Top best Family Lawyers in ZIP 78759 | 23 available

Richard A. Shannon is a UT Austin graduate in Plan II (Liberal Arts) and UT School of Law. He was reared in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in a farming family. He served as an Assistant Attorney General of Texas and later as Special Counsel to the Commissioner of Insurance before entering private law practice.. For the past 25 years Richard’s practice has been devoted primarily to family law and conflict resolution through coaching, counseling, negotiating, and mediating with and for parents in all aspects of family law. Richard is an experienced family litigator who will stand-up for his client in court. He is thorough in his preparations, well-organized, creative in his problem-solving, keenly analytical, and cogent in his arguments. He represents his client’s interests with diligence and assertiveness while seeking to preserve as much good-will as possible.. “In the early 1990s, Richard became interested in mediation and conflict resolution. He was trained in mediation both by the Texas Academy of Attorney Mediators and the Travis County Dispute Resolution Center. He has mediated many family law cases as well as cases in other fields of law. He is experienced in the civil litigation model as well as the community model of mediation.. Richard has a passion for transforming the way in which family law courts work. Richard was recently elected to a three year term on the State Bar of Texas — Collaborative Law Section. He is Chairman of a new Innovations Work Group for the Section. He has the vision that family law courts, in addition to their traditional functions, should facilitate the healing of human conflicts. This is what children, parents and families need and deserve from our courts of law. In order to move this Vision into reality, Richard founded and is President of a Texas non-profit organization, the Enlightened Family Justice Institute.. Richard’s early career in private law practice was devoted to insurance regulation and related transactions. He served as Executive Director of the Texas Surplus Lines Association and represented many insurance agents and companies in regulatory matters.. He also served as a lobbyist for the Sierra Club and represented several major environmental organizations in federal court litigation involving large water development projects. He has experience at both the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal courts.

My law practice is devoted to Family Law, Collaborative Law, Mediation, and Arbitration. We offer highly personalized, discreet service and strive for creative solutions to each client's needs.  I have been working on family law cases for 37+ years and have been Board certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1992. Amicable resolution of cases through mediation or the collaborative process is our goal in family law cases.. Professional Activities: Board Certified in Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1992; Texas Super Lawyer; AV rated, Martindale Hubbell for 25+ years; Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists; Collaborative Divorce Texas, Membership and Forms Committees; President, Collaborative Divorce Austin, 2023-Present; Director, Collaborative Law Council of State Bar of Texas, 2024 - Present; Adjunct Professor, University of Texas School of Law 2017-Present; Member, Austin, Wiiliamson County, and Hays County Bar Associations; former President of Williamson County Women Lawyers' Section; Texas Family Law Foundation; Travis County Women Lawyers Association Foundation; International Association of Collaborative Professionals; Chair, ADR Section of Austin Bar Association, 2018-21, current Treasurer; Former Chair and current Member, Family Law Section of Austin Bar Association; Chair, Preservation Committee of Austin Bar Association, 2021-Present; Directory of Women in Dispute Resolution;  Member, American Bar Association, Mediation, Arbitration, and Women in Dispute Resolution Committees; Member of State Bar of Texas and The Florida Bar.

Lauren Doughty is a graduate of Baylor University School of Law.  At Baylor, Lauren was a member of the Order of Barristers, a finalist in the Dawson & Sodd, P.C. Moot Court Competition and Vice President of the Student Bar Association.  She received the W. Frank Newton Best Brief Award for the 2011-2012 academic year and interned for Justice Bob Pemberton of the Third Court of Appeals of Texas, the Texas General Land Office, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.. Lauren graduated from the Texas A&M University honors program with a degree in Political Science and double minors in Business and Psychology.  She graduated summa cum laude and was awarded membership in Phi Beta Kappa, a college honors society accepting approximately 1% of graduates.. Growing up in Austin, Lauren attended Westwood High School, where she was a member of the swim team.  In her spare time, she enjoys boating on Lake Travis, traveling, and watching college sports.

