LOAR 2026 New Year’s Letter

Transforming Trial Law with Heart and Vision

Friends, partners, and community,

As we start a new year, I want to close 2025 with a huge thank you to our team and all of you who trusted us with your cases and who cheered on our community initiatives.  

Case Victories 

This past year, the majority of our work centered on catastrophic injury and trucking and commercial cases, along with medical negligence, and wrongful death matters. We stood alongside families during some of the hardest moments of their lives, and through disciplined advocacy and teamwork, and we helped clients secure more than $10 million in case resolutions.  

This translated to outcomes that will help provide medical care, stability, and security for our clients. We helped a widow seriously injured by a commercial vehicle recover and set up a stable future for their family. We stood with a son after he lost his father in an 18-wheeler crash. We represented a young mom who was starting her own business when a serious crash suddenly changed everything. Their stories stay with us, and they’re a big part of why we do this work. 

This year required focus, resilience, and care. We stood alongside families during some of the hardest moments of their lives, and we did so with intention and preparation. Through disciplined advocacy and teamwork, our firm resolved eight figures in cases in 2025—outcomes that will help provide medical care, stability, and security for the people we serve. These results were achieved through persistence, thoughtful strategy, and a deep respect for the human stories behind every case.

Firm Updates 

It’s because of our team that we achieved these successes for our clients.  We continued to grow in 2025, welcoming new co-counsel and paralegals, and we also celebrated continuity—including celebrating four-year anniversaries for attorney Jean Phillips, administrative director Mimi Jaye, and paralegal Kerri Ball! Watching people grow, stay, and build together is one of the most meaningful parts of running this firm. 

I’m also grateful for the co-counsel relationships we’ve built in Colorado and Washington that allow us to take on complex matters with broader reach—without losing sight of who we are or how we practice.  

Technology and Experts  

We prepare every case as if it will be tried, because that’s what our clients deserve, and because thorough preparation is often what creates real accountability. Part of that process includes investment in deep, technical expertise. This year we worked with medical experts, engineers, and forensics analysts to perform everything from drone documentation of crash scenes, FARO and 3D scanning to preserve measurements and geometry, and event data recorder downloads to understand exactly what happened in the case.  

Behind the scenes, we also spent time improving how we work—adopting technology and AI to improve efficiency and client outcomes. These tools free our team up to focus more on strategy, preparation, and people, which is where we do our best work. AI is part of where this work is headed, and we’re already using it in ways that make us more efficient, more prepared, and better positioned as the landscape continues to change. 

Community Involvement 

2025 was a huge success, but success is not defined alone by courtroom victories or the dollars in settlements. At LOAR, we believe it also means reinvesting in the community and reaching out to others. Through SOAR, Summer Celebration, a local Leadership Academy, and Women in Law, we were able to support students across the country, celebrate and support other local nonprofits, and connect colleagues across to the country.   

SOAR started with a simple belief: talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. SOAR is about providing opportunities and supporting and encouraging students who have overcome great obstacles and will go on to make changes that will positively impact their communities. It is rooted in the idea that when we remove barriers and build networks of support, the sky is not the limit—it’s just the beginning.  

This was the fourth SOAR Scholar class, and we are so proud of this group. This year’s scholars are attending some of the most respected institutions in the country—from the United States Military Academy at West Point, to Baylor University, Texas A&M, UT Austin, LSU, UT Southwestern Medical School, and others. These young women are stepping into bright futures they’ve worked incredibly hard to earn. https://www.loarpllc.com/2025soarscholars/  

At our Summer Celebration, we got to introduce several of our 2025 SOAR Scholars in person, for example, Daphne Uribe, a first-year medical student pursuing a dual MD/MPH degree. She works to reduce barriers in medicine and gathers medical histories for underinsured, Spanish-speaking patients at Casa Maria, a free clinic in Houston. After graduation, she plans to partner with public health organizations to advocate for patients impacted by chronic disease. And Dhrumi Shah, a biomedical engineering student at Texas A&M, and a strong advocate for women in STEM, who founded a Girls in STEM newsletter and leads STEM Siblings, an organization bringing free STEM education to elementary students. She hopes to design affordable medical devices that make lifesaving care more accessible. 

This year we also expanded Summer Celebration to include a boardwalk party in the afternoon with cotton candy, ballon artists, crafts and games, and book drive benefiting Geri’s Locker, accompanied by a book signing by Christina Perri.  

That evening, we gathered for an intimate dinner, a private performance, and the chance to celebrate these students together.  

SOAR matters to me because it allows us to support the next generation of people who are already working to help their communities. We get to be a small part of stories that will change communities around the world.  

The program has already made such an impact that we wanted to do more. So at the end of 2025, we announced that we are doubling the investment to $200,000 a year and expanding the program to include SOAR Skills, a scholarship and mentorship program to support students of all genders pursuing skilled trades, technical training, certifications, apprenticeships, and applied career pathways. Expanding into SOAR Skills comes from the same belief that there is more than one way to make an impact. Education in the trades creates opportunity, fills a growing need, and supports entrepreneurial paths that strengthen communities. As we close 2025, the expansion to SOAR Skills is one of the things that is getting me fired up for the year ahead! 

Our community involvement highlights also included growth with the Women in Law group. We hosted eight events across seven cities—Austin, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Denver, and Seattle—and gathered again after the Texas Conference for Women.  

We also supported the LEAD Academy Pickleball Tournament, led by our own Jean Phillips, which raised a record-setting amount for CASA, an organization that provides advocates for abused and neglected children in the foster care system.  

As we head into 2026, I’m clear on what matters most: practicing with purpose, leading with integrity, and staying grounded in the people and communities we serve. 

Thank you for trusting LOAR, for supporting our work, and for being part of this community. I’m grateful—and excited for what is ahead!

Amber Russell
Founder & Managing Attorney, LOAR PLLC

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