Legally Reviewed by R. Kelly Donaldson on August 4, 2026
Super Lawyers is a peer-driven rating service that recognizes no more than five percent of the attorneys licensed in a given state, and selection is based on independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations rather than paid advertising or self-submitted applications. Attorneys cannot buy their way onto the list, and there is no application fee or membership requirement that affects the outcome. The organization publishes results across more than 70 practice areas each year, so inclusion signals that an attorney has built a reputation among fellow lawyers for skill, professionalism, and results in a specific area of practice, evaluated through a process that runs independently of any law firm’s own marketing.
Fahl & Donaldson is proud to announce that R. Kelly Donaldson, one of the firm’s name partners, was selected to the 2023 Texas Super Lawyers list, where he was recognized as a top-rated Construction Litigation attorney. Mr. Donaldson has represented owners, contractors, subcontractors, sureties, and suppliers in Texas construction matters since 1986, and his selection reflects the depth of experience our construction law team brings to every project and dispute we handle. Please join us in congratulating Mr. Donaldson on this recognition, and read on to learn more about how the Super Lawyers selection process works, how it applies to construction litigation specifically, and what it means for our clients.
What Is the Texas Super Lawyers List?
Super Lawyers was introduced in 1991 as a rating service for outstanding lawyers, and it has since grown into one of the most widely recognized peer-review honors in the legal profession. Each state’s list is compiled annually and published both online and in a dedicated magazine issue, and the underlying research and evaluation process runs independently of any law firm’s own marketing or advertising efforts.
Because the list draws from more than 70 practice areas, a Construction Litigation designation carries specific meaning. It tells prospective clients and referring attorneys that the recognized lawyer’s peer nominations and research profile were concentrated in construction contract disputes, payment claims, and related litigation, rather than a broader or unrelated field of practice. A separate, related list, Super Lawyers Rising Stars, recognizes younger or less experienced attorneys under a similar but distinct set of eligibility rules.
Texas is one of the larger state lists Super Lawyers publishes each year, reflecting the size of the state’s licensed attorney population and the breadth of practice areas represented across its major metropolitan areas, including Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. Construction Litigation is evaluated as its own distinct category within that larger list, separate from general business litigation, real estate, or insurance coverage categories, even though a given attorney’s work may touch on more than one of those related fields over the course of a career.
How Attorneys Are Selected for Super Lawyers Recognition
The Super Lawyers selection process is patented and follows the same general structure in every state, combining nominations from other attorneys with independent research and a formal peer review before any name reaches the published list. Understanding each stage helps explain why the designation carries weight within the legal community and among clients researching a construction attorney.
- Peer nominations: Licensed attorneys nominate colleagues they have personally observed in practice, and self-nominations are not permitted.
- Independent research: A research team evaluates each candidate against a set of weighted indicators, including verdicts, settlements, and professional experience.
- Peer review panels: Attorneys with the highest point totals in a given practice area rate other candidates in that same field on a standardized scale.
- Verification and publication: Staff confirm each selectee’s standing with the state bar and run additional research before the final list is published.
Only the candidates with the highest combined scores within their firm-size category move forward to publication, which is why Super Lawyers describes its published list as representing the top five percent of attorneys in the state, with Rising Stars limited to the top two and a half percent of eligible younger attorneys. Comparing candidates within firm-size categories, rather than across the entire state at once, is meant to keep the evaluation fair between solo practitioners, small firms like Fahl & Donaldson, and larger regional or national firms.
R. Kelly Donaldson’s Background in Texas Construction Litigation
Mr. Donaldson earned his B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1979 and his J.D. from the Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1986, the same year he began practicing construction law in Texas. Before attending law school, he worked in the foundation drilling industry, which gave him firsthand exposure to the technical side of construction projects before he ever represented a client in a dispute over one.
Over the decades since, Mr. Donaldson has represented owners, engineers, EPC contractors, general contractors, sureties, lenders, subcontractors, suppliers, manufacturers, and fabricators across energy, industrial, commercial, public works, and religious organization construction projects. His representative work has included detailed engineering and design contracts, master service agreements for energy and industrial projects, engineering procurement and construction agreements, design-build agreements, and owner-contractor agreements structured as either a stipulated sum or a cost-of-the-work-plus-a-fee arrangement.
Mr. Donaldson has also represented clients in dispute resolution outside of litigation, including mechanics’ and materialmen’s lien matters, payment bond claims following a contractor default, and disputes over defective design or construction work. He has represented clients through jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations in state and federal courts across Texas, and his Super Lawyers profile reflects continued recognition in the years since 2023, including a multi-year selectee distinction. Mr. Donaldson is also recognized by Martindale-Hubbell for professional ability and ethical standards, and he has appeared in Best Lawyers in America listings alongside his Super Lawyers recognition.
