Russell H. Roden
Partner
Telephone: 972.371.2419
Email:  russellroden@nvmlaw.com
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 Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, Appellate, Arbitration, Construction, Contract, Media and First Amendment, Eminent Domain, Landlord/Tenant, Personal Injury, Premises Liability, Torts, Mediation, Special Judge

Biography

Mr. Roden joined the firm on January 2, 2007, after spending almost five years as presiding judge of Dallas County Court at Law No. 1. During his tenure on the bench, Mr. Roden presided over approximately 200 jury trials and 1,500 non-jury trials, involving disputes in the areas of contract, defamation, personal injury, professional negligence, construction, premises liability, product defects, landlord/tenant, commercial transactions, asbestos, class actions, and others. He consistently ranked as one of the highest-rated judges in the Dallas Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Polls, receiving approval ratings in excess of 90% in the categories of "hard-working," "knowledge of the law," "impartiality," and "overall performance."

Prior to serving on the bench, Mr. Roden represented companies and individuals at the trial and appellate level in a wide-variety of matters, including disputes in excess of $100 million. Mr. Roden has an individual AV rating from Martindale Hubbell's peer-review rating system. An AV rating is a significant accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. Before starting his practice of law, Mr. Roden served a prestigious judicial clerkship with the Hon. W. Eugene Davis on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to law school, Mr. Roden was a newspaper reporter covering political and legal issues.

Mr. Roden has also dedicated his time to pro bono work and to informing the public about the role of the judiciary. He was a charter appointee to the United States Northern District of Texas Voluntary Criminal Justice Act Panel, representing indigent clients on a court-appointed basis at both the trial and appellate levels. He has spoken to numerous high school and civic groups about the judicial process and its importance. He has volunteered with the "Kids in Court" program, allowing elementary and middle school students to participate in a mock trial. For many years, he has volunteered as a judge in the Texas High School Mock Trial competition. Recently, Mr. Roden was a founding member of MDA's Dallas Legal Leaders: The "Hot Hundred" Who Care, a program created to raise more than $100,000 annually to send children suffering from muscular dystrophy to Camp John Marc in Meridian, Texas. Mr. Roden also serves on the Austin College National Alumni Association Board.
Memberships

Dallas Bar Association
State Bar of Texas, Judicial Section

Admitted

Texas
United States District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas
Supreme Court of the United States

Education

Texas Tech University School of Law, 1988, Doctor of Jurisprudence, magna cum laude
   Class Rank: 7/169
   Lead Articles Editor, Texas Tech Law Review
   Order of the Coif
   Phi Kappa Phi
   American Jurisprudence Award, Civil Procedure
   American Jurisprudence Award, Torts
   American Jurisprudence Award, Evidence
   American Jurisprudence Award, Post-Conviction Remedies
   Recipient, Texas Tech Law School Foundation Scholarship
   Recipient, William C. Clark Endowed Scholarship
Austin College (Sherman, Texas), 1983, B.A.
   Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society
   Receiver, 1981 NAIA Division II National Football Champions
   Columnist, Cartoonist, The A.C. Observer campus newspaper


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© 2005-2007 Nesbitt, Vassar, McCown & Roden, L.L.P. Attorneys are Not Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
The attorney responsible for the content of this site is James M. McCown.
The firm's principal and only office is located in Addison, Texas.

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