Nelson J. Roach, a partner at the Roach Law Firm in Daingerfield, has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers for the 16th time. He was named to the list every year from 2009 through 2015 and 2018 through 2026.
Super Lawyers is a lawyer-rating service owned by Thomson Reuters. Each year, it publishes a list of attorneys in every state who have been recognized by their peers and evaluated through an independent research process. The designation appears on law firm websites and on billboards across Texas, but many people aren’t sure what it actually means or how important it is.
This post explains what it means to be named a Texas Super Lawyer, how attorneys are selected, whether lawyers can pay for a place on the list, and how the honor fits into the larger decision of choosing a lawyer after a serious injury.
Table of Contents
- Quick Highlights
- What Is a Texas Super Lawyer?
- How Are Texas Super Lawyers Chosen?
- Do Lawyers Pay to Be Named Super Lawyers?
- What Percentage of Texas Lawyers Make the List?
- How Many Times Has Nelson Roach Been Named a Texas Super Lawyer?
- What Kinds of Cases Does Nelson Roach Handle?
- What Is an AV Preeminent Rating, and How Does It Compare to Super Lawyers?
- Should an Award Like This Decide Which Lawyer You Hire?
- Talk to the Roach Law Firm About a Serious Injury Case in East Texas
Quick Highlights
- Nelson J. Roach has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers 16 times, from 2009 through 2015 and from 2018 through 2026
- Super Lawyers selects the top five percent of lawyers in each state for its list each year
- Attorneys do not pay to be listed
- Lawyers are selected through a four-step process that includes peer nominations, independent research on 12 indicators of achievement, evaluation by other lawyers in the same practice area, and a final selection
- Nelson Roach is recognized for his personal injury practice, which he has built from the firm’s office in Daingerfield
What Is a Texas Super Lawyer?
A Texas Super Lawyer is an attorney who has been selected for that year’s Texas edition of the Super Lawyers list. The list represents the top five percent of the lawyers in the state, chosen through a combination of peer nominations, independent research, and evaluations by attorneys in the same practice area.
The lists are published annually, state by state, in Super Lawyers magazine and in the organization’s online directory. Super Lawyers rates attorneys in more than 70 practice areas and from firms of every size, from solo practices to the largest firms in the country.
The organization limits its ratings to lawyers who can be hired and retained by the public. An attorney who works exclusively as in-house counsel for a corporation or for a government agency, for example, is not eligible.
The designation also does not carry over from one year to the next. Every attorney on the list must be selected again each year.
How Texas Super Lawyers are chosen (Source: Super Lawyers selection process).
How Are Texas Super Lawyers Chosen?
Super Lawyers uses a patented, multiphase selection process. Candidates are nominated or identified by researchers, scored on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, evaluated by top-scoring attorneys in their own practice area, and then compared with attorneys at firms of similar size.
| Step | What Happens | Who Is Involved |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nominations | An attorney is formally nominated by a peer or identified by the Super Lawyers research department | Other attorneys and the Super Lawyers research staff |
| 2. Independent research | Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators, including verdicts and settlements, experience, honors and awards, and pro bono and community service | The Super Lawyers research department |
| 3. Peer evaluation | The highest-scoring candidates in each practice area review and evaluate the other candidates in their field | A panel of attorneys in the same practice area |
| 4. Final selection | Candidates are grouped into four firm-size categories, and those with the highest point totals in each category are selected | Super Lawyers |
What Super Lawyers Checks Before the List Is Published
Before a list is published, Super Lawyers verifies each candidate’s standing with the state’s licensing authority. Each candidate is also asked to confirm that they have never been the subject of disciplinary or criminal proceedings, and the research staff conducts final searches for any matters that would reflect adversely on the attorney.
Do Lawyers Pay to Be Named Super Lawyers?
No. Attorneys are given the award based on a strict selection process, and buying advertising does not improve their chances of making the list.
What Percentage of Texas Lawyers Make the List?
Super Lawyers selects five percent of the lawyers in each state for its main list each year. Because selections are made annually, an attorney must earn a place on the list again each year.
For that reason, the number of times an attorney has been selected says more than any single year. Repeated selections over nearly two decades reflect a consistent assessment by peers and researchers over a long period of time.
How Many Times Has Nelson Roach Been Named a Texas Super Lawyer?
Nelson Roach has been named a Texas Super Lawyer 16 times. His Super Lawyers profile lists selections every year from 2009 through 2015 and every year from 2018 through 2026, and he is recognized for his work in personal injury.
The firm has previously written about his selections in April 2024 and September 2025. This page will be updated each year to reflect his most recent selection.
What Kinds of Cases Does Nelson Roach Handle?
Nelson Roach represents individuals and families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, including truck accidents, defective product cases, and other catastrophic accidents. Over more than 30 years of practice, he has handled cases throughout East Texas, and the Roach Law Firm also represents clients in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
Nelson Roach served as one of the lead lawyers in a case that resulted in a $730 million jury verdict in 2021. The case was brought by the family of an East Texas woman who was killed in a collision with a truck hauling a propeller for a Navy submarine. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case, but this award was groundbreaking. It was the fourth-largest jury verdict in the United States that year.
Nelson Roach was also a member of the legal team that represented the State of Texas in a landmark lawsuit against the tobacco industry, winning a $17 billion settlement. It was Big Tobacco’s first legal loss out of more than 800 cases spanning four decades.
Learn more about Nelson Roach’s other legal victories and awards here.
What Is an AV Preeminent Rating, and How Does It Compare to Super Lawyers?
Nelson Roach is also rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the service’s highest peer-reviewed rating. It is based on evaluations by practicing attorneys and judges and only 10 percent of attorneys hold an award this high.
Super Lawyers and Martindale-Hubbell evaluate attorneys in different ways:
| Rating | Texas Super Lawyers | Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent |
|---|---|---|
| Who evaluates | Peer nominations, Super Lawyers researchers, and a panel of attorneys in the same practice area | Practicing attorneys and judges who review the lawyer |
| What is measured | 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement | Legal knowledge, analytical ability, judgment, communication, experience, and ethical standards |
| Share of lawyers recognized | Five percent of the lawyers in each state, selected every year | About 10 percent of attorneys |
| Nelson Roach’s rating | Selected 16 times (2009 through 2015 and 2018 through 2026) | Rated AV Preeminent |
Should an Award Like This Decide Which Lawyer You Hire?
Nelson Roach’s Super Lawyers award is impressive, but there’s more you need to know before you hire an attorney.
Here are some questions you should ask before hiring a lawyer to represent you after a serious accident:
- Have you handled cases similar to mine, and what were the results?
- Have you tried cases like mine before a jury?
- How are your fees paid, and will I owe anything if the case is not successful?
- Who will handle my case day to day, and how often will I receive updates?
The answers to those questions, together with an attorney’s track record and reputation among other lawyers, can give a more complete picture than any single award.
The Roach Law Firm handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. Clients pay nothing upfront and owe nothing unless the firm wins their case.
Talk to the Roach Law Firm About a Serious Injury Case in East Texas
Nelson Roach’s 16 selections to Texas Super Lawyers reflect decades of work on behalf of people who have been seriously injured and families who have lost loved ones. The Roach Law Firm is based in Daingerfield and represents clients in complex personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout East Texas.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident in East Texas, contact the Roach Law Firm at (903) 645-7333 or online to schedule a free consultation and learn more about your legal options.
Nelson J. Roach is a partner at the Roach Law Firm in Daingerfield, Texas. Over the last 30 years, Nelson has represented thousands of clients in many groundbreaking cases. Read more…
