Michael Patrick Doyle

Mike’s trial practice includes the representation of plaintiffs in maritime personal injury, international and trans-national personal injury, including work and holiday injury claims, and insurance bad faith.

Mike is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board
of Legal Specialization and is a Fellow in the National College of Advocacy of the American Association for Justice Mike has obtained many multi-million dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements. These results include:

  • Jury verdict in 2004 of $2.56 million for a Jones Act seaman injured in the Gulf of Alaska (Ella Pike v. SeaRiver Maritime, Inc. Reduced on appeal to $2,141,716.75 – Attorneys Fees: $936,772.52; Expenses: $77,625.97; injury – unoperated cervical herniation and leg lacerations);
  • Jury verdict in 2006 of $4.3 million in an insurance bad faith case (Lloyd Snyder v. Cunningham Lindsey – Attorneys’ Fees – $1,000,000; Expenses – $37,708.88.);
  • Jury verdict in 2007 of over $1.5 million increased to $1,752,767.44 with interest for a boat captain injured offshore Angola (Attorneys Feees: $788,745.35; Expenses $49,603.52; injury – unoperated spinal injuries and post traumatic stress disorder);
  • Jury verdict in 2008 of $2.16 million for a passenger in a helicopter crash landing in the Gulf of Mexico (Attorneys Fees: $820,000; Expenses: $117,502.70; injury – lumbar injuries requiring surgery and post traumatic stress disorder);
  • Jury verdict in 2008 of $1.6 million for a seismic operator injured in the Gulf of Mexico Jury Attorneys Fees: $472,500; Expenses $61,135.03; injury – cervical injuries requiring surgery and unoperated shoulder injuries);
  • Jury verdict in 2009 of $4.5 million for a marine mooring master injured in a personnel basket transfer in the Gulf of Mexico (Attorneys Fees: $1,860,000; Expenses: $105,452.29; injury – operated knee and lumbar injuries); and
  • A verdict of $1.22 million for a leverman onboard a dredge vessel working near Memphis, Tennessee in 2009 (Attorneys’ Fees: $400,000; Litigation Expenses: $47,276.54; injuries – operated lumbar spine injuries).

Mike’s personal injury practice includes the representation of Jones Act and foreign seaman in disputes arising in U.S. waters and around the world. He also represents a number of U.K. residents injured in the U.S. on holiday, as well as working people from various countries who have been injured as a result of the actions of multinational companies.

Mike’s insurance bad faith practice includes the representation of workers’ compensation claimants who have had their claims delayed and denied by their insurers and adjusters. In addition, Mike has represented insureds and policy holders against domestic liability and excess insurers, and in transnational coverage disputes against U.K. and E.U. underwriters and company market insurers.

Biography

Mike obtained a B.A. in History at the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University Of Texas School Of Law. Mike has also completed coursework in marine insurance, international law, and maritime law at the University of London, St. Mary’s College of Law. Mike first practiced at Vinson & Elkins in Houston, then at Cook, Doyle & Bradshaw and Doyle Raizner LLP, before forming Doyle Dennis Avery LLP Trial
Lawyers. Mike was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1990.

Community Activities

Mike also is an active leader in civic and community activities. He served as President of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association from 2007-2008, and he has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1999 and Chair of the Judicial Affairs Committee. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School from 2002 to 2004; President of the Strake Jesuit Alumni Association, 2002-2004; and 1998 Alumni Fund Drive Chairman. Mike also served as a member of the Houston Advisory Board of the AFL-CIO Community Fund, the labor community’s charity arm.

Selected Recent Publications, Presentations, and Honors:

“Critical Thinking and Building Your Case from the Ground Up”, Nonverbals,
Anchoring and Framing, American Association for Justice, 2011 Winter
Convention, Miami, Florida, February 8, 2011

“Maritime Personal Injury”; Seaman’s Remedies, Defenses, and Procedural
Issues, Houston, Texas, February 1, 2011

Insurance Update and Bad Faith Litigation, Michael Doyle, Chris Martin,
Harris County Judicial Education Conference, Houston, Texas, August 9, 2010

Michael P. Doyle and Darryl Silvera, Directing, Crossing and Challenging
Experts, State Bar of Texas Sixth Annual Advanced Workers’ Compensation
Course 2009, Austin, Texas, August 13-14, 2009

Michael P. Doyle, “The Current State of the US Legal Market”, Legal &
Medical Conference 2009 (UK), Royal College of Medicine, London, April 2,
2009

Michael P. Doyle, American Association for Justice (AAJ) Mid-Winter
Convention, “Cross-Examination of Experts”, San Juan, PR, January 2008

Michael P. Doyle, American Association for Justice (AAJ) Annual Convention,
“Direct Examination”, Chicago, July 2007

Faculty member & Speaker, Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now
American Association for Justice (AAJ) National College on “Depositions”,
Cleveland, October 2006; Atlanta 2008

Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, 2006 Annual Convention, “Champions of
Justice”, Winning the Impossible Case”, Cody, June 2006

TTLA Admiralty Update, Texas Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA), Advanced
Personal Injury Update, Houston, May 2006

Faculty member & Speaker, Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA)
National College on “Essentials of Civil Litigation”, Tuscaloosa, March 2006

Sequencing, Point of View, and Other Ways to Make your Case from the Start,
Kansas Trial Lawyer Association Annual Crown Center Meeting, December 2004

