Best Lawyer

Just before Christmas in 2019, 83-year-old Betty Thomas thought she would never again see the repairman who fixed her fax machine after he left her tree-lined neighborhood in Irving, Texas. But he returned in a company van the next day, entering Betty’s home and using his work-issued knife to stab her to death before stealing her credit cards and going on a spending spree. When he was arrested days later and charged with capital murder, the man’s employer said, “our thoughts are with the victim and her family and friends.” Betty’s family called on Hamilton Wingo’s Chris Hamilton to hold the Fortune 100 company responsible. When the trial was over, a jury in Dallas awarded Betty’s family more than $7.3 billion, the year’s largest verdict in any U.S. court. “Betty would still be with her family today if this man’s employer had taken appropriate steps to protect her and many other customers who had been victimized by its employees for years,” Chris says. “Ray and I are proud to have been able to protect Betty’s memory with a ruling that should cause this company and others to take much greater care when sending workers into someone’s home.”