Common Types of Construction Disputes We Help Clients Resolve
Construction Litigation as a practice area covers a wide range of disagreements, and the type of dispute often determines which legal strategy applies. Contract disputes arise when one party believes another failed to meet its obligations under a construction agreement, while payment disputes involve unpaid work, materials, or services, sometimes accompanied by a mechanics’ or materialmen’s lien filed to secure payment.
Construction defect claims involve allegations that completed work, such as a foundation, roof, or building system, does not meet the applicable plans, specifications, or codes, and these disputes often require input from engineers or other technical professionals. Delay and disruption claims focus on lost time and productivity, whether from weather, scope changes, or unforeseen site conditions, and insurance coverage disputes can arise alongside any of these issues when a policyholder and insurer disagree about whether a loss is covered. Our team, including a construction insurance claims attorney and litigators who focus on contract and payment disputes, evaluates each of these categories with the specific facts of the project in mind.
Regulatory and compliance issues, such as permitting, zoning, and safety violations, can also give rise to a dispute, as can disagreements between a general contractor and its subcontractors or suppliers over scope of work, change orders, or the quality of materials supplied. Because a single project can generate more than one of these disputes at the same time, an attorney who regularly handles construction matters is often better positioned to see how a payment dispute, a defect allegation, and an insurance coverage question may all connect to the same underlying set of facts.
Why Construction Disputes Call for Focused Legal Experience
Construction projects involve owners, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, sureties, and design professionals, and disputes can surface at any phase of a project, from initial planning through final completion. An attorney representing a party in one of these disputes benefits from understanding both the underlying construction process and the legal theories that apply to contract interpretation, lien law, and dispute resolution.
Parties facing a construction dispute generally have several ways to resolve a construction dispute, ranging from direct negotiation and mediation to arbitration and formal litigation, and the right path often depends on what the underlying contract requires. Our Houston construction law team evaluates each dispute with an eye toward the most efficient resolution, while preparing every matter as though it may ultimately require trial or arbitration, since that preparation tends to strengthen a client’s position regardless of which path the dispute eventually takes.
Many construction contracts include their own dispute resolution clause, requiring mediation or arbitration before either party can file a lawsuit, so reviewing the governing contract is typically one of the first steps in evaluating a dispute. An attorney who regularly handles construction matters can help a client determine which forum applies, what deadlines the contract or Texas law may impose, and how a dispute involving a surety, lender, or multiple subcontractors is likely to unfold compared with a straightforward two-party disagreement.
The Research and Standards Behind Super Lawyers Selection
According to the Super Lawyers selection process as published by the organization, candidates are evaluated on 12 separate indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, including verdicts and settlements, representative transactions, honors, bar and professional activity, and scholarly work. These indicators are weighted differently depending on the practice area, and no single factor determines the outcome on its own, which is intended to keep the process fair across very different types of legal work.
Before any name appears on the published list, Super Lawyers confirms the candidate’s good standing with the relevant state licensing authority and conducts additional research to check for outstanding disciplinary matters. This verification step, combined with the peer nomination and research stages described above, is part of why the designation is treated as a credible, third-party signal rather than a self-reported credential, and it is one of the reasons legal publications and other law firms across Texas reference the same methodology when describing their own attorneys’ selections.
The published methodology also explains why the process includes safeguards against attorneys or firms attempting to influence their own results, such as tracking unusual nomination patterns and requiring that in-firm nominations be matched by at least one nomination from an attorney outside the firm. Those safeguards are part of what separates a Super Lawyers selection from directories or lists that accept paid listings without an underlying peer-review or research component.
What This Recognition Means for Fahl & Donaldson’s Construction Clients
Peer recognition does not decide the outcome of any particular matter, and no result in a prior case guarantees a similar result in a new one. What a Super Lawyers selection can offer clients is a documented, third-party data point when they are comparing counsel for a construction dispute, a contract dispute, or a related commercial matter, particularly for clients located outside Texas who may not otherwise have an easy way to evaluate local counsel.
At Fahl & Donaldson, Mr. Donaldson works alongside our broader business litigation and arbitration team, so clients benefit from a firm that regularly handles the commercial issues that often accompany a construction dispute, such as contract disagreements, insurance coverage questions, and disputes between business partners on a shared project. That combination allows us to address a construction matter and any related commercial issues within a single, coordinated representation rather than splitting the work between separate firms.
