The Patrick A. Nester Outstanding Achievement in CLE Award

This award honors a Texas attorney for outstanding achievement in CLE as a course director, speaker, author, or creator of a new course and highlights their significant impact on the legal community’s ongoing education and professional development. The award is named in honor of Patrick A. Nester of Driftwood, Texas, who served as the Executive Director of the Texas Bar College until his retirement in 2017. Mr. Nester was also the Director of TexasBarCLE, the State Bar of Texas’ CLE department, from 1986 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2016.

2024 Recipient – Hon. Roy Ferguson

Judge Roy Ferguson (2013-present) presides over the 394th District Court of Texas, a five-county court of general jurisdiction covering roughly 20,000 square miles and over 20% of the US-Mexico border. He was the 32nd sitting district judge in Texas history to author a published appellate opinion, which he issued during his nine-year assignment with the 8^th Court of Appeals of Texas.

Judge Ferguson’s commitment to justice extends beyond the courtroom. He is a commissioner and Executive Committee member of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, a commissioner on the Texas Children’s Commission, and Chair of the Child Welfare Attorney Ad Litem Standards of Representation Committee. Recognized as a leading expert on court technology and remote proceedings, he serves or served on the Texas Taskforce for Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Law, Texas Supreme Court’s Judicial Committee on Information Technology, Uniform Case Management System Study Group, Judicial Needs Assessment Committee, the NCSC Hybrid Proceedings Task Force, the Judicial Council Civil Justice Committee’s Advisory Council, and as a committee chair on the Texas Remote Proceedings Task Force.

Judge Ferguson is active in State Bar of Texas leadership, serving on the State Bar Rules Committee and the governing boards of the Family Law, GPSolo, Judicial, and Computer & Technology Sections. Judge Ferguson is a trustee and sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and a member of the Texas Bar College and the Champions of Justice Society. His passion, however, is teaching. He is a frequent educational speaker to judges, lawyers, and law students, having spoken for the National Judicial College, Texas Center for the Judiciary, American Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, and TexasBarCLE, on topics including family law, criminal law, child welfare law, legal and judicial ethics, procedural justice, litigation techniques, virtual advocacy, social media, challenging litigants and sovereign citizens, pro bono and public defense, and more. He has addressed the judiciary of several countries and numerous states regarding virtual justice, and was the keynote speaker at the launch of the Iowa Remote Proceedings Taskforce. A prolific writer, Judge Ferguson authors the “Let’s Talk Lawyering” column in the ABA Young Lawyers Magazine. His articles have twice been featured in the “Best of the ABA” compilation. He is one of the best-known judges on social media (Twitter/X: @JudgeFergusonTX), which he uses to educate the public about the justice system in an uplifting, entertaining, and ethical way.