Education

  • Central State University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1986)
  • University of Oklahoma (J.D., with honors, 1989). Phi Delta Phi

Admissions

  • Texas, 1990
  • Oklahoma, 1989
  • Cameron County Bar Association
  • Hidalgo County Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Defense Research Institute

Practice Areas

D. Alan Erwin Jr. was born in Chandler, Oklahoma on April 12, 1964. He graduated from Central State University in 1986 and went on to attend law school at the University of Oklahoma.

Alan Erwin is an experienced civil litigator who has served as first chair in more than 150 trials over the course of his career. He brings deep knowledge of the South Texas judiciary, local courtroom practices, members of the plaintiff’s bar, and jury pool characteristics to every claim he handles.

He is AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and licensed to practice in Texas and Oklahoma. He is the Brownsville representative of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys and a member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel.

Alan defends insurance carriers and their insureds in a full range of property and casualty claims. Much of his practice is devoted to auto liability matters, including uninsured and underinsured motorist litigation. He also handles commercial auto and trucking cases, with an emphasis on the defense of delivery truck drivers and fleet owners for grocery stores.

Commercial property owners—including retailers, restaurants, and hotels—rely on Alan in premises liability matters. He is experienced in routine slip and fall claims, as well as more complex matters involving catastrophic injuries, fatalities, contested liability, or negligent security.

Homeowners associations and other multi-family properties, including many on South Padre Island, turn to Alan for the defense of negligence claims. He handles disputes alleging personal injury claims arising from common areas and parking lots to specialized services like swimming pools, health clubs, golf courses, and liquor liability. Many of these cases involve director and officer (D&O) liability.

Alan is experienced in storm-related litigation. After Hurricane Dolly struck South Texas in 2008, Alan tried the first case involving storm damage. He has also handled many Hurricane Harvey claims after the Category 4 storm brought devastating winds and flooding to Texas in 2017.

Other areas of practice include residential homeowner claims, business litigation, and products liability. He has handled product claims relating to the dietary supplement L-tryptophan, assembly line injuries, and manufacturing facilities located at or near the Port of Brownsville.