Michael P. Doyle and Jeffrey L. Raizner, “Winning the Battle of the
Atlantic,” Association of Personal Injury Lawyers Newsletter (UK), Vol. 13,
Issue 3, June 2003

Professional Associations and Recognitions:

  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors and Executive Committee
  • American Association for Justice
  • Houston Trial Lawyers Association
  • The Mexican American Bar
  • Association of Houston
  • Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (UK)
  • Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, 2005-2021
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2009
  • Best Lawyer (Personal Injury Litigation), a Woodward White business, 2009-2011, 2013
  • Best Lawyer (Transportation Law), a Woodward White business, 2010, 2011, 2013
  • Best Lawyer (Admiralty & Maritime Law), a Woodward White business, 2009, 2013

Areas of Practice

  • Trial Practice
  • Personal Injury
  • Insurance Bad Faith Practice

Litigation Percentage

  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certified Legal Specialties

  • Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Education

  • The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas
    • J.D.
  • University of Virginia
    • B.A.
    • Major: History

Bar Admissions

  • Texas, 1990
  • Missouri, 2012

Published Works

  • “Winning the Battle of the Atlantic”, (Co-Author With Jeffrey L. Raizner),
    Association of Personal Injury Lawyers Newsletter (UK), Vol. 13, Issue 3,
    June , 2003

Classes/Seminars

  • “Workers’ Compensation Bad Faith”, GOOD HANDS, GOOD NEIGHBORS AND BAD FAITH, Arizona Association for Justice/Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, Phoenix, Arizona, December 6, 2013
  • “Critical Thinking and Building Your Case from the Ground Up”, Nonverbals, Anchoring and Framing, American Association for Justice, 2011 Winter Convention, Miami, Florida, February 8, 2011
  • “Maritime Personal Injury”; Seaman’s Remedies, Defenses, and Procedural Issues, Houston, Texas, February 1, 2011 
  • Michael Patrick Doyle, faculty member and lecturer, Essentials of Civil
    Trial Law, “Openings, How to Make Your Case from the Beginning and Stay There”, “Direct Examination”, and “Cross-Examination of the DME”,
    Knoxville, Tennessee, October 2010, American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • Michael Patrick Doyle, faculty member, THE PERSUASIVE EDGE: The Art of Communication and Influence with Eric Oliver, AAJ Headquarters, Washington DC, October 2010, American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • Insurance Update and Bad Faith Litigation, Michael Doyle, Chris Martin,
    Harris County Judicial Education Conference, Houston, Texas, August 9,
    2010
  • “Papering your Damages”, Damages and Attorneys Fees Seminar, State Bar of Texas, February 18, 2010
  • Michael P. Doyle and Darryl Silvera, Directing, Crossing and Challenging
    Experts, State Bar of Texas Sixth Annual Advanced Workers’ Compensation Course, Austin, Texas, August 13, 2009 – August 14, 2009
  • Sequencing, Point of View, and Other Ways to Make your Case from the
    Start, Kansas Trial Lawyer Association Annual Crown Center Meeting, 2004
  • Speaker, “Essentials of Civil Litigation”, Association of Trial Lawyers of
    America, National College
  • “Essentials of Civil Litigation”, University of North Carolina at Chapel
    Hill, October 13, 2004 – October 17, 2004
  • The Potential Costs When “Case Management” Crosses the Line: The Law on the Penalties and Pitfalls for Improper Handling of a Claim for Benefits
    by an Injured Worker, The Barnes Law Firm Workers Compensation Seminar, September 28, 2004
  • The Potential Costs When Case Management Crosses the Line: The Law on the Penalties and Pitfalls for Improper Handling of a Claim for Benefits by an Injured Worker, Workers Comp Update 2003, July 24, 2003 – July 25, 2003
  • The Medical Perspective, Claims Management, and Confidentiality Issues,
    Texas Workers Compensation Update 2002, June 4, 2002
  • Current Frontiers in Maritime Fatal Injury Litigation: A Plaintiff
    Attorneys Perspective on Maximizing Your Clients Recovery by Your Choice of Available Legal Remedies, 9th Annual University of Texas School of Law Maritime Law Conference, September 22, 2000

Honors and Awards

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, 2005-2021

  • Best Lawyer (Personal Injury Litigation), a Woodward White business,
    2009-2011, 2013
  • Best Lawyer (Transportation Law), a Woodward White business, 2010, 2011, 2013
  • Best Lawyer (Admiralty & Maritime Law), a Woodward White business,
    2009, 2013

Martindale-Hubbell, 2017 AV Preeminent Attorney

  •  Highest Possible Rating in Both Legal Ability & Ethical
    Standards

Awards/Qualifications

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors and Executive
    Committee
  • Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Past President and current Vice
    President
  • Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Member, Board of Directors, 1999 –
    Present
  • Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Chair, Judicial Affairs Committee
  • Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School, Member, Board of Directors, 2002 – 2004
  • Strake Jesuit Alumni Association, President, 2002 – 2004
  • Strake Jesuit Alumni Association, Alumni Fund Drive Chairman, 1998
  • Houston Advisory Board, AFL-CIO Community Fund
  • American Association for Justice
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Fellowship Member
  • Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (UK)
  • Diplomate, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
  • Dialogue Institute Southwest, Campaign Steering Campaign

Past Employment Positions

  • Vinson & Elkins in Houston
  • Cook, Doyle & Bradshaw
Michael Patrick Doyle – Partner