A small-firm lawyer from Houston is entering one of the most prestigious groups of appellate attorneys in the nation.

Rick Morris, partner in the 12-lawyer firm Rogers, Morris & Grover, has built a specialized practice representing school districts by giving them legal advice and going to bat for them in trial and appellate courts. Now one of his cases will take Morris before the highest court in the land for the first time in his career. Other attorneys in the case come from California, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.