Texas DTPA Forms and Practice Guide
About the Author
David G. Tekell (J.D., University of California—Hastings College of the Law, 1986; B.S. Business Administration, University of Southern California, 1983.)
Mr. Tekell has over 20 years of experience as a practicing trial lawyer handling consumer law cases on both sides of the docket. After interning with Chief Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division during his last semester of law school in 1986, Mr. Tekell worked with Waco’s largest defense firm, trying cases in both federal and state courts. In 1987, Mr. Tekell defended one of the first “vanishing premium” life insurance fraud cases filed in Texas. In 1990, he began handling “vanishing premium” life insurance fraud cases from the plaintiff’s side. In 1995, he represented the plaintiffs in the landmark case of Ferguson v. Crown Life Insurance Company, which resulted in one of the largest consumer law verdicts ever issued in Travis County at the time. That case was subsequently appealed and reported as Crown Life Ins. Co. v. Casteel, 22 S.W.3d 378 (Tex. 2000).
From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Tekell served as co-lead class counsel in several national class actions against life insurance companies for “vanishing premium” life insurance sales practices and lead class counsel against other national companies for deceptive trade practices. He has been a frequent author and speaker on life insurance sales practices and class action litigation. Throughout his career, Mr. Tekell has maintained an active docket of individual consumer law cases, trying many of them to jury verdicts. He is board certified in Consumer and Commercial Law (2004) and in Personal Injury Trial Law (2004) by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Currently, Mr. Tekell is managing partner of the law firm Tekell & Atkins, L.L.P. with offices in Waco and Salado, Texas.
B9
Updated 01/09/12
