5 Houston Center, 1401 McKinney, Suite 2250, Houston, TX 77010

© 2025 All Rights Reserved

"This firm tries cases. They’re not afraid to do it."
– Co-Counsel
"I’ll never find a firm that will take my personal needs more to heart than Rusty and his team.”
– RH&A Client

Joe Roden

PARTNER
P 713-652-9000 | F 713-652-9800
jroden@rustyhardin.com | vCard |

Rusty Hardin’s Comments About Joe:
Joe grew up in Liberty, Texas, and attended the University of Texas as an undergraduate, where he graduated in 1988. He then went into the U.S. Marine Corps. Joe attained the rank of first lieutenant and was a decorated officer in the Marine Corps during Desert Storm, the first Gulf War. After leaving the Marine Corps, he graduated from the University of Houston Law Center with honors and then clerked for Justice Murry Cohen on the First Court of Appeals. After clerking for the Court of Appeals, he joined McGinnis, Lochridge and Kilgore, where he did primarily appellate work, an area of concentration he has continued while at our firm.

Joe is an excellent appellate attorney and continues to consider that his primary vocation. He is the immediate past chair of the Houston Bar Association appellate practice section. He proudly refers to himself as an “appellate geek.” In reality, however, he is far more than a one-note artist. He has increasingly taken the lead in developing and managing complex personal injury and business litigation cases that started out with forlorn potential. Through his sheer determination and legal imagination, he has achieved incredibly favorable settlements in several of these thorny cases during the last few years. He has done a remarkable job conducting the discovery for these cases and preparing them for trial. Joe has also been a wonderful asset and resource in assisting the other attorneys in the office with instant high-quality legal research and writing on short notice for a wide variety of cases. Joe concentrates exclusively on civil cases.

Joe is married, and he and his wife Tamara have two children, Amelia, a graduate of Trinity University, and Tamara, a graduate of the University of Houston.

  • Education
    • J.D., cum laude, University of Houston Law Center, 1995
    • B.A., University of Texas, 1988
  • Court Admissions
    • State Bar of Texas
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • Publications & Speaking Engagements
    • Scope of Remand, 30th Annual Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course, September 12-13, 2013, Austin, Texas
    • Post-Trial Motions, Practicing Before the 1st and 14th Courts of Appeals, South Texas College of Law, May 21, 2004
    • Strategies and Tactics to Strengthen the Strong Appeal and Save the Weak One, Civil Appellate
      Course for Trial Practitioners, South Texas College of Law, December 6, 2002 & HBA Continuing Legal Education Seminar, November 8, 2002
    • The Intersection Between Civil and Criminal Trials, Harris County Civil District Judges’ Retreat, San Antonio, Texas, August 6, 2003 & Advanced Civil Trial Law Conference, South Texas College of Law, February 21, 2003
  • Professional Memberships
    • Houston Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section – Past Chair
    • Houston Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section – Secretary (2009), Treasurer (2010)
    • State Bar of Texas – Member
  • Honors & Awards
    • First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, 1988-1992
      • Combat Action Ribbon
      • Navy Commendation Medal
      • Kuwait Liberation Medal
    • Best Lawyers, rated in Appellate Practice, 2018-2025
    • Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2009-2021, 2023-2024
    • Texas Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters, 2005
    • Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2022-2025
    • Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2021-2024