Tahira Khan Merritt has over 34 years of experience as a civil trial lawyer. Immediately prior to joining the Fortenberry Firm, she was appointed to the Judiciary to serve as an Associate Judge for the Civil District Courts. She was the first Judge of South Asian descent to serve in Dallas County.

Prior to taking the Bench, for over 25 years Tahira exclusively representing victims of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation in civil cases against religious institutions, group home operators, mental health facilities, nursing homes, child-care operators, schools, universities, physicians, counselors, to hold accountable wrongdoers and their enablers who sexually exploit the young or the vulnerable. She served as a Special Prosecutor for the State of Texas assisting in the criminal prosecution of a Catholic priest charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a child. She has also donated her time and expertise as a consultant to law enforcement and government agencies in various jurisdictions across the United States in multiple high-profile clergy sexual abuse cases. She has authored various papers and lectured on trauma informed legal representation for victims of crime.

In 2015, she was named an Outstanding Minority Attorney by Texas Lawyer. Tahira has been named Best Lawyer, D Magazine (2019-2022), Texas Super Lawyer (2020-2022, 2024), Top 100 Civil Trial Lawyers in Texas 2022 and Top Attorneys in America 2022. She is also rated AV as Pre-Eminent by Martindale- Hubbell.

Tahira is currently an active member of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, American Bar Association, Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Texas Women Lawyers Association, Dallas Asian American Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association, the Dallas/Fort Worth Muslim Bar Association, and the National Muslim Bar Association. She is also a member of the Mac Taylor Inn of Court and the Texas Bar College.