LONGVIEW – Trial lawyer and former federal Judge T. John Ward of Ward, Smith & Hill is among five recipients to earn the 2022 Texas Bar Foundation’s Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award.
The Texas Bar Foundation honor is given to attorneys who have practiced law for more than 50 years and who adhere to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession. Judge Ward joins a long list of esteemed practitioners who have received the honor since it was established in 1974.
The Texas Bar Foundation will recognize Judge Ward at its annual dinner in June.
Judge Ward is a former U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas who managed one of the busiest dockets in the federal judiciary. In 12 years on the bench, he handled more than 150 jury trials, presided over hundreds of patent cases, complex commercial cases and class-action lawsuits, and held more than 150 claim construction hearings. He developed an impeccable reputation as one of the leading authorities on complex issues surrounding intellectual property.
During his tenure as a federal judge, Judge Ward served on the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Court Management, an appointment by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist from 2003 to 2006. He was reappointed in 2009 for a second term by Chief Justice John Roberts. Chief Judge Paul R. Michel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit requested Judge Ward serve as a member of the National Patent Jury Instruction Project.
Throughout his career, Judge Ward has received many accolades for his work as a trial judge and trial attorney, including the Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates Trial Judge of the Year in 2009; American Lawyer magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential People in IP (Intellectual Property) in 2010; and Managing Intellectual Property magazine’s Outstanding Achievement in Intellectual Property in 2012. Judge Ward is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Since returning to private practice in 2011, Judge Ward has focused on handling patent disputes, commercial litigation, mediations and arbitrations.
Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has tried more than 350 cases to verdict, earning a national reputation in high-stakes claims involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, oil and gas matters, bad faith insurance claims, and serious personal injury claims. The firm frequently assists lawyers nationwide in complex cases before Texas juries. To learn more about the firm, visit https://www.wsfirm.com.
