – May 1996.

“The Ethical Implications of Texas Insurance Litigation” – Professional Education Services, Inc. ("PESI") Advanced Bad Faith Insurance Seminar – October 1995.

“Reservations of Rights in Texas: Why, Why Not, When and How” – University of Houston Law Foundation Advanced Insurance Seminar – April 1995; March 1996; March 1997.

“The Status of Texas Insurance Litigation: Life After Watson, Lyons, Dominguez & Moriel” – South Texas College of Law Advanced Civil Trial Law Seminar – March 1995.

“Texas Insurance Coverage Litigation” – University of Houston Law Foundation Personal Injury and Advanced Insurance Law Seminar – October 1994.

“A Defendant's Perspective: Texas Insurance Coverage Questions” – University of Houston Law Foundation Insurance Law Seminar – May 1994.

“1993 Bad Faith Case Law Update” – South Texas College of Law Advanced Insurance Bad Faith Seminar – October 1993.

“Texas’ 1991 Insurance Reform Bill” – Texas Claims Managers Association Annual Claims Seminar; San Antonio, Texas – September 1991.

“The Insurance Implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act” – Market Profiles CLE Seminar, Houston, Texas – September 1991.