Daniel Tostrud

• Baylor University School of Law, Waco, Texas
  • J.D., 1989
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
  • B.B.A., cum laude, 1986

• Texas, 1989
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas

Dan has obtained summary judgments or dismissals on the merits for his professional clients on more than 75 occasions and has successfully tried more than 20 professional liability cases to verdict. 

This work includes serving as: 

• Lead trial counsel for a national law firm in three-day arbitration final hearing, defeating malpractice claims related to the handling of litigation involving the management of a private equity fund.
• Lead trial counsel for a national law firm in a two-day arbitration final hearing defeating claim related to an alleged firm mismanagement brought by two former partners.
• Co-lead trial counsel for a mid-sized Texas law firm in a two-day arbitration final hearing defeating malpractice claims related to the handling of divorce proceedings.
• Lead trial counsel for a small Austin law firm in a six-day arbitration final hearing. Defeated malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims related to alleged mishandling of a complex probate matter and obtained and collected the client’s unpaid contingency fee in full, plus attorney’s fees.
• Lead trial counsel for a small Dallas law firm in a five-day jury trial related to alleged misconduct in defending a suit over a guaranty, and obtained and collected a judgment for the law firm client for all unpaid legal fees at issue.
• Lead trial counsel for mid-size Texas law firm in six-day jury trial. Defeated malpractice claims related to alleged overbilling and other ethical issues and obtained and collected a judgment of more than $600,000 for unpaid legal fees.
• Lead trial counsel for a small Dallas law firm in a three-day jury trial and successfully reduced damages to $23,000 when a previous jury had awarded more than ten times that amount.
• Lead trial counsel for a national trial firm in a six-day arbitration final hearing, defeating malpractice claims related to alleged mishandling of employment litigation, and obtained and collected a judgment of more than $1 million for unpaid legal fees.
• Lead trial counsel for a large Texas law firm in five-day arbitration final hearing. Defeated malpractice claims related to the handling of a prenuptial agreement and divorce action and obtained a judgment on counterclaim for unpaid attorney’s fees.
• Co-lead trial counsel for a small Colorado law firm in a ten-day jury trial, defeating malpractice claims related to an alleged unauthorized settlement.
• Co-lead trial counsel for a Dallas lawyer in a state district court proceeding brought by the State Bar seeking suspension or revocation of the client’s law license on barratry-related allegations. Obtained a finding for the attorney on all claims.
• Lead trial counsel for managers of a venture capital fund in an arbitration final hearing regarding claims of alleged mismanagement. Defeated all claims and obtained recovery of all arbitration costs and attorney’s fees.
• Lead counsel for a large Fort Worth law firm in obtaining a complete summary judgment, based on attorney immunity defense, in state court.

• Elected to The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• Named “Lawyer of the Year 2022, 2024 – Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants ” by BL Rankings.
• Named to the list of “The Best Lawyers in America” by BL Rankings in Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, Legal Malpractice Law-Defendants, and Professional Malpractice Law-Defendants, 2020-2025.
• Named to the list of “Best Lawyers in Dallas” by D Magazine, 2012-2017; 2019-2025.  
• Named to the list of Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2004-2025.
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Outstanding Alumnus Award, 1998.
• Am-Jur Award for Insurance Law, 1989.

• American Board of Trial Advocates
• State Bar of Texas, Litigation Section 
• Dallas Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practices Section and Business Litigation Section 
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Board of Trustees  

