Carrie Johnson Phaneuf

• SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas, Texas
  • J.D., cum laude, 1998
  • Order of the Coif
• The University of Texas at Austin
  • B.A., with honors, 1995

• Texas, 1998
• U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas

Carrie’s practice is devoted to professional liability defense, commercial litigation, and general tort litigation.  She has successfully defended more than 100 grievance matters resulting in no finding of discipline for clients before the State Bar of Texas, and regularly provides risk management consulting to law firms.  

Accomplishments for her clients include: 

• Obtained a defense verdict in a Dallas County District Court bench trial for a client sued by the State Bar of Texas alleging improper solicitation of personal injury clients. 
• Obtained a take-nothing summary judgment in favor of a law firm and attorney against claims of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. The summary judgment was affirmed on appeal. 
• Obtained a take-nothing summary judgment in favor of a law firm and attorney on claims of negligent misrepresentation, shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duties. The summary judgment was affirmed on appeal. 

• Obtained a jury verdict for a large product manufacturer in U.S. District Court against allegations of products liability. 
• Obtained summary judgment for an attorney, with the court finding that that no attorney-client relationship existed with the plaintiff based on an alleged referral made during a lunch meeting. The trial court’s decision was affirmed on appeal.  
• Successfully argued in a contested evidentiary hearing in U. S. Bankruptcy Court that a debtor’s homestead exemption was appropriately capped. The court’s decision was affirmed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, making significant funds available for the creditors of the estate that would not have otherwise been available.  
• Obtained a dismissal of a grievance filed against an attorney by the Executive Office of Immigration Review at the Department of Justice. 

• Named to the list of “The Best Lawyers in America” by BL Rankings in Professional Malpractice Law-Defendants, 2021 – 2023.
• Listed among the “Top 50 Women Attorneys in Texas” by Thomson Reuters, 2019-2020.
• Honored on the list of “Best Lawyers in Dallas” by D Magazine, 2014, 2016-2023.
• Named to the list of Texas Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters, 2006-2012.
• Named to the list of Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2013-2022.

• State Bar of Texas 
• Dallas Bar Association, Business Litigation Section 
• Texas Lawyers Insurance Exchange, Board of Directors, 2008-present 
• DRI, The Voice of The Defense Bar, 2018-present 
• Perot Museum of Nature & Science, Board of Directors, 2009-2015, Advisory Board and Legal Committee, 2015-present   
• University of Texas at Austin, College of Liberal Arts, Advisory Board, 2020-present
• Texas Bar College, Member, 2021 – present
• Texas Bar Foundation Fellow, 2020-present
• Hockaday Alumnae Association, Member, 1991-present 
  • Director-at-large 2022 – 2023
  • Decade Chair 2023 – 2024

• Presentation – Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, November 9, 2023, “An Overview of the State Bar of Texas Grievance Process”
• Presentation – Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange, August 22, 2023, “An Overview of the State Bar of Texas Grievance Process”
• Speaker – Dallas Bar Association, Ethics Fest, May 11, 2023, “Trouble Comes in Threes: The Relationship Between Sanctions, Grievance, and Malpractice”
• Speaker – State Bar of Texas, 34th Annual Advanced Real Estate Drafting Course, March 30, 2023, “The Ethics of Practicing Law Remotely”
• Co-Author, “The Ethics of Practicing Law Remotely: How to Ethically Navigate the Remote Practice of Law Post-Covid,” presented at the 56^TH Annual William W. Gibson, Jr. Mortgage Lending and Servicing Institute for UT Law CLE, September 30, 2022.
• Speaker – Dallas Bar Association, Ethics Fest, May 12, 2022, “Two Sides, One Coin: A high level comparison of malpractice claims and the disciplinary process”
• Co-Presenter, “The Ethics of Practicing Law Remotely” American Bar Association, Live Webinar, April 29, 2021 
• Co-Author and Presenter, “The Dirty Dozen: The Last 12 (or so) Unfortunate Cases”, Chapter 10, State Bar of Texas 10th Annual Advanced Trial Strategies, February 4, 2021 
• Presentation, Texas Bar CLE webcast, November 10, 2020, “Handling your first legal malpractice claim from soup to nuts.”  
• Speaker, Attorneys Serving the Community, ASC Goes to School, April 9, 2020, “Tips to Avoid Malpractice and Grievances” 
• Speaker, Women’s White Collar Defense Association, February 27, 2020, “Tips to Avoid Malpractice and Grievances”  
• Presentation, Baylor University, Legal MapMaker, August 15, 2018, “Avoiding Malpractice”  
• Presentation, Baylor University, Legal MapMaker, August 17, 2017, “Avoiding Malpractice and Disciplinary Actions”  
• Presentation, Dallas Bar Association, Transition to Law Practice, June 8, 2017, “Malpractice Traps for the Beginning Lawyer” 
• Presentation, Texas Tech Law School, Externship Class, February 1, 2017 
• Presentation – Rockwall Bar Association, January 18, 2017, “Practical Tips for Client Engagement and Disengagement”  
• Article – “I received a letter from the State Bar of Texas. What do I do now?”, Fall 2016, Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange Blog    
• Presentation – Dallas Bar Association, Transition to Law Practice, May 2, 2016, “Malpractice Traps for the Beginning Lawyer” 
• Speaker – CLE for Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange, January 4, 2016, “Engaging the Client”  
• Speaker- Dallas Women’s Law Association, September 24, 2015, “Engaging the Client”  
• Speaker – Hockaday Alumnae Lawyers Affinity Group, September 19, 2014, “Engaging the Client” 
• Speaker – Dallas Bar Association, Ethics Fest, May 10, 2012, “Multijurisdictional Law Practice and Cross Boarder Representation”