Judy Kostura

Judy Kostura is a partner in Sorrels Law's Austin office who has devoted more than 40 years to representing injured individuals and serving as a court-appointed guardian ad litem for injured children. The first in her family to graduate from college, she worked her way through the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas School of Law, earning her law degree in 1980. In 1995 she won a $1.1 million jury verdict for a motorcyclist hit by a driver carrying only $20,000 in liability coverage, then collected most of the judgment from the defendant's carrier.

And the same year won an appellate victory forcing a health insurer to treat her injured client fairly. Those cases launched nearly three decades of expertise in health insurance subrogation law, and her lobbying of the Texas Legislature contributed to subrogation reforms in 2007 and sweeping reform in 2013. Her honors include the Texas Trial Lawyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2023), the Texas Watch Champion of Justice Award (2019), TTLA's John Howie Spirit of Mentorship Award (2006), the inaugural Capital Area Trial Lawyers Scott Ozmun Trial Lawyer of the Year Award (2011), the State Bar of Texas Gene Cavin Award for continuing education (2022), and continuous selection as a Texas Super Lawyer since 2015.