Ray is a civil trial lawyer representing clients in high-profile cases all over the United States. Practicing in both state and federal courts, he has successfully tried more than 35 cases. Ray is Board Certified in both civil trial law and personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has been recognized as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” (2012-2014) by the National Trial Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell as an AV® Preeminent™ rated attorney, and has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list, a Thomson Reuters service, (2003-Present) and selected to be listed in The Best Lawyers in America© (2016-2021), Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation. Ray is also the leader of the McGinnis Lochridge Products Liability Group which was named the 2015 Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer.

PERSONAL INJURY & WRONGFUL DEATH
Ray’s substantial experience includes multiple representations on BOTOX® victims. Most recently, he represented a child who developed severe complications after BOTOX® injections for cerebral palsy. On behalf of this young BOTOX® victim, he obtained a jury verdict in November 2014 in federal court in Burlington, Vermont. He also acted as lead attorney on behalf of a brain-damaged BOTOX® victim and received a jury verdict in federal court in Richmond, Virginia, in April 2011. The case was settled after post-trial motions. In another case, Ray acted as lead attorney and received a jury verdict on behalf of a disabled BOTOX® victim in state court in Oklahoma City in May 2010. That case was affirmed on appeal.

Ray was the first attorney in the United States to file and successfully prosecute failure-to-warn claims on behalf of a victim against the manufacturer of the ORTHO EVRA® birth control patch in 2004. He personally developed the liability case for what later became one of the largest pharmaceutical mass torts in the country.

Other significant cases have included:

Obtaining a settlement for a victim of a defective seatbelt system in a case of first impression against the now-defunct Chrysler Corporation.
Defending a multinational corporation in a wrongful death case in Travis County Probate Court in Austin, Texas. The case settled before trial.
Defending a large New Jersey-based company in a product-liability suit filed in state court in Brownsville, Texas, involving a plaintiff who is a quadriplegic. The case settled shortly before trial.

News
Ray Chester Representing the Mitte Foundation in Potentially the Most Expensive Land Sale in Austin History
12.30.2021
The Best Lawyers in America 2022 Recognizes 18 McGinnis Lochridge Attorneys
August 19, 2021
McGinnis Lochridge Attorneys Secure Client a Favorable Award, Expected to Net in Excess of $15 Million
February 10, 2021

Publications
McGinnis Lochridge Partner Ray Chester Admitted to American College of Trial Lawyers
October 2, 2018

Honors & Recognition
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Board Certified, Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Texas Super Lawyers list, a Thomson Reuters service, General Litigation (2003 - 2020)
Listed in Best Lawyers©, Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation (2016 - 2021)
Top 100 Trial Lawyer (2012-2014), The National Trial Lawyers

Practice Areas
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
Complex Business Litigation
Litigation
Appellate

Education
The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1984 (with high honors, Chancellors, Order of the Coif, Texas Law Review)
The University of Texas, B.A., 1981 (with highest honors)

Bar admissions
Texas

Court admissions
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States District Courts for the Western and Southern Districts of Texas