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Hochglaube & DeBorde: A 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” Who Appears as a National TV Legal Analyst

Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube was named 2017 Lawyer of the Year in Criminal Defense for the Houston area by Best Lawyers, and regularly appears as a legal analyst on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC — a national media platform distinct from ordinary local attorney marketing, built on a foundation of eight years as a Harris County prosecutor followed by more than two decades in private defense practice.

At a Glance

Origin and Background

Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube served as a Harris County Assistant District Attorney from 1994 to 2002 across roles including felony trial prosecutor, child abuse prosecutor, and public integrity division chief, before moving into private criminal defense practice, where she has practiced for more than two decades handling matters from investigation through post-conviction and parole. She is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and multiple federal district courts. Mark Hochglaube graduated magna cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center in 1998, worked as a state prosecutor trying DWI, drug, sex abuse, fraud, and murder cases, and is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Practice Concentration

The firm handles DWI defense specifically at the felony level — intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter — alongside broader state and federal criminal defense. See this Houston DWI/DWI Defense directory for how this dual-credentialed, nationally recognized practice compares to other Harris County defense firms. Mark Hochglaube is specifically noted as one of the few Houston attorneys who both tries cases and handles their appeals personally, having won appellate reversals in murder, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft, and drug cases.

Track Record

The firm’s published background describes acquittals across multiple homicide, rape, drug possession, evading arrest, and theft cases for Mark Hochglaube, and DeBorde Hochglaube’s record includes a case dismissed a second time after being re-filed following an expungement motion. These are firm-published, self-reported results and have not been independently re-verified against court dockets by this profile; past results do not guarantee similar outcomes, and every case depends on its own specific facts.

Client Voice

Published client reviews describe DeBorde Hochglaube’s team supporting a client through both a 3.5-year legal battle and a concurrent personal family health crisis, and another describing her as “well respected in the court room.” Awesome Attorneys did not identify a pattern of negative or unresolved reviews warranting disclosure.

Beyond the Courtroom

DeBorde Hochglaube’s role as a national legal analyst on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC, her service as an Associate Producer on the documentary An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story, and her board membership with the National Criminal Defense Lawyers Association each reflect engagement with criminal justice issues beyond individual case practice. She has also served as Houston Bar Association’s Criminal Law and Procedure Section Chair and as a Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association board member.

Recognition

Mark Hochglaube’s Board Certification in Criminal Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization is the state’s official specialty credential. DeBorde Hochglaube’s Best Lawyers 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” award for Criminal Defense in the Houston area followed multiple years of Best Lawyers in America inclusion, both peer-review-based distinctions rather than paid marketing placements.

Texas Legal Backdrop

A Texas DWI arrest triggers two separate proceedings: the criminal case, and a civil Administrative License Revocation (ALR) case against the driver’s license, with only 15 days from arrest to request the ALR hearing before an automatic suspension takes effect. Intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter are both felony-level offenses under Texas Penal Code §49.07 and §49.08, carrying substantially longer prison exposure than a standard DWI. None of this is legal advice; anyone facing a DWI or intoxication-related felony charge should consult a licensed Texas attorney about the specific facts of their case.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Hochglaube & DeBorde’s clearest, most checkable differentiator is the combination of Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube’s national media profile and Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” recognition with Mark Hochglaube’s TBLS Criminal Law certification and rare trial-plus-appellate practice model. The honest trade-off: the firm’s published case results are self-reported rather than independently re-verified by this profile, and the firm’s broader practice spans serious felony criminal defense generally rather than being DWI-exclusive. For a Harris County client facing a felony-level intoxication charge specifically, this combination of prosecutorial background, board certification, and appellate experience is a genuine, checkable basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Hochglaube & DeBorde’s official website (hdfirm.com), including attorney biography pages, and independently confirmed Super Lawyers and Martindale.com profile data.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Hochglaube & DeBorde, PC prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.