Kristy’s approach is to understand the specific facts and complexities of each divorce or custody case and then to apply a tailor-made strategy. No family is the same; therefore, no approach to a divorce or custody case can be the same. Kristy understands the need to provide clarity and support for her clients. She offers strategies for the fight as well as solutions for settlement. She combines this approach and philosophy with passion and determination to achieve the best result for all her clients in divorce and custody matters.. Kristy’s compassion and expertise in divorce and custody have been recognized by SuperLawyers. Kristy was selected as a SuperLawyers’ “Rising Star” in 2019 and again in 2020. Only 2.5% of lawyers are chosen for this honor each year, and Kristy has now received this recognition two years in a row.. In addition to divorce and custody, Kristy has significant experience with complex property cases, including divorce cases complicated by multifaceted estate planning such as trusts and family limited partnerships, as well as divorces that require forensic accounting. Kristy is well-versed in international divorce and custody issues. She also regularly handles cases for LGBTQ+ clients and non-traditional family units.. Kristy’s courtroom experience in family law is significant and diverse. She has first and second chair trial experience, including jury trial experience. She also has experience in family-law appeals. She has appeared in court in family law cases in throughout the Central Texas and Texas Gulf coast communities.. Kristy is licensed to practice before all Texas state courts and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Kristy has practiced her entire family law career in Austin, Houston, and in the central Texas counties and communities.

Kristin has years of experience litigating and resolving issues on behalf of individuals, parents, and business owners both inside and outside the courtroom.. Kristin offers clients efficient and effective representation and tailors her practice to the unique needs of each client. She understands that her client’s situations in family law can be unpredictable and strives to understand how each client’s individual goals can be met. She approaches every case with honesty, integrity, and zealous advocacy.. After graduating with university honors from the University of Arkansas she went on to attend law school at the University of Denver where she completed law school in just two and a half years. During law school, Kristin’s main focus was domestic relations matters.. During her time at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Kristin served as an extern for Colorado Legal Services Family Violence Unit in which she gained valuable experience assisting victims of domestic violence. In addition, Kristin practiced as a student attorney in the Sturm College of Law Civil Litigation Clinic where she represented victims of domestic violence in permanent protection order hearings, divorce proceedings, and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings. Kristin also has experience as an expert, as she worked as a Guardian Ad Litem in civil protection order cases.. Before becoming an attorney, Kristin worked as a law clerk at a well-known Denver family law firm in which she gained valuable experience relating to complicated domestic relations cases. Before moving back to her home state Texas, Kristin worked as an attorney at the largest domestic relations firm in Colorado, handling complex property, custody, and support matters. Kristin has a wide breadth of experience in family law matters, including complex military issues, non-traditional families, high net-worth matters, and domestic violence.. Kristin’s clients have the added benefit of an attorney with extensive litigation experience as well as mediation, as Kristin is a certified mediator. Her experience in these areas provides her with a unique perspective and skill set, which enable her to successfully navigate more complicated issues that may arise in a case.. Kristin returned from Colorado to Texas with her husband and two dogs to bring to clients in her home state her skills as an experienced litigator and licensed mediator, advanced knowledge in family law, and licenses to practice law in Texas and Colorado.

