Robert Alden

Robert Alden enjoyed a career as a commercial litigator for a number of years before he decided to focus on serving people who had been hurt, instead of defending wrongdoers and trying to protect insurance companies. So in 2001 he joined Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP and began representing plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits as well as plaintiffs in business disputes. Alden is listed in both Best Lawyers in America and Texas Monthly’s Super Lawyers. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

“I switched to plaintiff work from defense work because I like helping people with problems that often are the most significant problem in their lives and are beyond their ability to deal with on their own,” Alden says. “It feels good to help people in need like that, especially in the area of personal injury, because they’re people who have had their lives turned upside down.”

Alden’s trial work has earned him acceptance into two prestigious professional organizations, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Lawyers can only be admitted into these groups by invitation and must meet rigorous requirements dealing not only with trial experience and ability, but also with civility and professionalism. In October of 2017, Alden was elected to a three-year term on the ABOTA Foundation’s Board of Trustees. He was elected to serve as president of the Texas chapters of ABOTA, TEX-ABOTA, for 2020.

Alden earned his undergraduate degree, with honors, from the University of Texas in 1980, where he was a student in the prestigious Plan II honors program. Before entering graduate school, he spent two years teaching and coaching at a boarding school in Connecticut. In 1987, he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence and Masters in Public Affairs degrees with high honors from the University of Texas. Alden received honors in law school as a Chancellor and Order of the Coif, and he served on the editorial board of the Texas Law Review.

Alden began his legal career as an attorney with McGinnis Lochridge & Kilgore in Austin, focusing on commercial litigation. In 1994, he opened his own practice, before joining Bracewell & Patterson in 1997. He stayed with that firm for four years before joining Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP.

Although Alden still handles commercial litigation, the majority of his practice is devoted to plaintiff’s personal injury cases, including medical malpractice, motorvehicle accidents, premises liability, and products liability.

His work has resulted in several multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements. Other of Alden’s cases, while not resulting in large monetary results, have improved lives for many Texans. In one of these cases, the City of Austin was forced to change its drainage-fee ordinance because it discriminated against multiple-family residences by charging them significantly higher drainage rates than were charged to single-family and commercial property owners.

While Alden gets satisfaction from helping individuals, he also relishes the competitive aspects of being in court. “To some extent, a jury trial is like teaching a class—you’ve got people you need to educate—and I enjoy doing that,” he says. “But there’s definitely a competitive aspect to it. It gets your adrenalin going. It can be a real battle of wits, especially when you’re dealing with opposing expert witnesses.”

Unlike some lawyers who will employ “scorched earth” tactics in their quest for courtroom victories, Alden believes that attorneys must project civility and professionalism at all times.

“I think that both the judges and the juries appreciate lawyers that do things the right way, and that are well prepared,” he says. “The jury has to trust you. If it doesn’t, you’re never going to win.”