John BlackFounder & partner at
Daly & Black, P.C.

Without the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, Americans wouldn’t have their right to trial by jury protected by law. And without that right – a feature that has defined our country’s justice system for centuries – widespread injustice would prevail.

Fortunately, that’s not the case. And it won’t ever be the case…not if John Black has anything to do with it. As trial lawyer and founding partner at his Houston, Texas–based law firm Daly & Black, John believes the only thing more challenging than fighting for plaintiffs’ justice is fighting to uphold the system that enables justice to begin with.

“At state and national legislative levels, we’re seeing corporate entities try to peel back individuals’ rights just to protect the [interests of] corporations, vilifying lawyers in the process,” says John.

He’s referring to popular lawsuit reform groups in Texas that staunchly support tort reform, or the practice of changing our civil justice system to reduce a plaintiff’s ability to pursue personal injury (tort) litigation.

“Attacking the integrity of the legal system is dangerous because the judicial system is the third branch of our government,” John explains. “The minute you toss it aside, saying juries or lawyers always get it wrong, you’re eliminating an entire segment of the government that acts as a check on the rest – an important check.”

The consumer’s champion

These attacks on the legal system only motivate John to work harder. And not just to uphold these integral laws like the Seventh Amendment, but to help the folks that wouldn’t have a chance at justice otherwise.

“In law school, I was really drawn to the idea of David versus Goliath, helping folks that really needed a champion,” says John. “I firmly believe we serve a real, important social function that is providing protection against institutions that hurt the consumer. Trial lawyers are the guardians who stand between ordinary folks and large corporate defendants.”

From personal injury and class action to insurance disputes and natural disasters, the ethos of Daly & Black is simple: all in, all the time. John puts that into practice by going the distance for every single client both in and out of the courtroom.

“Great trial lawyers do a lot of thankless, late-night work that I think people don’t see,” John says. “But finding trial lawyers that will see [cases] through to the end is one of the most important things we as a society can hope to have.”

Fortunately, with 6 offices across 4 states, the clients of Daly & Black don’t merely hope to have their case met with the utmost integrity, authenticity, and perseverance. It is their reality; one John will always fight for.

Meaningful justice yields meaningful change

At Daly & Black, the law firm’s main focus is holding corporations and institutions accountable for their egregious behavior that impacts consumers.  
 
For example, John references the famous case of the Ford Pinto, a car introduced in 1971 that was susceptible to exploding when rear-ended due to its engine placement. After months of litigation, it was found that the manufacturer knew the risks all along – the very reason for the case’s large verdict and severe consequences. 
 
Anecdotally, John also mentions how commonplace this type of negligence is becoming; like a train derailing in a small town, spilling chemicals that affect water quality and subsequently hurt its citizens. Or a popular weight loss drug that suddenly causes gastrointestinal complications, potentially killing users.  
 
“The reason that social change comes about in the face of those tragedies and wrongs is trial lawyers,” John asserts. “Good trial lawyers are what stand between the next company doing it the right way or the wrong way.” 
 
Along these lines, John remembers fighting on behalf of a group of pregnant women who had taken an antidepressant that was not properly labeled. Unbeknownst to those women, the drug would go on to cause serious birth defects.  
 
“I can think of almost no greater victim than a child, one in utero, even,” says John. 
 
As a result of taking this antidepressant, mothers began birthing children with serious septal defects or other heart defects that required open-heart surgeries directly following birth. Some were even stillborn.  
 
“This wasn’t just one or two cases…there were thousands,” John reveals. “We had an opportunity to represent a very large group of people that desperately needed help, looking at their children in hospital rooms and in surgery centers to have these complications corrected.”  
 
After nearly 5 years of litigating those cases in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John and his team achieved a settlement for the mothers and families involved. In fact, he met with every single person affected, sometimes in-person and sometimes over a Zoom call, to announce the case result. 
 
“The sense of justice this brought [to families] after five years was really meaningful,” says John. “It’s the kind of case where you leave hoping you’ve made a change not just for the people you represented, but for pharmaceutical companies the next time [they] decide to rush a drug to market without appropriately putting the risks on the warning label.”  

The power of longevity

As far as accountability goes, John recalls trying a monumental case that proved two things: that there’s power in longevity, and that insurance companies will do just about anything to skirt their responsibilities to policyholders.  
 
The case involved a gentleman who had lost his wife to a heart attack. At the time, the gentleman was being represented by John’s colleague at a different law firm. Nearing retirement, the colleague asked John if he could take over the case –  one they’d been fighting for 17 years. Of course, John obliged.  
 
The details of the case seemed simple at first. His client’s wife had a $500,000 life insurance policy, but the company refused to pay it. 
 
“The insurance company claimed that [his wife’s] cause of death should not be covered because she lied in her medical forms about her conditions like high blood pressure,” John recounts.  
 
As it turns out, not only were those important medical details disclosed, but the insurance company sent their own physician to perform a full assessment of her health – including taking her blood pressure – to qualify her for insurance in the first place.  
   
“Our team spent a week in front of a jury of my client’s peers. [The insurance company] offered zero for 17 years, zero through the trial, and zero up until the minute the case closed,” says John. “After deliberating for several hours, the jury came back with a verdict of $116 million.”   
 
Undoubtedly, such a verdict changed this gentleman’s life who was also suffering from cancer. 
 
“Those are the kinds of cases that are not only the right result but are the kind that send a message to the corporate defendants, to the insurance companies, that if you do wrong – whether it takes one year or 17 years –  you will be held accountable,” John asserts.  

Every step of the way

As a contingency fee law firm, Daly & Black knows firsthand how important capital is to the firm’s business. It’s not only what keeps the lights on and fuels law firm growth, but it’s how Daly & Black has become a force to be reckoned with in the legal industry.  
 
But, like many law firm owners, it took some trial and error to get there.  
 
“Every bank I dealt with as a young lawyer said they knew how to value our [case] docket. But they would ask the same cookie-cutter questions better directed at a firm that bills by the hour. We don’t do that,” explains John.  
 
“We get paid when we win, if we win. So, we’ve got to bet right, we’ve got to be smart, and we’ve got to be good stewards of the capital. [But] the bank also has to trust us and know how to value that risk.” 
 
And that’s precisely what Esquire Bank brought to the table. As a financial partner owned, run, and managed in large part by trial lawyers, the bank’s financial expertise and banking solutions were especially effective for Daly & Black’s growth.  
 
“You cannot grow without a partner that understands your business. Esquire knows what we need every step of the way,” John says. “We have thousands of cases at any given moment, so figuring out what that’s worth, how you lend on it, and how you structure the loans is incredibly difficult. And Esquire does it better than anyone I’ve met.”  
 
Through their relationship with Esquire, John believes that his law firm is in the best position to succeed. In turn, John has the runway needed to set his clients up for success, paving the way for a better, safer America.  
 
“As a trial lawyer, doing good doesn’t just mean paying the bills. It means doing something that’s bigger than yourself.”