Author Biographies: Texas Pretrial Practice

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Texas Pretrial Practice

About the Authors

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Judge Scott Brister is an honors graduate of both Duke University and the Harvard Law School. After graduation, he served as briefing attorney for Chief Justice Joe Greenhill of the Texas Supreme Court, and then as an associate with the law firm of Andrews & Kurth. In 1989, he was appointed by Gov. Bill Clements as judge of the 234th District Court in Harris County, and was re-elected to that position three times over the next eleven years. He was selected as Administrative Judge of the Harris County Civil District Courts in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, Judge Brister was elected as an Associate Justice of the First Court of Appeals, and eight months later was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Both courts serve Houston and 14 surrounding counties.

In 2003, Justice Brister was promoted again, returning to the Texas Supreme Court as a Justice. In addition to his previous service as a briefing attorney of that Court, he has served on the Supreme Court’s Rules Advisory Committee, as well as on task forces appointed to study sanctions and jury reforms. He is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Law. He is married to Julie Brister, and has four daughters.

Dan S. Boyd founded the Boyd Law Firm, P.C., in 2001. Before founding his small firm dedicated to litigation and arbitration, Mr. Boyd spent more than twenty years as a senior partner in three large national law firms. For two of those (Baker & McKenzie and Johnson & Gibbs) he served as national chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Mr. Boyd is also a former Chairman of the Business Litigation Section of the Dallas Bar Association. Mr. Boyd began his career doing trial work for Vinson & Elkins in Houston. During part of that time (1981), he served as Editor of the Houston Lawyer.

Mr. Boyd was an Adjunct Professor of Law at S.M.U. Law School from 1984 to 1987, where he taught Trial and Appellate Procedure. He has been board certified in Civil Trial Law since 1986, Civil Appellate Law since 1988, and has successfully tried dozens of jury trials in complex litigation. Mr. Boyd has spoken frequently at seminars and published numerous papers and articles on civil litigation and legal ethics. His writings have been cited for authority by several appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Texas.

Since 1988, Mr. Boyd has also served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, Hyde Park, New York.

Ellen A. Presby co-founded Mills Presby and Associates, L.L.P. in 1991, where she served as managing partner and head of the firm’s civil and appellate practice for 10 years. She joined Baron & Budd, P.C. as Special Counsel in 2001 to develop and try environmental mass tort cases.

Ms. Presby has lectured for the Advanced Civil Trial course and has taught trial skills courses through the Trial Skills seminar of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the Trial Advocacy class of Southern Methodist University Law School, and the Trial Skills Seminar of the Dallas Bar Association. Ms. Presby served on the State Bar Grievance Committee for six years, co-chairing a panel for three of those years. She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has served on the Texas Board of that organization. Ms. Presby maintains an active civil trial practice and has been a mediator and arbitrator.

Ms. Presby received her law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1984 and her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Davis in 1981.