• ABA Fall 2023 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Chicago, Illinois (Panel Member), “Holding Your Nerve: How to Stand by Your Evaluation as Trial Nears.”
• Dallas CPA Society, Convergence 2019 (Co-Presenter), “Professional Standards and Rules Frequently Arising in Accounting Malpractice Claims”
• Guest Lecturer at SMU Dedman School of Law, “Ethical Issues in Externships: Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest”
• Lawyer Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter), “Shifting Landscapes & Adapting Your Firm to Emerging Threats”
• Webinar to IP Lawyers (Co-Presenter), “Embracing Change, Moving Forward – Ethics and Risk Management Insights for IP Lawyers”
• Lawyer Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter), “Ahead of the Curve – Risk Management for Lawyers”
• Texas Bar CLE Advanced Civil Trial Course in San Antonio, Texas (Presenter), “Legal Malpractice Update”
• Lawyers Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter),                            “The Adaptive Lawyer: Staying Practical in Today’s Complex Legal Environment”
• Webinar to IP Lawyers (Co-Presenter), “Following Alice Down the Rabbit Hole: A New Perspective on Risk Trends in the Intellectual Property Law Practice”
• Lawyers Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter),                           “The Competitive Edge: Law Practice Risk Management/ Conflicts of Interest”
• Author, “Payability” as the Logical Corollary to “Collectibility” in Legal Malpractice  St. Mary’s Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2014, pp 408-439
• State Bar of Texas 12th Annual Choice & Acquisition of Entities in Texas Course        (Co-Presenter), “Procedures and Potential Pitfalls in Acquisitions of Accounting Firms”
• St. Mary’s Symposium on Legal Malpractice and Professional Responsibility (Presenter),  “Payability” as the Logical Corollary to “Collectibility” in Legal Malpractice
• Lawyers Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter),                           “The Adaptable Lawyer: Staying Practical in Today’s Complex Legal Environment”
• Webinar to IP Lawyers (Co-Presenter),  “Managing IP Malpractice Risk by Effectively Managing Your IP Practice”
• Accountants and Lawyers Defense Network in Chicago, Illinois (Presenter), “Defending Conflict of Interest Allegations in Accounting Malpractice Cases”
• ABA Fall 2012 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Chicago, Illinois (Panel Member), “Managing Risk in High Exposure, Low Liability Cases”
• Co-Author, “The Flip Side of Collectibility: Putting Legal Malpractice Plaintiffs to the Test for Proof of Payability” for the ABA Fall 2012 National Legal Malpractice Conference
• AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program in Amarillo, Texas (Co-Presenter), “Accountant Liability: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”
• Webinar to IP Lawyers (Co-Presenter),   “The Adaptable Intellectual Property Lawyer: Staying Practical in Today’s Complex Legal Environment”
• Webinar to IP Lawyers (Co-Presenter),  “Avoiding IP Malpractice: How to Avoid Bad Practices While Protecting Great Ideas”
• Lawyers Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter),                             “Building a Solid Foundation: Managing Law Practice Risk”
• AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program in Shreveport, Louisiana (Presenter),  “Accountant Liability: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”
• Dallas Association of Young Lawyers CLE in Dallas, Texas (Panel Member),             “Ethical Issues in the Tripartite Relationship”
• Webinar to AICPA Forensic and Valuation Services Section (Co-Presenter),                “Business Valuations: How to Manage Your Malpractice Risk”
• ACI’s Second National Forum on LPL/Legal Malpractice Issues in New York City (Panel Member), “Law Firm Risk Management in the New Economy: Minimizing Exposure to Liability and Applying the Lessons Learned from the Economic Downturn”
• Accountants and Lawyers Defense Network Conference in Chicago (Co-Presenter),   “Effects of the Down Economy on Legal Malpractice Claims”
• ASWA/AWSCPA’s Inspired Solutions in Dallas, Texas Conference (Presenter),         “Professional Liability Primer for Accountants”
• ACI’s Regional and Mid-Size Law Firm Forum in Chicago (Panel Member),               “Tackling the Unique Risk Management Issues of the Mid-Size Firm”
• Dallas CPA Society Free CPA Conference in Dallas, Texas (Co-Presenter),                   “Liability Exposure for CPAs in Texas – What You Need to Know”
• Risk Management Seminar for lawyers in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Co-Presenter),  “Packing Your Parachute: Preparing for Law Practice Risk”
• ACI’s National Forum on LPL/Legal Malpractice in Miami (Panel Member),             “Helping Insureds Prevent Conflicts of Interest that Lead to Malpractice Claims”
• 2005 Ethics CLE in Las Vegas (Presenter),   “Navigating Dangerous Waters – Addressing and Dealing with Potential Conflicts of Interest”