Hon. Roy Ferguson
Judge Roy Ferguson presided for twelve years over a five-county court of general jurisdiction in far west Texas, covering roughly 20,000 square miles and over 20% of the US-Mexico border. During his nine-year standing assignment with the 8th Court of Appeals of Texas (2014-2023), he became the 32nd sitting district judge in Texas history to author a published appellate opinion. During his lengthy judicial career, he never had a judgment, verdict, or summary judgment overturned on appeal.
Judge Ferguson is dedicated to improving the quality of justice for all Texans. He is a commissioner on the Texas Children’s Commission and chair of its Child Welfare Attorney Ad Litem Standards of Representation Committee. He is an executive committee member of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, a Family Law Section councilmember and co-chair of its Judiciary Committee, a trustee and sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and a fellow of the Texas Bar College Society of Legal Scholars.
He is active in State Bar of Texas leadership, currently serving as chair of the Trial Subcommittee of the State Bar Court Rules Committee, on the Texas Taskforce for Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Law and the Texas Supreme Court’s Judicial Committee on Information Technology, and having served as liaison to the Computer & Technology Section, on the Judicial Section and GPSOLO Section councils, Texas Remote Proceedings Task Force, Uniform Case Management System Study Group, Judicial Needs Assessment Committee, NCSC Hybrid Proceedings Task Force, and the Judicial Council Civil Justice Committee’s Advisory Council.
Judge Ferguson’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. He is the 2024 recipient of the Robert R. Dawson Award, which recognizes outstanding service to improve the way Texas provides counsel for its poorest citizens accused of crimes (the first judge to ever receive this honor), and of the 2024 Dan Price Award, bestowed upon an exceptionally distinguished lawyer or judge who had a significant impact on the practice of family law (the third sitting judge ever to receive this honor). Judge Ferguson was named a 2025 “Legal Rebel” by the American Bar Association—a designation bestowed upon persons whose innovations remake the legal profession and set new standards that will guide the profession in the future.
Judge Ferguson is a frequent educational speaker to judges, lawyers, and law students around the world on topics including civil litigation and advocacy, family law, criminal law, child welfare law, legal and judicial ethics, procedural justice, artificial intelligence, virtual advocacy, social media, self-represented litigants, sovereign citizens, access to justice, and courtroom technology. He is the 2024 recipient of the Texas Bar College Pat Nester Outstanding Achievement in Continuing Legal Education Award, and was named the Texas Center for the Judiciary’s 2024 Exemplary Speaker. Judge Ferguson authors the “Let’s Talk Lawyering” column in the ABA Young Lawyers Magazine.
