Rusty Hardin's Comments About Andy

Andy grew up in Abilene, Texas, attended the University of Texas as an undergraduate, and then graduated from Texas Tech law school in 1995. Andy was a rising star in the Harris County District Attorney's office when I had a case against him in one of the Harris County criminal courts. I was tremendously impressed with the way he handled the case, including listening to and interviewing the witnesses very carefully before telling me "no" to what I wanted him to do. Several months later, I offered him a job, and he has been absolutely indispensable to my practice since joining me in 1998. Andy is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in criminal law.

Andy is extremely bright, writes well, and is one of the best interviewers of witnesses I have ever seen. And he still finds time to be an excellent trial lawyer. In a recent two-year federal investigation of a major corporation in Houston, Andy performed so admirably in the investigation of the facts and the law that when we later teamed up with the same New York law firm in another case, the firm specifically requested that Andy be an integral part of the case. He has a searching mind and a nice, quiet manner that allows him to make both witnesses and opposing counsel comfortable while remaining a zealous advocate. Though he has concentrated primarily on criminal cases, Andy has taken an increasingly active role in the firm's civil cases, including being primarily responsible for a contract dispute tried in New York in which we represented the Russian Academy of Science. Andy is married with two young sons, Jude and Jackson, and a daughter, Julia. His wife Barbara is an attorney whom he met while they were both in law school at Texas Tech. Before taking on the full-time responsibility of raising their three children, Barbara worked in the appellate division of the Harris County District Attorney's office at the same time that Andy worked in the trial division. She continues to work on a contract basis with our firm and others as an appellate attorney.