Andy Vickery

I am proud to be a trial lawyer.  For 31 of the 36 years I have been licensed to practice law in Texas, I have had the honor and privilege of representing the "little people," i.e., families who have lost a loved one, people who have been injured, and small business owners who have been victimized by predatory competitors.  For most of the past 13 years my practice has been focused on people whose lives have been devastated  as a result of violence and suicide triggered by Prozac and its SSRI cousins, Paxil and Zoloft.  This change in focus spread our litigation activity far beyond the borders of Texas, and all across the nation.  We now regularly handle cases in other states, far and wide.

Jury verdicts change society.  In that regard, I like to think our $8 million verdict in the Tobin case in Wyoming, on June 6, 2001, started the regulatory ball rolling down the hill.  In 2004, the FDA mandated black box warnings about the risk of antidepressant-induced suicidality, which GSK had denied, but which we proved to exist in the Tobin case.

Three years ago, in late 2005, the focus of our practice shifted.  A new, equally tragic, side effect of Paxil was divulged by the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKline.  In two different "Dear Doctor" letters, GSK conceded that there is a strong association between first trimester exposure to Paxil by an expectant mother and serious cardiac malformations in the child.  They admit the "association," but they won't say the "c" word.  They won't admit that the drug actually "causes" birth defects, and they won't voluntarily compensate the parents.  That's where the trial lawyers come in.  We have filed suit, and we are working hard to prove, in a court of law, that this multi-billion dollar pill, which was aggressively marketed to women of child-bearing age, and, indeed, even to pregnant women, has caused little children to need open heart surgeries.  Justice will come home to roost on those cases in late 2009 and throughout 2010.

Backing up a bit, in 1997, I was invited to join the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an organization which is composed of both plaintiffs' and defendants' counsel.  It is one of the few organizations in the legal profession that you can't simply join, i.e., you have to be invited by your peers.  My rank of "Advocate" means that, as of that time, I had tried in excess of 50 jury cases through to verdict.

In the summer of 2002, at the age of 54, I went for a little "retraining" and got a good shot in the arm.  I spent 22 days in TRIAL LAWYERS' COLLEGE at Gerry Spence's ranch in Dubois, Wyoming.  Gerry, my second mentor in 30 years of law practice, re-emphasized three basic tenets that I try to follow in my law practice:  (1) Listen to your client with both your ears and all of your heart, (2) Tell their story - passionately but honestly; and then (3) completely trust the jury to do the right thing. Two years ago, I was asked to serve on the Faculty of the College.  It has been a wonderful experience and our Firm endeavors to treat each client with a little "TLC."

Although I have neither sought nor obtained a specialty designation or "board certification" from the Texas Bar, at the present time my practice is focused almost exclusively on cases involving pernicious side effects of antidepressant medications, mainly Paxil.

In addition to the standard "curriculum vitae" type biographical information set forth below, this website also contains my candid answers to a few FAQ's.  The questions were compiled with the assistance of several clients, who have helped me to put myself in the shoes of a person who is reading on this website for the first time.  It also contains a "testimonial" page of very nice things that a few of them have said about me.  Each one of them has agreed to respond to your inquiries confidentially, i.e., without telling me.  Finally, there is a link to a seven-minute excerpt from the BBC's 2002 documentary show, Mind Games.

For the better part of the last 15 years, I have been blessed to have the finest partner in the world, i.e., Paul Waldner.  He has been a tireless advocate for justice and an incredibly creative lawyer.  Paul is the one who named this website "JusticeSeekers.com."  He is also one of the funniest humanoids alive.  Sadly, on October 6, 2008, Paul suffered cardiac arrest.  He is alive, but not expected to return to our law practice in the near future.  And, so, with a mixture of sadness and appreciation, we have renamed our in-office courtroom, which he loved so much, the Paul F. Waldner Courtroom.