We honor and celebrate the life of Attorney Roy Petty. We celebrate his life of advocacy, commitment, and compassion. His legacy will continue to live on through the many lives he touched. Roy was recognized by the Federal Bar Association as Attorney of the Year at the association’s annual conference in May 2026. This achievement reflects his dedication, integrity, and the lasting impact he made on his clients and the legal community. 

Attorney Roy Petty  practiced law for over 30 years. Roy was Board Certified in Immigration & Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The Dallas Bar Association, Immigration Section, awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 for his years of dedication to helping immigrants and other immigration attorneys. He was the past chair of the State Bar of Texas Immigration Council and editor of the Immigration Bulletin, the quarterly bulletin of the State Bar of Texas Immigration Section. He was elected by his peers as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Roy developed creative solutions to get his clients their immigration benefits. He was licensed to practice in Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, and Texas.

He successfully litigated cases against the United States government in various district courts and courts of appeals. His lawsuits pushed the government to grant benefits to his clients, changed bureaucratic policies, and reduced delays in the processing of his clients’ cases. Roy worked to stop those who illegally practice immigration law and have defrauded immigrants.

Roy served on the Dallas Subcommittee of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee of the Supreme Court of Texas. He testified as an expert witness in immigration matters for the Texas Attorney General to shut down an immigration consultant who had swindled more than one million dollars from immigrants. State of Texas v. Cuevas, 04-11342 (Dallas, TX 2005)

He worked for agencies that have helped undocumented people and the economically disadvantaged. Roy was admitted to the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Federal Circuit. He was also part of the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Texas, and the District of Arizona. He was a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Roy graduated in 1991 from the University of Arizona College of Law where he was managing editor of the Journal of International and Comparative Law.