Richard R. Orsinger
Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP
Recognized since 1987
San Antonio, Texas
Appellate Practice
Family Law
Richard Orsinger is well-regarded as one of Texas’ top family law and appellate lawyers. He offers clients unparalleled experience gained over the course of an esteemed career that has lasted for more than 40 years.
In that time, his peers have repeatedly recognized him for his legal acumen, dedication to hard work, and to the integrity of his profession. The list of awards bestowed upon him from a variety of legal organizations and publications is impressive.
Richard has been named to The Best Lawyers in America in Family Law listing each year since 1987 and in Appellate Law since 2007.
In 1996, Richard was honored with the Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education from the State Bar of Texas and has garnered four State Bar Certificates of Merit. He received a State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation in 2001 for “innovative leadership and relentless pursuit of excellence for continuing legal education.” The same year, Richard earned the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section’s Dan R. Price Award for outstanding contributions to family law.
In 2003, Richard was awarded the prestigious Sam Emison Award by the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists for his accomplishments in family law.
In 2007, Richard was honored as the state’s top Family Lawyer in Texas Lawyer newspaper’s Go-To Guide, which is published every five years.
He is also one of just two attorneys to have earned the College of the State Bar of Texas’ Franklin Jones Best Continuing Legal Education Article Award twice (2009 and 2013) and was the 2008 recipient of the State Bar of Texas’ Best Family Law CLE Article of the Year Award.
Richard was recognized in 2011 and again in 2012 as Lawyer of the Year in Family Law, Dallas. He also was included in the listing of the Top 10 attorneys in the state by Texas Super Lawyers five times: 2009-2010, 2012-2014. He was named among Super Lawyers’ Top 100 Lawyers in Texas from 2003 to 2021.
In 2014, Richard received the prestigious Dan Rugeley Price Memorial Award from the Texas Bar Foundation in recognition of his dedication to the legal profession. He also recently received the Best Non-Judicial Speaker at the Texas Center for the Judiciary award and presented a paper on “Same-Sex Marriage and Gender Identity Issues.”
In 2021, Richard was inducted into the State Bar of Texas Family Law Hall of Legends, an honor recognizing those attorneys practicing for a minimum of 40 years and who have had an important impact on Family Law in Texas. He is only the 22nd lawyer to receive the honor.
Richard is Board Certified in Family Law and Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to excellence in both of these areas of law. Board Certification in Family Law requires continuing education and involvement in issues including marriage, adoption, divorce, custody, support, and ownership of property acquired before and during marriage. Similarly, Board Certification in Civil Appellate Law requires continuing education and involvement in issues such as the review by appellate courts of final decisions from civil county and district courts (non-criminal).
With so many accolades and recognitions, it comes as no surprise that his colleagues and peers consider him a thought leader and innovator. As such, he often mentors other attorneys and has written over 250 CLE articles. Richard also serves on several boards and chairs numerous organizations for the betterment of the legal community and to better serve his clients.
One reason Richard Orsinger has been so highly regarded and honored throughout his career is that he understands that, no matter how agreeable a divorce may seem, the process still causes a massive imbalance. There are always uncertainties and they can be very destabilizing, both financially and psychologically. The process of breaking a tie that’s been so close, usually for so long, has its consequences.
Awards and accolades aside, when all is said and done, Richard’s goal is for his clients to come out from under the dark cloud of yesterday and look forward to the silver lining of tomorrow.
- 425 Soledad, Suite 550
San Antonio, TX 78205
- The University of Texas, J.D., graduated 1975
- The University of Texas, B.A., graduated 1972
- Texas, State Bar of Texas
- Supreme Court of Texas, Jury Charge Task Force - Member
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization - Family Law Legal Assistants Testing Commission (2006-2012)
- Texas Judicial Committee on Information Technology - Supreme Court Liason
- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers - Fellow
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Member
- Dallas Bar Association - Member
- Houston Bar Association - Member
- San Antonio Bar Association - Member
- Supreme Court of Texas Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure - Chair, Rules 16-165a Subcommittee
- Supreme Court of Texas Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure - Member
- Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists - Member and Former President
- Texas Bar Foundation - Fellow
- Texas Family Law Foundation - Member and Founding Chairman
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
12 The Best Lawyers in America® awards
3 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America awards
- Family Law, San Antonio (2025)
- Family Law, Dallas (2011)
- Appellate Practice
- Family Law
- Appellate
- Arbitration and Mediation
- Community Property
- Distribution
- Divorce
- Equitable Division
- Family Law Appeals
- Litigation
- Marital Settlement Agreements
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Best Lawyers in America, 1987, 1995-2025
- Texas Super Lawyers, 2003-2024, Thomson Reuters
Lawdragon 500 Leading Family Lawyers, 2024
- Family Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America, 2011-2012
- Top 100 Lawyers in Texas, Texas Super Lawyers, 2003-2021
- Top Family Lawyer in Texas, Texas Lawyer newspaper, 2007
- Top 50 Attorneys in Central and West Texas, Texas Super Lawyers, 2004-2011; 2013-2024
- Top 10 Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014
- Top Five Family Lawyer in Texas, Texas Lawyer newspaper Go-To Guide, 2002 & 2012
- Best Personal Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, 2009
- Franklin Jones Award for Best CLE Article, College of the State Bar of Texas, 2009 and 2013
- Best Family Law Continuing Legal Education Article Award for Different Ways to Trace Separate Property, State Bar of Texas Family Law Section, 2008
- State Bar of Texas Certificates of Merit, 2004
- Top 100 Lawyers in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Super Lawyers, 2003
- Sam Emison Award, Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, 2003
- Association for Continuing Legal Excellence Best Program Award, 2002
- Dan Rugeley Price Award, Texas Bar Foundation, 2001 and 2014
- State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation, 2001
- State Bar of Texas Certificate of Merit, 1997
- Gene Cavin Award, For Excellence in Continuing Legal Education, State Bar of Texas, 1996
- State Bar of Texas Certificate of Merit, 1995 & 1996
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