Roy L. Armstrong

Roy L. Armstrong grew up in Duncanville, Texas and attended the public schools there. He received his B.A., summa cum laude from SMU and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. During law school, he clerked for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice.

After graduation in 1984, Roy joined the Dallas law firm of Salinger, Nichols, Jackson, Kirk & Dillard (now Nichols, Jackson, Dillard, Hager & Smith) and worked primarily for the Dallas Central Appraisal District. In 1988, Roy moved to Austin and joined McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen. He headed MVBA’s Appraisal Litigation Department from 1988 through mid-2001.

In 2001, Roy and his wife, Julia Armstrong, opened the law office of Armstrong & Armstrong in Taos, New Mexico. Roy, however, continued to practice regularly in Texas, working with MVBA and serving appraisal districts and ARBs. When the Texas Legislature prohibited an ARB from using the same law firm used by the appraisal district, Roy stopped representing appraisal districts and concentrated on ARB’s. He has focused on ARBs solely since 2012.

Throughout his career, Roy has been involved with professional organizations such as the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts. He has been a frequent speaker at TAAD’s conferences and seminars. He has taught more than eighty courses on Texas property-tax law. He has also spoken at property-tax conferences and seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Texas and the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Since 2014, he has presented the legal portion of the Comptroller’s Continuing Education Course for ARB members.

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Julia  Lacy Armstrong

Julia Lacy Armstrong grew up in rural Michigan, and went to a one-room school. She took her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Michigan. From 1972 through 1981 she worked as an environmental scientist, first for a large Denver engineering firm, Stearns-Roger, Inc., and later for The Radian Corporation, a technical services firm located in Austin, TX. In 1981, she enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law, where she met Roy. They graduated in 1984 and married in 1986.

After beginning her career in general civil litigation, Julia practiced primarily in construction law from 1989 to 2001, serving as an Assistant Attorney General and litigating claims filed against the State of Texas on public projects including state prisons, medical research facilities, and a large sports arena. While practicing in Texas, she served three years as a member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar Construction Law Section.

After moving to Taos in 2001, Julia built a general civil litigation practice, including a recent NM Supreme Court win in a seminal First Amendment case. Since 2012, she began working with Roy in the ARB practice, and now handles most litigation for the firm’s ARB clients. She feels lucky to have a profession she loves, and plans to continue practicing law until she has to be carried out on a door.