Jeff P. O’Dea

Jeff O'Dea is an accomplished trial lawyer with 40 years of courtroom experience having honed his craft trying cases for the Harris County District Attorneys' Office. Over the years Jeff has represented major builders, insurance companies and businesses in personal injury, construction, and premises matters. He has the foresight and presence never to walk his clients into potential criminal liability when defending them in civil matters. Jeff has also owned an independent insurance agency and has experience defending insurance companies in first party litigation. Jeff has served as an adjunct professor teaching insurance coverage as part of the core curriculum necessary to receive a bachelors' degree in risk management at the University of Houston Downtown. Additionally, he has taught continuing education courses on indemnity, insurance, including CCIPs and OCIPs, workers' compensation, tort reform and statutory updates. Jeff has tried over one hundred jury trials to verdict in Texas courts and has second-chaired dozens of additional trials. Jeff is considered a "go-to" attorney for unique legal issues and defenses, often requiring research and unconventional arguments. In responding to this call, Jeff has successfully defended hundreds of construction cases including defective school cases and premises cases involving security and protective devices. One such construction defect case resulted in his builder client having been exonerated of responsibility for over 30 million dollars in damages for an alleged defective school and the client's receipt of a substantial award of attorneys' fees on its counter claim for attorneys' fees. As an experienced trial attorney, Jeff is intensively focused on litigation, case preparation and trial readiness to more effectively settle or try any given dispute. Practice Areas: Construction Liability and Construction Defect Security and Protective Devices Premises Liability Bar Admissions: Add: member, construction law section to both Arizona and Texas admissions.

• Principal at Fahl & Donaldson, PLLC

• Harris County District Attorneys' Office, Assistant District Attorney, 1984 - 1989
• Burt Barr & ODea, LLP, Managing Partner, 1991 - 2003
• Languages
• English
• Spanish

• Charter Property Charter Underwriter, University of Houston Downtown - 01/2011 to 05/2011
• Workers Compensation Update, Texas Claims Association - 06/2004
• Indemnity after Ethyl; AGC of Texas Summer, 1990
• Representative Clients
• Scottsdale Insurance Company
• Farmers Insurance Exchange
• Diamond Commercial Construction
• Devon Contractors
• Texas Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, its members, and its varied insurers
• Equifax
• Ancillary Businesses
• Owner Southern Agency (independent property and casualty insurance agency

• Texas, 1984
• Arizona, 2015

• State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section (Member)
• State Bar of Arizona, Construction Law Section (Member)