© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
(January 15)–The Willis Law Group recently announced it added litigator Joe Gregory to its growing Dallas office.
Gregory said he has known Kirk Willis a long time and was excited at the prospect of working with him again. In addition to his duties as the head of the tort and insurance section of the firm, Gregory said he would like to develop the firm’s patent and trademark litigation section.
“The Willis Law Group has enjoyed outstanding growth in its first year of operation and this move was a wonderful opportunity for me to get in on the ground floor and help contribute to its further growth,” he said.
The former lawyer at the Law Offices of Gallerson & Yates said his three goals at The Willis Law Group are providing clients with excellent legal services, making sure the firm’s young attorneys get trial and deposition experience and increasing the firm’s client base.
Gregory, the firm’s 10th partner in Dallas, said he and his clients are keeping a close eye on the new cases he anticipates will be published regarding the new Texas Rules of Civil Procedure effective Jan. 1 that now allow for the service of documents via email. Another issue he is paying attention to is whether or not plaintiffs will be limited in the recovery of future medical expenses due to the Affordable Care Act.
“Since every person is now required to have insurance under the law, it seems plaintiffs should be limited in their recovery of future medical expenses to the amount of the deductible they have to pay each year for insurance,” he said.
The most intense case Gregory said he has worked on took six years and more than 200 depositions to wrap up. The case involved a doctor with Hepatitis C who tampered with the Fentanyl that was used by the anesthesiologists at an outpatient surgical center. During his employment, more than 400 patients had surgeries, more than 40 of which contracted Hepatitis C from receiving the adulterated medicine.
Gregory represented a group of anesthesiologists in what became a class action lawsuit brought by most of the patients that contracted the virus against the surgical center and several doctors. His team was able to settle the case without its clients having to pay anything out of pocket or exposing their personal assets.
“I am so thankful we were able to protect the doctors and their assets from the reckless choice of a criminal drug addict,” he said.
In addition to his private practice, Gregory is currently representing a young man facing criminal drug charges and helping a single mom collect her child support payments from her ex-husband on a pro bono basis.
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