When Randall Sorrels delivered his closing argument to a Houston jury this month, he warned the panel not to award more than $250,000 in non-economic damages.

“I didn’t tell the jury why I wanted to limit to $250,000. You can’t tell them there is a [damages] cap, but you can tell them what to award. They followed me exactly,” says Sorrels, a partner in Houston’s Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend.