Larissa A. Wakelin

Larissa Wakelin is an experienced senior counsel at WSHB's office in Dallas, Texas, with over a decade of legal experience. She has represented plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts and arbitration. Larissa is particularly passionate about handling complex cases involving construction defects, wrongful death, product liability, and commercial litigation.

She earned her law degree and MBA from Southern Methodist University. A native Texan, Larissa grew up in Carrollton and has spent her entire life working in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Outside the office, she enjoys quality time with her husband and their many animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, and koi fish.

Arbitration and Mediation

• Successfully defended a Dallas business against a Dram Shop claim in private arbitration before obtaining a take-nothing award from the arbitrator.
• Defended a subcontractor in a AAA arbitration hearing concerning a multi-unit townhome community until settlement was reached two weeks into the final hearing.

Commercial and Business

• Provided contract review, revision, and negotiation consultation for a service agreement with JC Penny.
• Prepared an independent contractor agreement for a Hawaiian company to protect the company’s intellectual property.
• Successfully defeated summary judgment filed by Mazda based on the statutes of repose and limitations in a case involving defective automotive parts subject to recall.

Construction Litigation

• Represented a residential general contractor against a claim of defective construction of a multi-million-dollar lake house.
• Successfully defended a neighborhood developer against unfounded and speculative claims of contract breach, fraud, and defective construction until the plaintiff dismissed the suit.

Insurance Law

• Represented an insurance carrier in a subrogation claim against another carrier claiming coverage exclusion for an occurrence-based policy.

Product Liability

• Defended a manufacturer of oil and gas fracking well casing against a products liability claim in Oklahoma against a multi-million dollar claim.
• Represented a Texas-based manufacturer in a federal case in Ohio against a multi-million dollar claim alleging defects caused by the manufacturing process, storage procedures, and shipping activities until settlement was reached three days before trial.

Transportation and Trucking

• Defended a trucking company against a personal injury claim after the plaintiff ran into them while they were backing out of a business driveway.
• Represented the driver of an 18-wheeler after he swerved to avoid a reckless driver and side swiped another vehicle.

Other

• Obtained a favorable jury verdict in a personal injury case after a trespasser fell down an elevator shaft in a historical building in East Texas.
• Defended a commercial contractor after an acquaintance fraudulently represented himself as an employee of the contractor in order to steal insurance proceeds from a gas station after a hailstorm.

Education

• Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law (J.D., 2011)
• Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business (MBA., 2011)
• University of Texas at Dallas  (B.S. in Business Administration, 2007)

Licensed to Practice in

• Texas
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas