About Rusty
Acclaimed Texas trial lawyer Rusty Hardin is the founder and name partner of Houston’s Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP, accomplished in both complex civil matters and significant criminal cases. Mr. Hardin has more than 40 years of litigation experience, beginning his career as an assistant prosecutor in Houston’s Harris County in 1975.Since entering private practice in 1991, Mr. Hardin has tried over 70 jury trials, fairly evenly split between civil and criminal cases. His clients have been as varied as Arthur Andersen in both civil and criminal cases; 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 Corp.; Rice University; Las Vegas Sands; and a lengthy roster of professional athletes that includes Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Warren Moon, Rudy Tomjanovich, Calvin Murphy and Adrian Peterson.Mr. Hardin also has a lengthy track record of independent investigations involving highly sensitive matters. He served as chief trial counsel for Independent Counsel Robert Fiske and his successor Kenneth Starr in the Whitewater investigation. And more recently, he led a politically fraught investigation into the actions of a University of Texas System Regent for a Texas legislative committee.Mr. Hardin has earned many accolades over the years, earning a place on The National Law Journal’s list of The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America in 2013 and profiled as a “Trial Ace” by Law360 in 2015. He was named one of the "25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century" by Texas Lawyer in 2010. He has been selected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Since 2009, Hardin has served on the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee.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.
Acclaimed Texas trial lawyer Rusty Hardin is the founder and name partner of Houston’s Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP, accomplished in both complex civil matters and significant criminal cases. Mr. Hardin has more than 40 years of litigation experience, beginning his career as an assistant prosecutor in Houston’s Harris County in 1975.
Since entering private practice in 1991, Mr. Hardin has tried over 70 jury trials, fairly evenly split between civil and criminal cases. His clients have been as varied as Arthur Andersen in both civil and criminal cases; 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 Corp.; Rice University; Las Vegas Sands; and a lengthy roster of professional athletes that includes Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Warren Moon, Rudy Tomjanovich, Calvin Murphy and Adrian Peterson.
Mr. Hardin also has a lengthy track record of independent investigations involving highly sensitive matters. He served as chief trial counsel for Independent Counsel Robert Fiske and his successor Kenneth Starr in the Whitewater investigation. And more recently, he led a politically fraught investigation into the actions of a University of Texas System Regent for a Texas legislative committee.
Mr. Hardin has earned many accolades over the years, earning a place on The National Law Journal’s list of The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America in 2013 and profiled as a “Trial Ace” by Law360 in 2015. He was named one of the "25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century" by Texas Lawyer in 2010. He has been selected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Since 2009, Hardin has served on the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee.
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.
Case History
Professional Affiliations
Awards & Recognition
- Lawyer of the Year: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Houston (2026)
- Lawyer of the Year: Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Houston (2019)
- Recognized: Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Recognized: Commercial Litigation
- Recognized: Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Practice Area: Oil and Gas Law
- Best Lawyers, rated in Commercial and Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2016-2025
- Benchmark Litigation Star, 2013-2022, 2024
- Recipient, Texas Bar Foundation, Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award, 2024
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2023-2024
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2022-2024
- Named to Chambers Global Guide - Band 1 in USA Litigation: Trial Lawyers, 2024
- Paul Stallings Civility and Ethics Award from the Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (TEX-ABOTA), 2023
- Named to the Lawdragon Hall of Fame Class of 2023
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2021-2023
- Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2023
- Top 100 Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2009, 2011, 2018, 2020-2023
- Top 100 Houston Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2011, 2016-2023
- Best Lawyers – Lawyer of the Year Houston area Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2019
- Named a “Lion of the Texas Bar” by Texas Lawbook, 2015
- Named a “Trial Ace” by Law360, 2015
- Texas Lawyer Lifetime Achievement award, 2015
- Named one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America,” National Law Journal, 2013
- Recipient, Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, Lifetime Excellence in Advocacy Award, 2013
- Ranked nationwide by Chambers USA in Litigation: Trial Lawyers
- Ranked by Chambers USA among top Texas lawyers in both General Commercial Litigation and White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
- Top 100 Houston Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2011, 2016-2025
- Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
- Lifetime Achievement Membership among America’s Top 100 Attorneys
- "Prosecutor of the Year," State Bar of Texas, 1989
- "Go-To Lawyer" for Civil Defense Litigation, Texas Lawyer, 2002
- "Attorney to Hire When You’re in Trouble," Houston Chronicle, 2003
- "Houston’s Top Lawyers," H Texas magazine, 2006
- "Go-To Lawyer" for Commercial Litigation, Texas Lawyer, 2007
- Top 10 Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2007
- Named one of "The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century," Texas Lawyer, 2010
- Named one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America," National Law Journal, 2013
- Named a "Trial Ace" by Law360, 2015
- Named a "Lion of the Texas Bar" by Texas Lawbook, 2015