AUSTIN – The Honorable Joseph M. Nixon has joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation as a Senior Fellow in its Center for Economic Freedom. Foundation President Brooke Rollins made the announcement at last night’s closing dinner of the 6th Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature.
“Joe Nixon was the architect behind the sweeping lawsuit and medical malpractice reforms that have become the gold standard for the rest of America,” Rollins said. “His practical expertise on legal issues will greatly enhance our research capabilities.”
Nixon represented Houston’s District 133 for six terms in the Texas House. During his last two terms, Nixon chaired the House Civil Practices Committee. In 2003, Nixon authored a comprehensive tort reform bill (HB 4) and its companion constitutional amendment (HJR 3 a/k/a Proposition 12). That legislation has reduced medical liability premiums in Texas by almost 40% and increased the number of physicians practicing in Texas by nearly 6,000.
Nixon will maintain his legal practice and “of counsel” status with the Houston law firm of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P., during his affiliation with the Foundation.
“The variety and quality of research produced by the Texas Public Policy Foundation was tremendously helpful to me when I was a legislator,” Nixon said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join them in supporting our shared principles of free markets, limited government, and a balanced legal system.”
Nixon holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas A&M University, where he was a student of the Foundation’s present chairman, Dr. Wendy Lee Gramm. Nixon attended law school at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. He has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1991, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, all four Texas districts of the U.S. District Court system, and the Texas Supreme Court.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
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