I. Nelson Heggen

An Honors graduate of the University of Houston, Nelson achieved Board Certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law in record time, closely followed by Personal Injury Trial Law and admission to the National Board of Trial Advocates. He is most proud, though, of attaining through Martindale-Hubbell the peer-reviewed rating of “AV Preeminent®”, signifying that a large number of his peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence for legal knowledge, communication skills, and ethical standards.

Practicing in federal and state courts in Texas, Florida, Virginia, and Washington State, he stopped counting his jury trials as lead attorney after 60 and has tried a similar number of bench trials and arbitrations, on both defense and plaintiff sides. He has handled over 30 complex appeals in the Texas appellate system, including to the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and to the 5th and 11th Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals.

For about 20 years he was active as a guest instructor in ethics, medical malpractice law, and insurance law at the South Texas College of Law and for continuing education courses conducted by the Texas and the Houston Bar Associations, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.  Nowadays he enjoys mentoring lawyers one-to-one and in small groups.