I was born and raised in Alamo Heights, a small city surrounded by San Antonio, Texas. I attended Alamo Heights schools from the first grade through graduation from high school in 1961. I wanted to go to college in the state of Texas and chose Southwestern University, a small liberal arts university in Georgetown, Texas, in part because of its excellent student-teacher ratio (15-1) and in part because of its reputation as one of the highest rated academic institutions in the southwestern United States. I graduated from Southwestern University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Government. I knew early on during my time at Southwestern that I wanted to go to law school and, after applying to several Texas law schools, chose to attend the University of Texas School of Law and graduated with a J.D. degree in 1968. After passing the bar exam, I became licensed to practice law in the state of Texas in 1968.
I am also licensed to practice law in the United States District Courts for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas. I have handled cases in almost all of the South Texas counties and in many other Texas counties, including Travis, Harris, Nueces, Bexar, McLennan, Hill, Johnson, Dallas and Tarrant.
Prior to moving to Hidalgo County in 1988 and becoming associated with the Law Office of John King, I practiced law for fourteen years in Hillsboro, Texas, where I had a general practice with an emphasis on real estate. I was President of the Hill County Bar Association and served as a State Director of the Texas Young Lawyers Association for a period of four years from 1976-1980. I also served as a Trustee of the Hillsboro Independent School District during the time I lived in Hillsboro.
Shortly after moving to McAllen, I became board certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1989). My primary area of practice is Family Law, but I also practice in other areas, including probate law and real estate law.
I have been a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas for a period of thirteen years, and became a Fellow of that organization in 2001. Members of the college are required to maintain a level of continuing legal education participation which is at least twice the minimum required participation by the State Bar of Texas. I am licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas and I am a member of the Hidalgo County Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists.
I have completed forty hours of training in Dispute Resolution and twenty-four hours of training in the fields of Family Dynamics, Child Development and Family Law, which training was sponsored by the Conflict Resolution Training Institute, South Plains Dispute Resolution Center, Texas Tech University, Division of Outreach and Extended Studies. I am also a mediator, with my mediation practice limited to family law mediations.
I find practicing family law to be extremely rewarding, as helping people resolve family law disputes, during what can be the most difficult time of their life, is something that gives me great satisfaction.
