---
title: "Samuel Dorfman | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-22"
---

# Samuel Dorfman

Eleventh Business Court Division · Business Court Judge (Seat 11B)

## Profile

- Court: Eleventh Business Court Division
- State: Texas
- Role: Business Court Judge (Seat 11B)
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.txcourts.gov/businesscourt/divisions/)
- [Official roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/businesscourt/divisions/)
- [Texas Judicial Branch, Business Court Divisions official judicial roster](https://www.txcourts.gov/businesscourt/divisions/)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Current Role – Appointed in June 2024 as a presiding judge in the Eleventh Business Court Division in Houston
- Government Role – Deputy First Assistant Attorney General under Ken Paxton (2020–2024)
- Early Career – Clerkship for Judge Jerry Edwin Smith; worked at Susman Godfrey and Ogden, Gibson, White & Broocks
- Judge Samuel Grant “Grant” Dorfman is a highly experienced Texas judge and attorney, currently serving as a presiding judge in the newly created Eleventh Business Court Division in Houston, Texas

### Education

- Yale Law School — J.D. (1992)
- University of Oxford — M.A. (1989)
- Brown University — B.A. (1987)

### Additional information

- Private Practice – Joined Pappas Grubbs Price in 2017.
- Judicial Service – Served on the 129th Civil District Court (2002–2008) and later the 334th District Court.
- He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1992 and has been licensed to practice in multiple federal and state courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit), U.S. District Courts (Western, Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas).
- AV Preeminent® – Martindale-Hubbell peer review
- Avvo Top Contributor and Client’s Choice Award
- Member of the American Law Institute



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Texas Business Court Rule 354(a) — pleading requirements](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-0e434f10523c85311cc1b033) — Texas Business Court actions only. Partial reader capture; links to full official PDF. Shared baseline only, not a judge-specific preference or complete local rules inventory. Apply source exceptions, case-type limits, later amendments and case orders. [Official source](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1463426/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.