DAVID N. DEACONSON

David N. Deaconson has been a member of the law firm of Pakis, Giotes, Burleson & Deaconson, P.C. since joining the firm in September 1986. He became a shareholder in 1990. Prior to joining the firm, Dave started his career as a trial lawyer by serving as an assistant district attorney in McLennan County, where his success in the courtroom enabled him to try multiple capital murder and murder trials by his third year out of law school. By his second year as a lawyer, Dave became the chief Crimes against Children prosecutor. Dave has been recognized as the Outstanding Young Lawyer by the Waco-McLennan County Young Lawyers Association, served as president of both the Waco-McLennan County Young Lawyers Association and the Waco-McLennan County Bar Association, and served on the inaugural committee that created the Pro Bono program in McLennan County.

EXPERIENCE

Dave has both picked the jury for and tried well over two hundred jury trials, including, complex commercial litigation, complicated medical negligence cases, employment discrimination and termination claims, real estate title and boundary disputes, eminent domain, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary cases, and murder and major crimes. His trial experience in the DA’s office enabled Dave to transition smoothly and quickly to trying diverse civil cases. He has tried multiple complex commercial litigation cases to verdicts in which his client was awarded in excess of $1,000,000 and has also successfully defended cases where the Plaintiff was seeking millions of dollars.

In October 2020, Dave was part of the trial team that successfully defended Roku in a complete non-infringement victory in the first patent jury trial tried in the Waco Division of the Western District of Texas. Dave conducted the voir dire for Roku and was instrumental in picking the jury that found in favor of Roku. Because of his extensive trial experience, Dave has been asked to handle high profile cases in both the civil courts and as a special prosecutor for the State of Texas. He is now serving as local trial counsel in many patent cases filed in the Waco Division of the Western District.

Dave has handled numerous eminent domain matters for landowners and has successfully tried eminent domain cases to juries for both the governmental entity and landowner. He has also handled hundreds of easement and fee simple property acquisitions for various governmental entities in eminent domain settings.

As part of his continuing efforts to remain an accomplished trial lawyer, Dave spends hundreds of hours each year teaching and coaching students in Baylor Law School’s renowned Advocacy Program. Because of his accomplishments in the courtroom, Dave was invited to become a candidate in the esteemed Jaworski Fellows program at Baylor Law School, where he works with some of the top trial lawyers in the nation to help train future Baylor Lawyers in Practice Court. Dave is also an adjunct professor at Baylor School of Law, where he works with the advocacy program, coaches national mock trial competition teams, teaches in the Criminal Law Capstone Boot Camp program, and teaches annually at the Academy of the Advocate study abroad program in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Contact David N. Deaconson by clicking here.

BAR ADMISSIONS

• All state courts in Texas

• U.S. District Court - Western District of Texas

• U.S. District Court - Northern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Texas

• U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

• U.S. Supreme Court

EDUCATION

• Baylor University School of Law, Waco, Texas

  • J.D. - 1983

• Baylor University

  • B.B.A. - 1981

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• Commercial Litigation

• Employment Litigation

• Equity and Title IX Defense

• Municipal Law, including eminent domain

• Personal Injury Litigation

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

• Abner V. McCall Inn of Court, 2016 – Present

• Baylor Law School, Criminal Law Boot Camp, 2017 – Present

• Texas City Attorneys Association

• Texas Municipal Courts Association

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• Boards:

  • Current:

    • Texas Sports Hall of Fame, 1999 – Present, past president

    • Midway ISD Education Foundation, 2009 – Present, past president

  • Past:

    • Baylor/Waco Foundation

    • Waco Symphony Association

    • Waco KLife

    • Waco Baptist Academy

    • Central Texas Young Life

    • Generations Adoptions

    • Heart of Texas Legal Services

    • Waco-McLennan County Young Lawyers Association

• Other:

  • Columbus Avenue Baptist Church Sunday School Director, 2000 - 2009

  • Texas High School Mock Trial Program

  • Coach of Jefferson Moore and Waco High Schools, 1983 – 2003

  • Coach of Midway High School, 2008 – 2009, 2013 -2016

  • Woodway Family Center Coach, 1998 - 2003, 2005 – 2009

  • Waco Baptist Academy Coach 2005 – 2008