James M. "Jim" Richardson

Jim Richardson is one of the state's leading trial lawyers in complex commercial litigation.

Jim has annually been named one of the nation's Best Lawyers® in Commercial Litigation for 15 consecutive editions (2012-2026). He has been recognized by Super Lawyers® for over 18 years, including being named a Top 50 Central & West Texas Super Lawyer® multiple times, as featured in Texas Monthly.

Jim served as President of the National Board of Trial Advocacy from 2020 through 2022 and currently chairs the Austin-Area Chapter of the NBTA. He is a past Chair of the Austin Bar Association Civil Litigation Section.

Earning peer recognition, Jim has been named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100™ and Austin Monthly's Top Lawyers in Austin and San Antonio. Jim has also attained the highest possible rating of Judicial AV®Preeminent™ 5.0-5 by Martindale-Hubbell/LexisNexis.

Jim holds three active Board Certifications, one by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law, and two by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Law and Civil Practice Advocacy. He has been recertified multiple times in all three practice areas.

A member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, he has served as a course director, moderator, and presenter at numerous legal conferences on trial advocacy, evidence, and procedure.

Richardson Firm PLLC is ranked Tier 1 in Commercial Litigation by Best Law Firms®, a division of BL Rankings, an elite honor limited to the nation's top law firms in civil trial practice.

Practice Areas: Trials in State and Federal Court; Arbitration; Breach of Fiduciary Duty; Fraud; Breach of Contract; Trusts and Estates; Probate Litigation; Real Estate Litigation; Easements and Encroachments; Business Torts and Technology; Computer Crimes; Construction Litigation (recognized by the national Construction Attorneys' Guide 2025-2026); Professional Liability; Employment Litigation; Environmental Litigation; Negligence; Complex Divorces and Property Claims.

Honors and Distinctions

• President, National Board of Trial Advocacy, 2020-2022; Immediate Past President, 2022-2024
  
• Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation, 2012-2026
• Best Lawyers: Texas Edition, Commercial Litigation, 2012-2026
• Best Law Firms, Tier 1, Commercial Litigation, 2022-2025
• Top 50 Super Lawyers®, Central and West Texas Region, by Thomson Reuters, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers®, The National Trial Lawyers, 2019-present
• American Board of Trial Advocates, 2012-present
• 20-Year Fellow, Society of Legal Scholars, Texas Bar College
• The Trial Attorneys - Featured Texas Trial Lawyer 2025-2026
• Martindale-Hubbell/LexisNexis Judicial, AV®Preeminent™ 5.0-5
• Editor-in-Chief, Tulsa Law Review
• Outstanding Law Graduate, Oklahoma Bar Association

Board Certifications:

• Board Certified - Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
• Board Certified - Civil Trial Law, National Board of Trial Advocacy
• Board Certified - Civil Practice Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy
  

Bar/Professional Activity:

• President, National Board of Trial Advocacy (2020-2022); Past President (2022-2024)
• Executive Committee (2016-present); Board of Directors (2015-present); Civil Trial Advocate (2002-present); Civil Practice Advocate (2011-present); State Coordinator–Texas (2013-present)
• State Bar of Texas, Rules of Evidence Committee (1996-98); Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Committee (2000-04); Panel Chair, District 9A Grievance Committee (2002-03) (Member from 1997)
• Austin Bar Association, Past-Chair, Civil Litigation Section (2016); Chair (2015-16); Vice-Chair (2013-14); Treasurer (2012-13); Secretary (2011-12); Member, Board of Directors (1997-99)
• Fellow, American College of Board Certified Attorneys (2015-present)
• 20-Year Fellow, Texas Bar College
• Special Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas (1981-82)
• Senior Master, American Inns of Court, Robert W. Calvert Chapter (2005-present);
• Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation (1999-present)
• Founding Life Fellow, Austin Bar Foundation (2005-present)

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• Presenter, 18th Annual Ultimate Trial Notebook, Objections, Impeachment, and Witness Voir Dire, Sept. 2023
  
• Presenter, 17th Annual Ultimate Trial Notebook, Direct and Cross-Examination, Austin Bar Association, Civil Litigation Section (Feb. 2023)
• Presenter, 15th Annual Ultimate Trial Notebook, "Which Cases to Try," Presented by the Austin Bar Association Civil Litigation Section (Oct. 2019)
• Course Director/Moderator, Civil Trial Workshop, National Board of Trial Advocacy, All Star Conferences, New Orleans, Louisiana (Nov. 2018)
• Presenter, 13th Annual Ultimate Trial Notebook®, Trial Advocacy Skills, Presented by the Austin Bar Association Civil Litigation Section (Nov. 2017)
• Course Director/Presenter, Essential Trial Advocacy Workshop®, presented by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, hosted by Jackson Walker LLP (October 2017)
• Co-Chair/Moderator, 12th Annual Ultimate Trial Notebook® 2016 (additionally co-chaired 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Annual Ultimate Trial Notebook®)
• Presenter, Texas Lawyers and the Disciplinary Process (2014)
• Presenter, Litigation and Advertising Issues (Nov. 2009)
• Author, Courtroom Evidence Examination, National Board of Trial Advocacy (2009)
• Ask a Super Lawyer,” Automated Camera Defenses, Texas Monthly (Oct. 2006)
• Author, Courtroom Evidence Examination, National Board of Trial Advocacy (2006)
• Co-Chair and Presenter, National Business Institute, How to Litigate Your First Civil Trial in Texas, Austin, Texas (2002)
• Panelist, Review of Litigation/Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, Conflicts of Interest Symposium: Cutting Edge Conflicts of Interest Hypotheticals, Austin, Texas (1997)
• Presenter, Advanced Civil Trial Course, Offering and Excluding Evidence, Houston, Texas (State Bar of Texas 1996)
• Presenter, Austin Bar Association, Offering and Excluding Evidence in Commercial Trials, Austin, Texas (1996)
• Presenter, Advanced Civil Trial Course, Sanctions and Alternatives to Sanctions, Houston, Texas (State Bar of Texas 1996)
• Presenter, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Texas Rules of Evidence: Predicates and Exclusions for Selected Rules, Lake Tahoe, Nevada (1996)
• Presenter, Advanced Civil Trial Course, Offering and Excluding Evidence, Fort Worth, Texas (State Bar of Texas 1996)
• Presenter, Advanced Civil Trial Course, Offering and Excluding Evidence, San Antonio, Texas (State Bar of Texas 1996)
• Panelist, Houston Board of Realtors, Dual Agency and Broker Liability, Houston, Texas (1986)
• Nova Health Systems, Preparing for the Jury Trial, San Antonio, Texas (1986)
• Author, Whom Do You Represent? Knowing Your Principals – Accidental Agency (co-author), 39 Texas Realtor 6 (Feb. 1986)
• Panelist, Texas Association of Realtors, Litigation Tips for the Unwary, Austin, Texas (1985)
• Author, Helicopteros Nacionales v. Hall: Clarifying the Limits of Personal Jurisdiction, 48 Texas Bar J. 651 (1985)

Representative Verdicts and Settlements:

• Secured $5.6 million final judgment in fiduciary-fraud litigation.
• Prosecuted $8 million fraudulent invoice scheme, favorable settlement reached.
• Secured dismissal with prejudice of multiple promissory estoppel claims relating to ownership of real property, including expungement of a lis pendens.
• Litigated fraud and construction defect claims in one of Austin's most complicated real estate-related cases, as reported by the Austin Business Journal, favorable settlement reached.
• Multiparty lead counsel in United States Superfund litigation arising from abandoned mining operation, favorable settlement reached.