Rusty Hardin

Rusty Hardin, Rusty Hardin & Assoc.
Rusty Hardin has more than 40 years of litigation experience, having begun his career as an assistant district attorney for Harris County in 1975. He served as chief of one of the office’s felony divisions for eight years and was named Prosecutor of the Year in 1989. In 1991, Hardin moved into private practice, and in 1996 he established Rusty Hardin & Associates, now a fifteen-attorney firm. While an assistant district attorney, Hardin never lost a felony jury trial, tried 14 death penalty cases, tried over 100 felony jury trials, and earned renown for his cross-examination skills in celebrated cases. Since entering private practice, he has tried over 70 jury trials, with clients as varied as Arthur Andersen; Dow Jones, for whom the firm won a new trial in the face of the largest libel verdict in history; the J. Howard Marshall II estate in the nationally-followed probate trial involving claims made by Anna Nicole Smith; ExxonMobil Corporation; Rice University; Las Vegas Sands; and a lengthy roster of professional athletes that includes Rudy Tomjanovich, Warren Moon, Wade Boggs, Scottie Pippen, Steve Francis, Calvin Murphy, Rafer Alston, and Roger Clemens. He also served as chief trial counsel for Independent Counsel Robert Fiske and his successor Kenneth Starr in the Whitewater investigation. Hardin is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Among his numerous honors, Hardin was named one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal in 2013 and one of “The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century” by Texas Lawyer in 2010. In 2013, Hardin was selected as a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America. Benchmark Litigation selected Hardin as a Litigation Star in Texas in General Commercial Litigation in 2013, and he was the recipient of the 2013 Lifetime Excellence in Advocacy Award from the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists. In 2016, the firm was selected as a Litigation Department of the Year honoree by the publishers of Texas Lawyer, and Hardin was selected as a member of America’s Top 100 Attorneys. A native of North Carolina, Hardin received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Sessions 12:30pm - 1:15pm - Criminal — The Notorious Criminal Case: Handling the Media, the Jury, and the Judge 1:30pm - 2:30pm - It’s Not Your Parents’ Courtroom: How to Try a Case to Today’s Judge or Jury

Rusty Hardin, Rusty Hardin & Assoc.

Rusty Hardin has more than 40 years of litigation experience, having begun his career as an assistant district attorney for Harris County in 1975. He served as chief of one of the office’s felony divisions for eight years and was named Prosecutor of the Year in 1989. In 1991, Hardin moved into private practice, and in 1996 he established Rusty Hardin & Associates, now a fifteen-attorney firm. While an assistant district attorney, Hardin never lost a felony jury trial, tried 14 death penalty cases, tried over 100 felony jury trials, and earned renown for his cross-examination skills in celebrated cases. Since entering private practice, he has tried over 70 jury trials, with clients as varied as Arthur Andersen; Dow Jones, for whom the firm won a new trial in the face of the largest libel verdict in history; the J. Howard Marshall II estate in the nationally-followed probate trial involving claims made by Anna Nicole Smith; ExxonMobil Corporation; Rice University; Las Vegas Sands; and a lengthy roster of professional athletes that includes Rudy Tomjanovich, Warren Moon, Wade Boggs, Scottie Pippen, Steve Francis, Calvin Murphy, Rafer Alston, and Roger Clemens. He also served as chief trial counsel for Independent Counsel Robert Fiske and his successor Kenneth Starr in the Whitewater investigation. Hardin is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Among his numerous honors, Hardin was named one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal in 2013 and one of “The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century” by Texas Lawyer in 2010. In 2013, Hardin was selected as a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America. Benchmark Litigation selected Hardin as a Litigation Star in Texas in General Commercial Litigation in 2013, and he was the recipient of the 2013 Lifetime Excellence in Advocacy Award from the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists. In 2016, the firm was selected as a Litigation Department of the Year honoree by the publishers of Texas Lawyer, and Hardin was selected as a member of America’s Top 100 Attorneys. A native of North Carolina, Hardin received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Sessions

12:30pm - 1:15pm - Criminal — The Notorious Criminal Case: Handling the Media, the Jury, and the Judge

1:30pm - 2:30pm - It’s Not Your Parents’ Courtroom: How to Try a Case to Today’s Judge or Jury

United States District & Bankruptcy Court

Southern District of Texas

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