Hon. Jim Jordan

Dallas, Texas

Retired Judge Jim Jordan has over forty years trial and appellate practice in federal and state courts, judicial service in the 44th District Court and three terms in the 160th District Court; primarily in areas of complex business, commercial, contract, energy/oil & gas, partnership, employment and non-compete agreements, fiduciary/professional malpractice, real estate and municipal law. Jim is now available as a mediator, arbitrator or private judge. He sits as a visiting judge by assignment, and is willing to travel for engagements.

Judge Jordan has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1998 and was awarded the 2013 Trial Judge of the Year by the Dallas Chapter. In 2017 he received The Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates Guardian Ad Litem Civil Justice Recognition.

Jim is licensed in Texas and in the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and United States District Court – Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas.

Education  + -

  • Texas Tech University School of Law
    Doctor of Jurisprudence   1977
  • Austin College
    Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and English Literature   1970-1974
  • National Judicial College
    Certificate of Professionalism General Jurisdiction Trial Skills   2007-2013
  • University of Nevada
    Masters in Judicial Studies
  • Texas Board of Legal Specialization
    Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist   1984 - Present
  • State Bar of Texas
    Continuing Legal Education Planning Committee

Experience  + -

  • 160th District Court, Dallas, Texas
    Judge   2007 - 2018
  • Dallas County
    Local Administrative District Judge   2007 - 2009
  • Dallas County Juvenile Board
    Judicial member   2007 - 2009
  • Dallas County Civil District Courts
    Presiding Judge   2009
  • Paul Quinn College, Legal Studies
    Adjunct Professor   2010 - 2012
  • Texas Tech School of Law, Regional Externship Program
    Adjunct Professor   2013 - 2016
  • Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLP, Dallas, Texas
    Founding Partner; 1st Administrative Partner   2000 - 2006
  • The Jordan Law Firm/Jordan, Cox & Reznicek, LLP/Jordan & Blanscet, Dallas, Texas
    Founder; Managing Partner   1996 - 2000
  • Middleberg, Riddle & Gianna; Dallas, Texas
    Chair of Commercial Litigation   1987 - 1995
  • 44th District Court, Dallas, Texas
    Judge   1986
  • Linz & Jordan, Dallas, Texas
    Partner   1984 - 1986
  • Garland, Texas
    Assistant City Attorney   1982 - 1984
  • Roelke & Jordan, Dallas, Texas
    Partner   1981 - 1983
  • Dallas, Texas; Solo Practice
    Attorney
  • Bill Wischkaemper, Lubbock, Texas
    Associate   1977 - 1978

Memberships & Affiliations  + -

  • Texas Board of Legal Specialization
    Civil Trial Law Exam Commission
  • State Bar of Texas
    District 6A Grievance Committee
  • State Bar of Texas
    Judicial Ethics Committee
  • ABA National Conference of State Trial Judges
    Member; Executive Committee; Co-Chair Judicial Edu Committee; Chair Membership Committee
  • (Criminal Justice Act, 18 USC Sec. 3006A) for criminal appointments in US District Courts.
    Prior Panel Member
  • American Bar Foundation
    Life Fellow
  • Texas Bar Foundation
    Life Fellow
  • American Board of Trial advocates
    Life Fellow
  • Dallas Bar Association
    Life Fellow
  • Dallas Young Lawyers Foundation
    Fellow
  • Texas Tech Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Externship Program Paul Quinn College, Business and Legal Studies
    Prior Adjunct Classroom Professor
  • Southern Methodist University School of Law
    Prior Adjunct Faculty for Trial Advocacy Course
  • Louisiana State University School of Law
    Prior Adjunct Faculty for Trial Advocacy Course
  • University of North Texas College of Law
    Founders Board Member
  • National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Trial and Deposition programs
    Prior Faculty
  • 2007 National High School Mock Trial
    Final Championship Round Judicial Panel
  • Dallas Shakespeare Festival
    Board Member   1987 - 1990
  • Garland Municipal Bond Committee
    1982
  • Eagle Scout Troop 800 Boy Scout
    Assistant Scout Master

Honors & Awards  + -

  • Awarded Diploma – Teaching Advocacy Skills – by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy at the Harvard Law School, Cambridge , Massachusetts
  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Dallas Chapter 2013 Trial Judge of the Year.
  • The Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Guardian Ad Litem Civil Justice Recognition
  • National Judicial College, Certificate of Professionalism General Jurisdiction Trial Skills
  • Garland Bar Association, past President
  • Dallas Bar Association Jo Anna Moreland Outstanding Committee Chair Award, Courthouse Committee
    2008
  • Hartman Judicial Pro Bono Services Award
    2010
  • Texas Tech Law School Alumni, Daniel H. Benson Public Service Award

Speaking / Authoring / Seminars  + -

Without Fire, Food, Drink or Candle (or even Tobacco) – Jury Service in the Eighteenth Century and the Trial of Thomas Hardy for High Treason. Presentation to the Dallas Bar Association Bench/Bar Conference, October 2017.

