Jo A. Merica

Direct: 512.495.8819 Email: [email protected] Jo Ann Merica represents plaintiffs and defendants in a broad-based civil litigation practice, including real estate, construction, commercial, consumer, family and administrative law disputes. She has successfully brought and defended claims involving breach of contract, deceptive trade practices, fraud, construction defects, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations, condemnation, and restrictive covenants. Ms. Merica has taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law since 1993. Since 2009, she has regularly been selected for inclusion in the Texas Super Lawyers List, a Thompson Reuters service. Texas Monthly has named her in Top Attorneys in Texas since 2017 and in Top Women Attorneys in Texas in 2020 and 2021. Ms. Mericas legal career also reflects a commitment to professional leadership and community service. She has served as chair of Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans, a State Bar program that established pro bono advice clinics around the state to serve Texas veterans. Each bar association led by Jo Ann has won first-place honors and awards for projects created and implemented during her leadership, including the And Justice for All specialty license plate created by the Texas Young Lawyers Association, which has raised more than $250,000 for legal services to the poor in civil matters. Practice Areas Civil Appeals Commercial & Construction Litigation Complex Litigation NOTEWORTHY Featured, Making a Difference in the Lives of Veterans (Austin Lawyer, October 11, 2016) Mentioned, The Brief Spotlight, Time, Inc., May 30, 2016 Speaker. The Ethics of Preparing a Witness. Texas Bar CLE Webcast (2016) Speaker, Trial Advocacy for the 21st Century, State Bar of Texas Author, The Lawyers Basic Guide to Domestic Violence, Texas Bar Journal Panelist, Judicial Selection and Independence of the Judiciary, American Bar Association, The University of Texas School of Law Speaker, Direct vs. Consequential Damages, Construction Law Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Dallas, Texas (September 2011) Presenter, Recent Cases from the SCOTUS, SCOTX and 5th Circuit Affecting Business Disputes, State Bar of Texas Business Disputes CLE 2017 Presenter, The Nuts and Bolts of Dispositive Motions, State Bar of Texas Government Law Boot Camp 2017 Vianei Lopez Braun, Jo Ann Merica, Philip W. Spencer, Jordan P. Woody, The Ethics of Preparing A Witness, 39 Corp. Couns. Rev. 23 (2020) EDUCATION The University of Texas School of Law (J. D.) 1984 The University of Texas (B. A., magna cum laude) 1981 PROFESSIONAL LICENSES State Bar of Texas 1984 United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth District United States District Court for the Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas PROFESSIONAL AND LEGAL AFFILIATIONS State Bar of Texas (Board of Directors 2010-2013) Texas Bar Foundation (Trustee 2013-2016) Austin Bar Foundation (Chair 2008) Austin Bar Association (President 2007-08) Texas Young Lawyers Association (President 1998-99) Austin Young Lawyers Association (1993) State Bar of Texas Court Rules Committee (2003-2007) ACCOLADES Distinguished Lawyer Award, Austin Bar Foundation 2019 David H. Walter Community Excellence Award, Austin Bar Foundation 2017 Pathfinder Award, Travis County Women Lawyers Association 2015 Outstanding Alumnus Award, Austin Young Lawyers Association (2013) Presidential Citation, State Bar of Texas (2011, 2013) Colonel Bryan S. Spencer Award, State Bar of Texas (2013) Women of Influence, Austin Business Journal, an American City Business Journals publication (2011) Judge Sam Williams Award, State Bar of Texas (2010-2011) Texas Veterans Commission Leadership Award (May 2011) Texas Law Fellowships Interest in Public Service Award (2004) Distinguished Service Award, City of Austin Ethics Review Committee (2004)