Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Melissa Dorman Matthews

Member
Melissa Dorman Matthews

Biography

Melissa Dorman Matthews focuses her practice on professional liability, product liability, employment, personal injury, commercial litigation, and premises liability. Melissa has over 29 years of experience, and has tried cases all over Texas and beyond. She has extensive first-chair trial experience representing a broad spectrum of industries, including drug and medical device, automotive, and heavy equipment manufacturers. She also counsels clients in product defect cases, class actions, attorney-client disputes, business and employment disputes, and personal injury matters. Melissa earned her law degree from Texas Tech University and her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University.

Representative Experience

  • Defended auto manufacturers in connection with product defect claims, including airbags, door handles, roof strength, and general crashworthiness in Texas state courts
  • Defeated product liability class claims for porcelain sanitary ware manufacturer in Kansas District Court
  • Defended product liability lawsuit involving allegation of design defect in automotive product and obtained dismissal of Korean client on jurisdictional grounds in Nueces County, Texas
  • Obtained dismissal of legal malpractice case in the Northern District of Texas
  • Defended multiple tire manufacturers in product liability cases in Texas state and federal courts
  • In a high stakes product liability class action, successfully argued to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that class counsel’s $4.3 million attorney fee award from the District Court in the Eastern District of Texas was grossly inflated, resulting in remand to the District Court. On remand, the District Court reduced class counsel’s original attorney fee award by 55 percent
  • Represented client in a product liability lawsuit involving allegation of automotive product design defect and obtained dismissal of Japanese client on jurisdictional grounds in Nueces County, Texas
  • Defended porcelain sanitary ware manufacturer in product liability class action involving manufacturing defect alleged to have caused cracking in toilet tanks, with resulting class settlements constituting 0.0056% of damage models presented by class counsel
  • In product liability lawsuit involving allegation of design defect in porcelain sanitary ware product, obtained dismissal of Colombian client on jurisdictional grounds in Rusk County, Texas
  • Defended motor coach manufacturer against product liability claims in Texas state courts and the Southern District of New York
  • Defended client in a consulting services lawsuit involving allegations of theft of services and civil conspiracy and obtained dismissal of South Carolina client on jurisdictional grounds in Tarrant County, Texas
  • Represented client in a lawsuit alleging invasion of privacy and misappropriation of likeness and obtained dismissal of Canadian client on jurisdictional grounds in the Houston Court of Appeals, First District
  • Obtained partial summary judgment in legal malpractice case in Cameron County, Texas
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Licensed In

  • New Mexico
  • Texas

Education

  • J.D. Texas Tech University School of Law
  • B.S. Texas Christian University

Memberships

  • Past Vice-Chair of the State Bar of Texas standing committee on the Council of Chairs
  • Texas Bar Foundation Sustaining Life Fellow
  • Past Chair, State Bar of Texas, Women and the Law Section; Council Member since 2005
  • Member, Dallas Bar Association
  • Member, Dallas Women Lawyers
  • Past President, El Paso Women’s Bar Association
  • Past Chair, State Bar of Texas Council of Chairs (2015-2016)
  • Member, Defense Research Institute
  • Member, DRI Women in the Law Fairness and Equity in Compensation Task Force
  • Member, Trial Attorneys of America, 2012-present
  • Member, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
  • Vice-Chair of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion for the IADC Product Liability Committee
  • 2020-2024 Professional Liability Roundtable Chair, IADC
  • Board of Directors, Recovery Resource Council
  • 2022-2025 Audit Committee Member, IADC
  • Vice-Chair of Special Projects of the IADC Drug, Device, and Biotech Committee

Achievements

  • Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (2022-Present), Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants (2024-Present)
  • Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers for 2012
  • Texas Top-Rated Lawyers by ALM, 2012
  • Recognized among Super Lawyers® Texas Rising Stars by Thompson Reuters (2007)

Speaking Engagements

  • “Navigating Protection of Attorney-Client and Work Product Privileges in Uncertain Times,” IADC Annual Meeting, July 2023
  • “Practical Considerations for Preservation of Attorney-Client and Work Product Privilege in Light of In re Grand Jury,” TAA Annual Meeting, June 2023
  • “Runaway Juries – Update on Juror Trends from Trial Counsel and the Jury Consultant Perspective,” TAA Annual Meeting, June 2023
  • “What’s Keeping You Up at Night?,” Moderator of Corporate Counsel Panel, TAA Annual Meeting, June 2023
  • “Cautionary Tales from Recent Malpractice Cases,” IADC Professional Liability Roundtable, May 18, 2023
  • “Corporate Counsel Futurecast: How Trends Today Will Shape Tomorrow’s Legal Practice,” 51st Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, June 9, 2022
  • “The Next Normal: Emerging Trends in a Post-COVID World,” IADC Professional Liability Roundtable, May 12, 2022
  • “What’s Trending? Stay Ahead of the Curve with the Latest Trends, Tips, and Significant Cases in Professional Liability,” IADC Southwest Regional Meeting, April 2022
  • DRI Women in the Law Conference, “Owning Your Worth: How to Think about Salary, Negotiating Your Next Raise, and Why it Matters,” January 28, 2022
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