Evidentiary Rules Not in the Rules of Evidence – And other Evidence Problems: Paper and presentation, 2017 and 2018 Texas Bar Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course.

Language of Justice: Removing Language Barriers to Justice in the Nation’s Courts. July 30, 2015 presentation at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago for the Judicial Division, National Conference of State Trial Judges, serving as the moderator for panelists Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye Supreme Court of California; Chief Justice Edward Chavez Supreme Court of New Mexico; and Judge Christopher Yates, Michigan State Court.

Summary Judgment Motions – What the Judges Want to See and Not See in Their Courts. July 10, 2015 judicial panel Texas Bar Association Advanced Personal Injury Course.

How Not To Lose Your Case – Tips for Pretrial and Trial Error Presentation; panelist with Judge Ken Molberg and Moderator Anne Johnson of Haynes & Boone, May 8, 2015 DBA Trial Skills Section.

Views from the Bench on Transitioning from City Attorney to Judge. June 9, 2015 panel discussion, DBA Government Law Section.

A Judicial Perspective on Deposition Disputes and the Use of Depositions at Trial. 2014 Winning at Deposition: Skills and Strategy Program. Sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law.

What Judges Want; Insurance Issues and Disputes. The University of Texas School of Law 2014 Insurance Law Institute.

Judicial Panel – Dos and Don’ts; 2014 State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Trial Course.

Guardian Ad Litem and Attorney Ad Litem: Panel member Dallas Bar Association scheduled for 2014 Bench/Bar Conference.

What Civil Court Judges Want You to Know: Judicial Panel Roundtable 2014, Sponsored by the National Business Institute.

Ethics and Film/TV Law. 2014 Texas State Bar Annual Meeting.

Strategies for Planning an Effective Voir Dire: ABA Webinar, April 8, 2014.

A Comparison of the Primary Procedural Differences between Federal and State Court Rules: Presentation Dallas, July 10, and Houston, August 28, 2013. Texas Bar Advanced Personal Injury Course.

Current Expert Issues: Paper and presentation San Antonio July 27-29, Dallas August 24-26, Houston October 26-28, 2011. Texas Bar Advanced Civil Trial Course.

Jury Selection; Paper and presentation for State Bar of Texas - Suing and Defending Governmental Entities, Summer 2009; presentation repeated to Business Litigation Section, DBA, September 2009, and to Tort and Insurance Section, DBA, January 2010

E-Filing Practice Tips, published in the December 2011 issue of Headnotes, a publication of the Dallas Bar Association.

Trends in Dallas County State Courts: Panel member Dallas Bar Association, 2013 Bench/Bar Conference.

Effective Use of Experts in Litigation and at Trial: DBA Judiciary Committee CLE, September 2013.

Dallas Bar Association Trial Academy Faculty, 2012-13.

Tips for Bench Trials: March 2013 presentation Dallas Bar Association Friday Clinic.

Civility and Professionalism: January 2012 lecture to the Grayson County Bar Association.

The Law and Ethics; Panel member for “Legal Ethics Implications of Developments in Human Memory,” Ninth Annual Austin College Law Symposium, March 2012, Sherman, Texas.

Panel member "What Every Civil Litigator Needs to Know about Criminal Law" co-sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association's Judiciary Committee, CLE Committee, and Criminal Law Section: March 3, 2011.

Panel member "Civility Matters" presented by the American Board of Trial Advocates: May 12, 2011.

Earl Warren: The Man and His Court – A 40 year Retrospective; Panel Moderator for “The Court and Civil Rights,” Sixth Annual Austin College Law Symposium, March 2009, Sherman, Texas.

Defective Construction: Interrelationship of the Property Damage Trigger, Montrose Language, and Particular Part Exclusions; Presentation at 14th Annual Insurance Law Institute sponsored by the State Bar of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law, October 2009.

Do’s & Don’ts for the Advocate in the Trial Court; Judges’ Panel, for State Bar of Texas – Advanced Evidence & Discovery Course, May 2007.

Faculty for Police Supervisor’s Update, Institute for Law Enforcement, Center for American and International Law, April 2005.

Use and Cross of Expert Witness; Demonstration for State Bar of Texas - Suing and Defending Governmental Entities, July 2002.

Responding to Litigation, Paper and presentation for Texas Public Pool Council, January 1997.

Managing Outside Counsel; Paper and presentation for Texas City Attorney Association, June 1995.

Collection of Judgments; Paper and presentation for State Bar of Texas - Advanced Civil Trial Seminar, Fall 1993; Repeated and updated for State Bar of Texas - Selected Issues in Family and Civil Litigation, Winter 1994.

The Legal Issues of Problem Collections in Texas; Paper and presentation for National Business Institute, Inc., January 1993.

Special Problems with Special Defects; Paper and presentation for Texas City Attorney Association, June 1992.

Collecting Judgments in Texas; Paper and presentation for National Business Institute, Inc., May 1992.

Contribution and Indemnity under the Tort Reform Legislation; Paper and presentation for the Texas City Attorney Association, November 1988.