250 Years of Legal Experience in Honor of America’s 250 Years

In honor of our country’s founding 250 years, five Houston attorneys (each with 50+ years of legal experience) share their thoughts and opinions on a wide range of legal matters surrounding the question, “What has changed, and what has stayed the same about the practice of law?”

1 hour MCLE credit; including 0.5 hours of ethics.

Presented by

Moderated by Jonathan C.C. Day (Sorrels Law)

Jim M. Perdue

Mr. Perdue has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” (Woodward/White 2006-22) for Plaintiff’s Personal Injury practice and Medical Malpractice for over sixteen years, which named him Trial Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice in 2021 and for Personal Injury in 2016 in Houston. Mr. Perdue has been named a “Texas Super Lawyer” in Texas Monthly since the list’s inception 17 years ago. Mr. Perdue is an Advocate on the American Board of Trial Advocates, a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a member of The Summit Council.

Mr. Perdue has tried over 30 personal injury cases to jury verdict, including over a dozen multi-million-dollar verdicts for cases involving product liability, workplace injury, and medical malpractice. This includes a $40 million verdict in a commercial trucking case in DeWitt County in 2019 (reportedly the largest verdict in county history) and his $27.6 million dollar verdict against Boston Scientific, listed as one of the largest product liability verdicts of 2014 by the National Law Journal. Mr. Perdue has given over 160 continuing legal education presentations, chaired or co-chaired over a dozen legal education seminars, and published on a wide range of topics, from trial techniques to tort law.
 

Robin C. Gibbs

Named the “Father of the Litigation Boutique in Texas” by The Texas Lawbook and noted as the “dean of high-stakes litigation” by Chambers USA, Robin Gibbs has 54 years of experience in handling high-stakes commercial litigation matters.  Robin’s practice, and that of his firm, focuses exclusively on business and commercial litigation in a wide array of areas, including contract, energy, oil and gas, antitrust, trade secret, legal malpractice, securities, director liability, intellectual property, construction, and partnership disputes.

Robin received the “Lifetime of Excellence in Advocacy Awards” from TACTAS and the “J. Chrys Dougherty Good Apple Award” from Texas Appleseed, 2018; the “Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer” award from the Texas Bar Foundation, 2017; the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Texas Lawyer, 2017; and the Trial Lawyer of the Year” award from TEX-ABOTA, 2012.
 

Judge Alvin Zimmerman

Hon. Alvin Zimmerman is actively involved in family law including trials, custody, and marital agreements. He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator in Harris County, Texas, with extensive alternative dispute resolution (ADR) experience including business, family, health, construction, commercial, tort, employment, intellectual property (patent, trademark, and copyright), personal injury, franchise, probate, and oil and gas cases. He is a credentialed distinguished mediator by the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association, of which there are fewer than 100 in Texas.

Alvin also serves as a special judge for hire, special master, and ad litem as well as conducting investigations for educational institutions. He has participated in over 500 arbitrations and 3,000 mediations in his career.
 

Rusty Hardin

Though he has a well-established reputation as a civil and criminal defense lawyer, Rusty got his start in the law on the other side. Following graduation from law school at Southern Methodist University in 1975, Rusty began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Houston. Over a period of 15 years, he tried over 100 felony cases, not losing a single one. He tried 14 death penalty cases and earned wide recognition for his cross-examination skills in several high-profile trials. In recognition of his trial skills, he was named Texas Prosecutor of the Year by the State Bar of Texas and was featured in numerous publications profiling his work.

Rusty entered private practice in 1991 as a founding partner of Hardin, Beers, Hagstette & Davidson, maintaining a civil and criminal trial practice at both the state and federal levels. In 1994, he was named Chief Trial Counsel for the Whitewater Independent Counsel’s Office, serving under both Bob Fiske and Ken Starr. In 1996, he established Rusty Hardin & Associates. Since then, Rusty has tried over 85 jury trials, split fairly evenly between civil and criminal cases. Rusty is also the founder of Texas People Against Crime, a statewide organization dedicated to addressing criminal justice issues from the perspective of crime victims and law enforcement.

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