For clients who are choosing counsel for the first time, or who are considering a change of counsel mid-dispute, a peer-driven recognition also offers some reassurance that the attorney’s approach to a case has been observed and evaluated by other lawyers working in the same field, not only reported by the firm itself. That outside perspective can matter when a client is trying to decide how much weight to give an attorney’s own description of their background and experience, particularly for an out-of-state owner or contractor who cannot easily verify a Texas attorney’s reputation through personal referrals alone.
Questions to Ask When Comparing Construction Litigation Attorneys
A Super Lawyers selection is one useful data point when researching counsel for a construction dispute, but it works best alongside a few direct questions asked during an initial consultation. Confirming an attorney’s licensing status with the State Bar of Texas, asking how many construction matters the attorney has taken through trial or arbitration rather than settled early, and asking whether the attorney or firm has handled disputes involving a similar contract type or project size can all help a business owner or contractor evaluate fit before signing an engagement letter.
It is also worth asking how a firm staffs a construction matter, since disputes involving multiple subcontractors, sureties, or design professionals often benefit from a team that can move quickly on discovery, depositions, and pre-trial motions rather than a single attorney managing every phase alone. Fee structure, communication expectations, and the attorney’s familiarity with the specific trade or industry involved in the project are also reasonable topics to raise before deciding who will represent your interests in a construction dispute.
Clients evaluating counsel for a dispute involving a project outside the Houston area may also want to ask whether the firm is willing to travel to the project site, meet with on-site personnel, or appear in the county where the project is located, since construction disputes often involve evidence, witnesses, and documents tied to a specific location rather than the attorney’s office.
Contact Fahl & Donaldson’s Construction Litigation Team
Fahl & Donaldson’s attorneys bring more than 100 years of combined litigation experience to construction and commercial disputes across Texas, backed by a record of litigation and arbitration results. As a smaller firm, we can offer clients direct access to the attorney handling their matter, along with the trial and arbitration readiness that larger construction projects and disputes often require, and we travel throughout Texas and the Gulf Coast to meet clients where their projects are located. Mr. Donaldson’s recent Super Lawyers selection reflects the same approach our firm brings to every construction and commercial matter, regardless of size.
If you are facing a construction dispute, a contract disagreement, or a related commercial matter in Texas, our team can evaluate your situation and outline the options available to you. Reach out through our contact form to schedule a consultation with our construction litigation team.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Texas Super Lawyers List
What is the Super Lawyers rating and how selective is it?
Super Lawyers is a peer-reviewed rating service that recognizes outstanding attorneys across more than 70 practice areas. Each year, the organization selects no more than five percent of the attorneys licensed in a given state for inclusion, based on a combination of peer nominations, independent research, and peer evaluations rather than paid submissions or advertising. Attorneys do not apply for the honor directly, and there is no fee associated with being nominated, evaluated, or ultimately selected for the published list.
How are attorneys selected for the Texas Super Lawyers list?
Candidates enter the process through peer nominations or through the organization’s own research, and each candidate is then evaluated on factors such as verdicts, settlements, and professional experience. A panel of attorneys in the same practice area reviews the top candidates on a standardized scale, and Super Lawyers verifies each selectee’s standing with the state bar and checks for disciplinary history before publishing the final list each year.
What does a Construction Litigation designation mean?
A Construction Litigation designation means the recognized attorney’s peer nominations, research profile, and evaluated experience were concentrated in disputes involving construction contracts, defects, payment claims, and related matters. It reflects standing among other lawyers who handle similar construction disputes across the state, though it does not predict the outcome of any particular case or guarantee a specific result for a future client.
What is the difference between Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Rising Stars?
Super Lawyers recognizes the top five percent of attorneys in a state using the full selection process, with no age or experience limit on eligibility. Super Lawyers Rising Stars uses the same evaluation standards but limits eligibility to attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or who have practiced law for 10 years or less, and recognizes the top two and a half percent of that eligible group each year.
Does a Super Lawyers selection guarantee a particular result in my case?
No single recognition, including a Super Lawyers selection, can guarantee how a court, jury, or arbitration panel will rule in any matter, since every construction dispute depends on its own facts, contract terms, and evidence. The designation reflects peer recognition and a documented professional record, and our construction litigation team uses that same depth of experience to evaluate each client’s situation and pursue the strongest available strategy.
How can I reach Fahl & Donaldson about a construction dispute?
You can reach the Fahl and Donaldson construction litigation team through the firm’s online contact form, where you can describe your dispute and request a consultation. A member of the team will follow up to discuss your project, the parties involved, and the legal options available under Texas law, so you can decide how you would like to proceed.