Spencer Markle

Markle De La Cruz LLP

Spencer Markle Personal Injury Lawyer

Markle De La Cruz LLP

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Firm Summary

Spencer Markle was raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. In High School he was a two-sport varsity athlete. As a freshman at Westminster College, he was a member of the football team and a varsity letterman on the wrestling team. After transferring to Duquesne University, he walked on to the football team and became an immediate starter as a sophomore and started every game for the next three years at defensive back, recording five interceptions and one touchdown. He was named defensive game captain three times during his career at Duquesne, where he was also a Dean’s List scholar and member of the Beta Alpha Phi Business Honorary Fraternity.

After college, Mr. Markle attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, obtaining his Juris Doctorate in 1981. After graduating from Pitt, he immediately moved to Southeast Texas, where he went to work at Mills, Shirley, McMicken & Eckel, the oldest continuous law firm in the state of Texas. While at Mills, Shirley, he successfully tried his first District Court jury trial to verdict after being licensed for only three months. After two years at Mills, Shirley, Mr Markle joined the Houston litigation firm of Dunn, Kacal, Adams, Livingston, Pappas & Law, led by former State Bar President, Bob Dunn. At age 31, he became the youngest equity partner in that firm’s history.

In 1988, Spencer co-founded the firm of Livingston & Markle, which later became Markle, Ramos & Zito. After 14 years as the managing partner of that firm; he left to become the partner in charge of the Houston office of the Dallas firm, Morgan & Weisbrod, LLP.

In 2007, Mr. Markle re-established his own firm with the vision of practicing true civil trial law, regularly handling cases on both sides of the docket. As a result, he is one of the few trial lawyers in Texas to have the breadth of experience that includes achieving over 70 zero jury verdicts, while representing defendants in civil actions and obtaining five verdicts of over $1 million for plaintiff clients.

In 2006, Mr. Markle was invited to join the nation’s most prestigious trial lawyer organization, the American Board of Trial Advocates, as an “Advocate” level member. Since then, he has risen in rank to the level of “Diplomate”, an honor shared by less than 30 lawyers in the entire state of Texas.

Spencer Markle became Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial law in only his fifth year of practice; Board Certified in Civil Trial Law, the following year and then two years later Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has been rated “AV” (the highest rating possible) by Martindale Hubbell for over thirty years. As of the end of 2022, Mr. Markle has tried over 125 cases to juries in District Courts in twenty-three separate counties in every corner of Texas.

A frequent author and lecturer at TexasBar CLE programs, in 2014 Mr. Markle wrote the Texas Liquor Liability Practice Manual, the first and only book of its kind in the state; now in its 5^th Edition ©ALM Media (2020). Thomson Reuters has named Spencer a “Texas SuperLawyer” each and every year from 2003 to the present. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum

Education

• University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • J.D. – 1981
• Duquesne University
  • B.S. – 1978
  • Honors: Dean’s List
  • Honors: Beta Alpha Phi Honorary Fraternity
  • Honors: Football Team: 3 Year Starter
  • Major: Business Administration

Bar Admission

• Texas, 1982
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1990
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1988
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 1982
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 1982
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 1982

Honors

• Handled over 125 first chair jury trials in 23 counties across Texas
• Texas Monthly Magazine Super Lawyers, 2003-2022
• H-Texas Magazine Top Lawyers in Houston, 2005-2007, 2013
• Diplomate: American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• Martindale-Hubbell: AV Rated
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Life Fellow: Texas Bar Foundation
• Life Fellow: Houston Bar Foundation

Classes & Seminars

• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, 1992 to 1992
• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, 1994 to 1998
• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, 2002 to 2003
• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, 2007 to 2007
• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Medical Malpractice Course, 1996 to 1996
• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Medical Malpractice Course, 1999 to 1999
• Faculty, TexasBar CLE, Advanced Medical Malpractice Course, 2005 to 2006

Languages

• English

Fraternities Or Sororities

• Sigma Phi Epsilon

Professional Associations

• State Bar of Texas, 1982 to Present
• American Board of Trial Advocates, Diplomate, 2006 to Present
• National Board of Trial Advocacy, Diplomate, 1989 to 2019
• Houston Bar Association
• Galveston County Bar Association
• International Association of Defense Counsel, 1993 to 2003

Certified Legal Specialties

• Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1987
• Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1988