Married to Lynda Brender, for 45 years, and the father of three – Sarah, a paralegal with Advanced Micro Devices in Austin; Erin, a board certified internal medical physician with Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, Oregon; and John, an attorney formerly serving as an Assistant District Attorney with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, now with the firm. Art has five grandchildren, Molly (14), Ellie (13), and Grace Blankenship (7), and Sulayman (8) and Rayan Rizvi (5).
• University of Texas, BA 1968, J.D. 1973
• Board Certified, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Personal Injury Trial Law
• Board Certified, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Criminal Law
• National Board of Trial Advocacy
• Licensed in all federal courts in Texas, the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, Federal Court of Claims, and the United States Supreme Court
• Lt.(jg) United States Navy, 1968-71
• NAACP “Outstanding Service in the Field of Civil Rights Award”
• Texas Woman’s Political Caucus “Good Guy Award”
• Eldon Mahon Inn of Court
• State Bar of Texas Pattern Jury Charge Committee
• Co-Chair, Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section,
• Texas State Bar
• President, Humane Society of North Texas
• Chairman, West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association
• Board Member, Tarrant County Bar Association
• Parish Council, St. Rita’s Catholic Church
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• “Texas Super Lawyers” – Thomson Reuters (2009 -2014)
• “Power Attorneys 2010 Award” – Fort Worth Business Press
• “2010 H.G. Wells Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award” – Tarrant County Trial Lawyers
• Author: “Police Reports – Driving While Intoxicated” – The American Journal of Criminal Law, Feburary, 1972
• “Attorneys of Excellence” – Fort Worth Business Press
• “Fifth Circuit Survey – Consumer Law” – Texas Tech Law Review, Vol. XVI (1985)
• “Plaintiff’s Procedural and Strategic Issues in Suing the Government” – Seminar: Suing and Defending Governmental Entities, State Bar of Texas (2008)