I grew up in New City, New York, the oldest of three sisters. I graduated from Clarkstown North High School in 1984 and went to Colgate University in upstate New York. I didn't know what I wanted to do after college, so I started my own computer graphics company out of my apartment in Westchester County, while also working part-time for my father's Hardwood Flooring company.. After a year and half, I had a few graphics clients and was doing ok, but wanted some regular work, so I started looking for a job. I ended up landing a job on Wall Street with JP Morgan in their Mergers and Acquisitions Dept doing graphics and presentation support. I thought I'd like to move up their corporate ladder and decided that I needed another degree to do that. So, in the Fall of 1990, I started law school at night at New York Law School.. After a year on Wall Street, I decided that Wall Street, New York City and Corporate America were not for me. I decided that I wanted to be in a place that was not as cut-throat competitive, that was slower and friendlier and warmer. I also decided that I wanted to focus on a more personal type of law than corporate. My parents were divorced when I was 14, and even though it was a very amicable divorce it had a very strong impact on me. I decided that I was much more suited to family law and that was what I focused on in school.. I stayed 3 more years in NY, deciding where I would move when I finished law school. In June 1992, I was maid-of-honor in a wedding in Tulsa, OK - it was my first time in Tulsa and I really liked it there. The people I met at the wedding told me that if I liked Tulsa, I would love Austin. So, in November of 1992, I visited Austin for 4 days. I loved it and decided that this is where I would move in the summer of 1993, when I only had one semester of law school left. I did my last semester of law school at UT.. One of my courses at UT Law School was a clinic where I acted as student attorney in Child Protective Services cases. During one of those cases, I met an attorney, KC Anderson, who later became one of my closest friends. At that time I also started looking for a job. In December 1993, I was hired by a prominent family law attorney as his first associate, who told me to study hard for the bar (that I was registered to take in February 1994) and to start work on March 1. Sadly, while I was studying for the bar in January, that attorney passed away and I never got the opportunity to work with him.. I took the bar in both New York and Texas in February 1994 (I took the New York portion in NY on a Tuesday, and flew out Tuesday night to take the Multi-State and Texas portions in Austin on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday). While I was waiting on my results (which wouldn't be out until May), I started looking for work again. I didn't know where to go, so I met with a local judge who I had appeared in front of as a student attorney. She surprised me and told me that I should open my own practice. I couldn't imagine going out on my own straight out of law school, but she encouraged me and told me that from watching me in court, she had confidence in me. I got my bar results in May 1994 and decided that I had nothing to lose by trying it on my own, so I did it. KC and her husband (who was a prominent criminal attorney) helped me tremendously. They sent me small cases (at the time, I took both criminal and family cases) and they mentored me and advised me every step of the way. I know that I could not have done it without them.. In April 2004, my stepdaughter, Lindsey, came to live with us full-time, making me a full-time mother / step-mother of three children. Benjamin is now in 8th grade, Nathan is in 10th grade, and Lindsey is 20 and a full-time college student. As the children grew, I increased my time at the office to full-time "plus". Although I am at the office 5 days a week, I still try to get home most afternoons in time for baseball practice, golf lessons, band concerts, piano, guitar . . .  Thank goodness technology has grown to the point that I can multi-task from most any location now.. In 2011, I have now gone through the unfortunate experience of divorce myself.  It has truly opened my eyes and given me a whole new perspective on what my clients are experiencing every day.  Although I thought I understood the emotions involved, I now know that I couldn't truly understand or appreciate the rollercoaster of emotions that are involved, nor the long-term healing process for myself, my ex-husband and my children until I had to experience it for myself.  It is certainly much more difficult than I had ever imagined.. I have found that each new experience in my life has given me new perspective on my cases. Although I deal in all aspects of family law, the primary focus of my practice is on divorce and/or custody cases. When I first began as a family law attorney, I had the perspective of the child of divorced parents. Then when I married, I was able to add in the perspective of what married life is like - how it takes work and can be difficult at times. It helped me relate a lot more to my clients. At the same time, I became a part-time stepmother, and that gave me a lot of insight into my cases - and helped me come up with creative solutions for my clients. Then when I became a mom, I suddenly viewed my cases in a whole new light. In fact, the first custody case that I handled after becoming a mom was extremely difficult for me and made me want to quit the practice of family law because it was too emotional for me. I looked into other areas of law, but since I had firmly established my reputation in the community as a family law attorney, those were the cases that came to me. I decided that because of my years as a family law attorney and because of my specific life experiences, I had a lot to offer my clients and decided to stick with it.  Now that I have lived through the emotional rollercoaster of divorce myself, I can add that to the list of experiences that I share with many of my clients.  With all that I have lived through myself, I can offer realistic advice on what my clients can expect during and after divorce, from the court, from their spouse and from their children. I can also argue my cases in court from a very personal perspective, since I have lived through many of the same experiences as my clients.

Alex graduated from the University of Concordia with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and she earned her Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University of Law.. Alex chooses to practice family law because of her strong desire to help navigate clients through one of the most difficult and important times in their family’s lives. She recognizes that every family law case is unique to the individual involved, and her intention is always to advise clients on the distinctive facts of their case while keeping the client's individual goals as well as the best interest of the children at the forefront.. Alex handles a variety of family law issues including uncontested divorces, contested divorces, child custody modifications, adoptions, child support and enforcement actions.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.

Experienced Family attorney serving clients in Austin and surrounding areas.