Rusty Hardin named a “Lion of the Texas Bar”

Rusty Hardin was named a “Lion of the Texas Bar” by the Texas legal news service Texas Lawbook and the Dallas Morning News. In the profile of Hardin titled “Rusty Hardin Loves Juries and Juries Love Him,” reporter Mark Curriden noted that while Hardin appreciates the media and public praise he’s received over his amazing career, Hardin’s true satisfaction comes from clients or the families of clients.

“I love it when the deck is stacked against us because it presents a wonderful challenge,” Hardin told Texas Lawbook. “In the Roger Clemens case, everyone in the country believed he was guilty. After the jury ruled for us, I saw Clemens with his wife and four boys huddled in the courtroom crying. There's no better feeling.”

The profile recounts some of Hardin’s cases from his famous cross examination of Playboy centerfold Anna Nicole Smith in an estate case  through his defense of Arthur Andersen in a white collar crime case and the many sports figures including Clemens he has defended.

Here are some excerpts:

Hardin on helping a teenager charged with theft:
“That is the greatest satisfaction as a lawyer, to know that I made a difference in people's lives. The high-profile cases are interesting, but sometimes it's the cases that never made the news that are most memorable to me.”

Hardin on success:
“I think the biggest surprise to me is how my career has gone,” he told the reporter. “I still think of myself as a prosecutor doing auto theft cases. Part of it is luck, but part of it is just how much I love being a lawyer.

“I love what I do so much that sometimes I forget to go home at the end of the day,” he said.

The story is in a series published by Texas Lawbook, a subscription news service.