(Last updated in November of 2010)

Justinian?  That’s an unusual name.

My first name is Justinian. It’s pronounced Jus TIN ee an. Or, click here to hear my name pronounced correctly by the nice people at Merriam Webster.  My father, an attorney, named me after the last great Roman emperor, Justinian the Great.  (Justinian the Great was very influential to Roman law.)

I’ve never met another Justinian, although I know a few of them are out there.  (In fact, I know there’s another Justinian Lane out there.)

What Did I Do Before I Got Into the Law?

When I was twenty years old, if you would have told me I’d eventually be a lawyer, I’d have laughed out loud.  In 1999, I was working for Microsoft as a network analystand thought I had a good career ahead of me in the tech industry.  I might have, if not for the dotcom crash.  As a result of that, I lost my car, my house, my life savings, and almost all of my pride.  By 2001, I was just one of a hundred-thousand unemployed techies.  I didn’t have a college degree at that time, so finding jobs in my industry was incredibly hard.  I spent several years working part-time minimum-wage jobs as I tried to find my way in life.  It wasn’t easy.

How Did I Get Into the Law?

In late 2001, I moved to a small town in Texas where I had some family.  Several years earlier, I had spent a few months there doing some short-term contracting work for a small law firm.  I went there hoping they might have some work for me, and to my pleasant surprise, they did.  I started off working on their computer systems, but eventually started helping them with their criminal and personal injury cases.  Because I was the most computer literate person in the office, they had me help with some computerized legal research.  Well, one thing led to another, and I eventually became a paralegal.  I used my computer expertise to assist in the development of trial and settlement PowerPoint presentations.

I’m not sure I can remember the exact day that I decided I wanted to be a lawyer, but I remember which case I was working on.  I was working on a case in which an elderly man was starved and beaten in a nursing home.  He passed away, and his family didn’t have enough money to afford to buy him a tombstone.  I worked on a PowerPoint presentation for a settlement conference, and we got substantially more money than we had hoped for.  The family used part of their money to buy a tombstone, and I was very proud that I helped them restore their father’s dignity.

What Kind of Law Do I Practice?

I focus primarily on product liability law, especially asbestos law and pharmaceutical law.  In 2011, I expect to spend a fair amount of time helping people who received a defective Depuy ASR hip, children who have a heart defect because their mothers took Paxil while pregnant, and individuals who developed a movement disorder while taking Reglan.  This is in addition to helping those people who either developed a asbestosis or mesothelioma, or who lost a loved one to those illnesses.

I also know and work with a number of talented lawyers who handle medical malpractice cases, car accident cases, nursing home abuse cases, and other injury cases.  I’d be happy to put you in touch with one of them if you’re looking for a lawyer who will treat you with respect.

Why Should You Hire Me?

1: I will always put your best interests ahead of mine.  2: I won’t allow anyone to take your dignity away.  3: I love what I do, and that shows in the quality of my work.

How Can You Contact Me?

My email is justinian at justinian.us.  (That’s the same email address I give to friends and family.)  My telephone number is at the top of the page.  I’m also on Facebook and LinkedIN.