Jim S. Adler (born May 23, 1943), also known by the nickname of The Texas Hammer, is an American

trial attorney A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

and businessman. He is the founder of

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-based

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

''Jim Adler & Associates''. Adler has been practicing law in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in the area of

personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an Injury (law), injury to the body, mind, or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law, common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the ...

for 54 years. Some of his TV

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

s have been a subject of controversy.

Early life

Jim Adler was born May 23, 1943, to Alexander Adler and Ruth Adler (1919–2014). He was born and grew up in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Adler attended St. Mark's School of Texas and then entered the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Continuing his studies at the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...

, he received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree (J.D.) in 1967. Due to his widely known

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

-''The Texas Hammer'' and notorious TV ads, Adler attracted the attention of the national media. He was the subject of the ''

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American news satire late-night talk show hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in the end of April 2014 on HBO and currently has ...

'' season 8, episode 231, segment: Jim "The Texas Hammer" Adler vs. Mike "The Alabama Hammer" Slocumb, where

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...

ironically detailed a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

lawsuit. Adler is also a character in the MTV

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

series ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

''. A similar attorney named Joe Adler appeared in

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

's 2009 film, ''

Extract An extract (essence) is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of ma ...

'', portrayed by

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...

, who was also a personal injury lawyer.

Career

At the beginning of his career, Adler served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. During his military service, Adler was appointed judge for the Office of Civilian Health and Medical Programs United Services (OCHAMPUS) and got his first legal experience while adjudicating health and medical disputes for the military personnel. After being honorably discharged from the Army, Adler moved back to Dallas and did law enforcement work for the Texas State Securities Board. Adler was admitted to the bar in 1967. Jim Adler is a member of the

State Bar of Texas The State Bar of Texas (the Texas Bar) is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in ...

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

(ABA) and American Trial Lawyers Association. He is licensed to practice in the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

and

U.S. District Courts The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one fede ...

of Texas.

Jim Adler & Associates

In 1973, Adler went into private practice and established ''Jim Adler & Associates'', a law firm based in Houston. Initially, he tried a variety of legal areas including divorces and bankruptcies but later focused mainly on personal injury cases. By 2021, the company employed over 30 lawyers and a staff of over three hundred paralegals, case managers, receptionists and law clerks. The law firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas with satellite offices in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and

Channelview Channelview is a census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas on the east side of Houston in Harris County. Its population was 45,688 at the 2020 U.S. census. History Channelview was given its name since it is located on the ...

. As a number of sources note, Adler's law firm was retained by dozens of victims to represent and manage their personal injury claims after the

Astroworld Festival crowd crush On November 5, 2021, a fatal Crowd collapses and crushes, crowd crush occurred during the Astroworld Festival, an annual musical event hosted by American rapper Travis Scott at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. Eight people were pronounced dead on th ...

, a tragic incident that happened on November 5, 2021 at the annual

Astroworld Festival Astroworld Festival was an annual music festival run by American rapper Travis Scott, held in Houston, Texas, at NRG Park, near the former site of Six Flags AstroWorld. The festival was first held in November 2018. The 2020 festival was cancel ...

organized by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

Advertisements and copyright infringement lawsuits

Adler began investing in commercials on television in the early 1980s. He began using the "Texas Hammer" pseudonym in the early 2000s and registered it as a trademark with the

USPTO The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Ale ...

in 2008. According to the

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

and

Dallas Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

, "Adler took acting lessons with a drama coach". The ads became popular in Texas but Jim Adler's notorious style of acting, where he often appeared holding a big hammer next to an 18 wheeler

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck (also known by a wide variety of other terms – see below) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called ...

, attracted much criticism and attention for "pseudo-celebrity and turning lawsuits into an industry." Adler has been involved in a series of lawsuits related to trademark and copyright infringement, where he has sued other lawyers for "copying his marketing strategy and using his trade name "The Texas Hammer" to obtain popularity among potential clients. One case in particular, Adler sued an Alabama attorney, Mike Slocumb, for airing commercials, "that were near duplicates of his own". The case became notable after the lawsuit became the subject of a segment on HBO's ''

'' in August 2021. According to the lawsuit, "Adler's company spent over $100 million on TV advertising in English and Spanish and the defendants have adopted Adler's famous persona and plaintiffs' intellectual property in a brazen bid to confuse and deceive consumers." Other lawsuits include ''Adler v. McNeil Consultants'', ''Ramji Law Group of Houston'', and more.

Civic and charitable involvement

Jim Adler has worked with or board-chaired several US-based

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s and

civic organization Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

s, including Joint City/County Commission on Children, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Guild for the Blind, Habitat for Humanity, The American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders, Arthritis Foundation and American Heart Association, among others. In honor of Jim Adler, for his contributions to Kids Meals, Camp for All and other nonprofits, the mayor of Houston

Sylvester Turner Sylvester Turner (September 27, 1954 – March 5, 2025) was an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from January 2025 until his death in March 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democra ...

proclaimed July 30, 2021 as "Jim Adler Day". He is also a supporter and fundraiser for the Democratic Party.

Personal life

Jim Adler is married to Deborah Adler. They currently reside in Houston, Texas and have four children, including the eldest son Bill Adler, also a lawyer at ''Jim Adler & Associates''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Jim 1943 births Living people Lawyers from Dallas Trial lawyers University of Texas School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers