SANFORD K. AIN
Sanford K. Ain is a principal and co-founder of Ain & Bank, P.C., Washington, DC. He has practiced family law for over 30 years and is listed in Woodward White’s The Best Lawyers in America, in both the family law and real estate law sections. Ranking Mr. Ain #1 among the Washington, DC area’s top divorce lawyers, Washingtonian magazine said, “Sandy Ain is one of the best divorce lawyers in America and maybe one of the best lawyers, period.”
In its “Guide to Civilized Divorce” Town & Country magazine named Mr. Ain as one of the ten best divorce lawyers in America. It commented that “Even in the case of [client’s name deleted for privacy] spectacularly public divorce, Ain…attempted to keep the show-down as ‘dignified and respectable’ as possible.” His practice also includes real estate law, corporate dissolution and corporate succession.
Mr. Ain is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, as well as the United States Supreme Court. He has successfully resolved some of the most notable and complex family law cases in the country. While well know for his adept negotiation skills, he is equally respected as a “top-flight” courtroom advocate. His appellate cases have created important precedents in family law in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
National media often call on Mr. Ain for his legal expertise. He is a frequent lecturer, speaker and panelist on family law issues throughout the country. His articles and papers are widely published. His Comparison of the Domestic Relations Laws in Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia is particularly noteworthy.
Mr. Ain is a fellow of and recent counsel to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML); current and past president of the District of Columbia Chapter of the AAML; Counsel to the Academy 2001, 2005 and 2006; Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; and Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers.
Mr. Ain graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1969 (B.A., cum laude) and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1972.
MELISSA F. BROWN, ESQUIRE
Melissa Brown is a family law practitioner in Charleston, SC, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She graduated from the Houston Family Law Trial Institute, formerly known as the ABA Family Law Trial Advocacy School, in 2001. She is a past Chair of the SC Family Law Council, Co-Chair of the SC Hot Tips Family Law CLE’s (’08-’10), the SC Advanced Family Law CLE (’04,’08), and she recently returned to the Family Law Council as a representative. While Chair, the Council published the first SC Family Lawyers’ Tool Kit, and she helped write the upcoming second edition. Melissa is very involved with the ABA Family Law Section: ABA Schwab Family Law Legal Writing Contest judge (’07-’08); Co-Chair ABA Family Law CLE Sponsorship Committee; and Co-Editor of the ABA CLE daily Newsletters (’08 spring and fall, ’09 spring conferences). In 2008, she graduated from the Buckley School of Public Speaking.
Melissa has presented to local, state, national and international audiences presenting CLE’s for the SC Bar, ABA FLS, the National Business Institute, the Legal Education Institute and the Atticus Legal Consulting Group. Recently, she was a Guest Speaker for the Citadel Masters Counseling Program. Her family law related articles are published in national and state journals including the SC Law Review, the American Journal of Family Law, the State Bar of Georgia Family Law Review, The South Carolina Lawyer, and the ABA Family E-Newsletter. Some of her articles are cited in Am. Jur. Proof of Facts, Am. Jur. Trials, and other journals.
Melissa graduated from the University of Virginia in 1987 with a B.A. in History, American Studies Program. In 1991, she received her JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law. In law school, she was a member of the Order of the Barristers, the National Moot Court Team and the Moot Court Bar. After law school, she clerked for the Hon. William L. Howard, served as an assistant solicitor for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and in 1993, she entered private practice.
Melissa, her husband Todd, and their children, Ellen Hudson Brown (16) and Fleetwood Brown (15), reside in Charleston.
ROGER DODD
Roger J. Dodd is an internationally-known plaintiff's trial attorney, author, lecturer, consultant and expert on cross-examination techniques. As a partner in Spohrer and Dodd, a nine lawyer firm, of Jacksonville, Florida, he and his partners are available to co-counsel cases throughout the United States in aviation accidents, trucking cases, medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases.He is Board-Certified in both civil and criminal practice, and has been a member of the Florida Bar for 30 years, and The State Bar of Georgia for 31 years.
Mr. Dodd is a frequent guest and commentator on Court TV and other legally-oriented programs. He has recently provided trial commentary on such programs as Good Morning America and Geraldo At Large. Mr. Dodd is co-author of the best-selling legal title ever published by Lexis-Nexis, entitled: Cross-Examination: Science and Techniques. Listed among the nation's most elite lawyers in The Best Lawyers in America since 1991, Mr. Dodd has also been named a Georgia "Super Lawyer" every year since the program's inception in 2004.
In addition to his practice in Jacksonville, Florida, he has a practice in Valdosta, Georgia.
SHERRI A. EVANS
ABA, Family Law Section; Assoc. of Trial Lawyers of America; State Bar of TX, Family Law Section; Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists; Houston Bar Association, Family Law Section. Current Positions: State Bar of TX, Family Law Section: Family Law Council member & Chair, Pro Bono Committee; Gulf Coast Family Law Specialties, Board, 2000-2006. Previous Positions: Gulf Coast Family Law Specialties, President 2004-2005, President-Elect 2003-2004, Treasurer 2002-2003, Secretary 2001-2002.
"Securing and Enforcing the Property Award," State Bar of TX, 2006; "Use of Forensic Accountants in Divorce", State Bar of TX, 2006; "Discovery in Family Law Cases," Half Moon Seminars, 2004. Board Certified, Family Law, TX Board of Legal Specialization, 1998.
Listed: "Rising Star,", Texas Monthly Magazine, 2003-2005; one of Houston's Best Family Lawyers, H Magazine, 2006.
JAY E. FISHMAN
Jay Fishman, FASA is a Managing Director of Financial Research Associates and has been actively engaged in the appraisal profession since 1974. He specializes in the valuations of business enterprises and their intangible. Mr. Fishman has co-authored several books, including the recently released Standards of Value: Theory and Applications and the highly acclaimed Guide to Business Valuations (both with Shannon Pratt), and written numerous articles on business valuation as well as qualifying as an expert witness and providing testimony in twelve states. He has taught courses on business valuation to the Internal Revenue Service, the National Judicial College, and the Hong Kong Society of Accountants, on behalf of the World Bank in St. Petersburg, Russia and most recently in Moscow, Russia
He holds a bachelor's and master's degree from Temple University as well as an M.B.A. from LaSalle University. Mr. Fishman is a Fellow of the American Society of Appraisers, a former Chairman of the Business Valuation Committee of the American Society of Appraisers, Editor of the Business Valuation Review, Chair of ASA's Government Relations Committee, a former Trustee of the Appraisal Foundation, Chair of its Task Force on Best Practices for Financial Reporting and was appointed to the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Committee in 2008.
LYNNE Z. GOLD-BIKIN
Lynne is a partner at Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP , and chair of the Family Law Group.
She is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and the Pennsylvania and American Bar Foundations; a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Montgomery Bar Associations, the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association; the National Association of Women Lawyers; and a Diplomat of the American College of Matrimonial Trial Lawyers. As a member of the American Bar Association, Ms. Gold-Bikin has been Co-Chair of the Commission on Domestic Violence, a member of the House of Delegates, and was a member of the Board of Governors from 1997 to 2000. She has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and Advisor to the Family Law Project of the American Law Institute; she has served on both the Board of Directors and the Bench Bar Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association.
For the last six years, she has been an active board member of the National Adoption Center and the Philadelphia Education Fund.
Ms. Gold-Bikin served as an Adjunct Professor in the Trial Advocacy Institute at the University of Houston for the past 20 years; lectures frequently for the PBI, Villanova Law School, Rutgers Law School and various Bar Associations throughout the country.
In addition to serving on numerous editorial boards, she has published numerous articles, journals and books, including Divorce Practice Handbook, (MICHIE, 1994) and her most recent publication with Stephen Kolodny, Esquire, The Divorce Trial Manual, which serves as the text book for the Trial Practice Course.
She was named one of the 50 Best Business Women in Pennsylvania; named by Worth Magazine as one of the top 10 divorce lawyers in the country and one of the Top 100 Lawyers in 2007; named by the March of Dimes in the Top Business Women in Montgomery County; named one of the PA Super Lawyers for the third year in a row, and also named in Best Lawyers in America.
She is credited with developing The PARTNERS Program, an educational program of the ABA Family Law Section used to teach relationship skills to teens.
JONATHAN GOULD, Ph.D, ABPP, Partner in Charlotte Psychotherapy & Consultation Group, Charlotte, NC.
We provide litigation support services to attorneys involved in family law matters. Among the services provided are review of forensic evaluations, drafting of direct and cross examination questions, educating attorneys and their clients of current empirical research in child custody and child development, assisting in development of psychological aspects of trial strategy.
We also train colleagues in child custody methods and procedures, and offer workshops and seminars for attorneys, judges, and mental health professionals.
Areas of Expertise
attorneys involved in family law disputes
JUSTICE EVA GUZMAN
Justice Eva Guzman was appointed to the Court October 8, 2009, by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. She was an Associate Justice on the Houston-based Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals, having been appointed in 2001 by Perry after serving on the Harris County Family Court by appointment by then-Gov. George W. Bush. Justice Guzman disposed of more than 5000 cases in three years on the trial court bench. Since her elevation to the appellate bench in 2001, she has ruled on over two thousand civil and criminal appeals and original proceedings and authored hundreds of published opinions. As a hard working judge on one of our state’s busiest courts, she consistently received high marks in judicial evaluation polls.
Justice Guzman has been recognized by many law and community organizations for her service on and off the bench. This year the Hispanic National Bar Association honored Justice Guzman as “Latina Judge of the Year.” The Mexican American Bar Association of Texas Foundation also has recognized Justice Guzman for her many contributions and awarded her its “2009 Judge of the Year award.” Two local law enforcement organizations, P.O.L.I.C.E., Inc. and Houston Police Officers Union, have selected Justice Guzman as “Appellate Judge of the Year” in prior years.
An active member of the legal community, Justice Guzman holds memberships in a number of professional organizations. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a former board member of the Garland Walker American Inns of Court. Justice Guzman has twice received the “Houston Bar Association President’s Award for Outstanding Committee Service.” In 2009, Justice Guzman was appointed to the Supreme Court of Texas Advisory Committee. She is also an adjunct faculty member of the University of Houston Law Center.
A frequent presenter and panelist at educational seminars and conferences, in recent years Justice Guzman has taken a leadership role in planning continuing legal education programs, serving as co-chair of the Houston Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee.
A Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, Justice Guzman has a long track record of community service and has devoted many volunteer hours to organizations committed to children. She has served on the boards of Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates, The Escape Center, Wesley Community Center, and The Chinquapin School, and the Advisory Council of The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Houston. Justice Guzman currently serves on the board the Greater Houston Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. At the invitation of the White House and the United States Senate, Justice Guzman has traveled to the nation’s capital to participate in the National Hispanic Leadership Summit. In 2006, Texas Executive Women presented Justice Guzman with a “Woman on the Move” award in recognition of her professional and civic accomplishments.
Before taking the bench, Justice Guzman enjoyed a successful ten-year career in private law practice. She holds a B.B.A. from the University of Houston and a law degree from South Texas College of Law. Though born in Chicago, Justice Guzman grew up in Houston and has been a resident for more than 35 years. She and her husband, Houston Police Sergeant Tony Guzman, have a 17-year-old daughter, Melanie Alexis.
HON. BONNIE CRANE HELLUMS
1995 to Present, judge of the 247th Family District Court of Harris County, Texas and the Judge of the first Family Drug Court in Harris County. 1983-1995, Practicing Attorney with a solo practice; Marriage and Family Therapist, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, Mediator, Director of Hellums Consulting Service. 1974-1983, Director of Student Activities, Counseling and Foreign Student Advisor (Functional Equivalent of Dean of Students) Rice University Houston, Texas. 1969-1974, Assistant Dean of Students and Foreign Student Advisor Rice University, Houston, Texas. 1968-1969, Women's Counselor, University of Houston, Houston, Texas.
EDUCATION: University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Judicial Studies, 1995 - present
South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas, Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1981 University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, Illinois, Master of Education/Counseling Psychology, 1966 Major in Higher Education Administration and Rehabilitation Counseling Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, BA/Psychology and Religion, 1965
LICENSES:
- Attorney at Law, 1983
- Admitted to practice before the State Bar of Texas
- Admitted to practice before the Southern District
- Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States
- Licensed Professional Counselor, 1983
- Certified Chemical Dependency Specialist, 1991
- Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, Texas Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, 1992
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, 1992
- Certified Compulsive Gambling Counselor, 1993
- Licensed Advanced Addiction Counselor, 2001
LYNN KAMIN
Emphasis:
Practice emphasizes Traditional Client Representation and Litigation.
LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS: Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, AAML-Fellow; Texas Board of Legal Specialization-Board Certified in Family Law; College of the State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Assn.-Family Law Section Board of Directors-1991, 1993, 1995, 1996/Secretary-1995, 1996/Editor-Family Law Handbook-1996/Chair-Elect 1997/Chair-1998/Immediate Past Chair-1999; Houston Bar Assn. Judicial Selection Committee-1999; Houston Bar Assn.-Probate Bench/Bar Committee-1996, 1998; Houston Bar Foundation Fellow; Houston Bar Foundation Board-2002/Chair-Houston Bar Foundation-2004/Immediate Past Chair-Houston Bar foundation-2005; Burta Rhodes Raborn Inns of Court-Family Law-Treasurer-Burta Rhodes Raborn Inns of Court-2001, 2002/Chair-2004/Immediate Past Chair-2005; Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists Board of Directors-1995, 1997, 1999; Child Abuse Task Force Member-1991-1992; Children's Assessment Center-Advisory Board 1993-2000; Family Law 2000 Task Force.
CLE PRESENTATIONS: Houston Bar Association, Family Law Seminar, Making and Meeting Objections, Houston 1999. Valuation and Division Workshop, Advanced Family Law Seminar, San Antonio, TX 1997. Retirement, Pensions, and that Ugly Word...QDRO'S, Advanced Family Law Seminar, San Antonio, TX 1997.
AUTHOR: Editor of the Family Law Handbook. Child Support: Issues and Modification, UN of Houston, Houston, TX 1998 (Paper Co-Author). Dealing with Social Issues, Ad Litems, and CASA Volunteers: A Curse or a Blessing?, Advanced Family Law Seminar, San Antonio, TX 1998.
STEPHEN A. KOLODNY
Principal Partner, Kolodny & Anteau. Family Law Trial Lawyer, Beverly
Hills, California. 2003 Recipient of Boston University School of Law's
prestigious Silver Shingle Award for Distinguished Service to the
Profession.
Founding Diplomat and Executive Vice-President of the American College
of Family Law Trial Lawyers; Former Program Co-Chair and 19 year faculty member
of the ABA Family Trial Advocacy Institute at University of Houston, ABA Family Law Section Trial Advocacy Institute; Past President, USA Chapter of
International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers [IAML]]; Past President,
Southern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers [AAML]; several times Counsel for AAML and prosecutor of
expulsion matters; Past Chair, Family Law Section [FLS] of Los Angeles
County Bar Association [LACBA]; Former Parliamentarian, FLS of ABA;
frequent author and lecturer for IAML, AAML, FLS of ABA, National
Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants, Family Law Section of LACBA and FLS of
Beverly Hills Bar Association; lecturer at many other state FLS
conferences.
Co-Author: Divorce Trial Manual from Initial Interview to Closing
Argument (2003) published by FLS of ABA; Author: Contempt Enforcement in
Law Practice Handbook (1995) published by Mickie Publication; Annual
Author of Contempt Enforcement in LACBA annual symposium book, article
circulated to all FL judicial officers in the State of California;
Current contributing author to LexusNexis California Family Law
Litigation Guide;
BA Degree, Boston University, College of Business Administration; JD
Degree, Boston University School of Law, 1965. Licensed to practice law
in California since January 1966.
PATRICIA LASHER
Board Certified - Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1992. Member: Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists; Houston Bar Association and State Bar of Texas, Family Law Sections; Master, American Inns of Court, Family (Past); Houston Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation.
Formerly Teaching Faculty, ABA Family Law Section Trial Advocacy Institute, 1993-2006; Faculty, AAML Institute for New Associates, 2004-present; Author and Speaker for CLE presentations for Adv. Family Law Course, South Texas College of Law, University of Houston, AAML; A.A. White Mediation Training, former Associate Judge, 245th District Court, Harris County, TX; Member, Collaborative Law Institute.
KEN H. LESTER
Formerly on National Board of Governors. South Carolina Chapter, Former President.
South Carolina Bar and American Bar Associations: Diplomat: American College of Family Trial Lawyers; Fellow: International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, USA Chapter; South Carolina Trial Lawyers Assn. Previous Positions: Former Board Member, SC Trial Lawyers Assn., Past Chair-Family Law Section of SC Trial Lawyers & SC Bar Assn.
Former Faculty Member and taught the Family Law Section of the SC Bar Review and Former Faculty Member, ABA Family Law Section Trial Advocacy Institute. Frequent Lecturer Locally and Nationally.
TIMOTHY E. MADDEN
Timothy E. Madden is a partner in the South Carolina-based firm Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, LLP (www.nelsonmullins.com). He practices statewide from his home in Greenville. Tim's family law practice is concentrated in contested litigation involving significant assets, income or other challenging financial issues. He also maintains an extensive general litigation and appellate practice in all courts.
A member of the South Carolina Bar, Tim is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Tim is a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and President of the South Carolina Chapter (www.sc-aaml.org). He is a member of the American Bar Association, and the Greenville County Bar. He served seven terms as a member of the House of Delegates for the South Carolina Bar. Tim is also a certified arbitrator by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Tim taught family law in the paralegal program at Greenville Technical College, wrote the chapter on marital dissolution and child custody for the South Carolina Practice Manual (Howard/Moise ed. 2000), served on the editorial board for the treatise Marital Litigation in South Carolina (Stuckey), taught at the orientation program for new family court judges, and speaks at various seminars sponsored by the South Carolina Bar and other organizations. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America (2000-2010) and South Carolina Super Lawyers (Law and Politics, 2008 and later editions).
Outside his law practice, Tim is chairman of the board of the South Carolina Education Lottery Commission (www.sceducationlottery.com) and is a director of Welvista (www.welvista.org). He also is a member of The Palmetto Bank’s Greenville Community Advisory Board. His previous community service includes the Greenville County Transportation Committee, the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank, and the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation.
Tim is a recipient of the Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina Law School Alumni Association. He is a Liberty Fellow (www.libertyfellowshipsc.org) , a program modeled after the Aspen Institute's Henry Crown Fellowship Program .
Tim earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1988, and a bachelor of arts degree in Finance from Wofford College (www.wofford.edu) in 1985.
DORENE MARCUS
AAML Parliamentarian, 2004-05, Vice-President, 2000-03. Treasurer, 1997-2000, Secretary, 1995-97; Previous Positions: Chair, Budget & Finance Comm., 1997-1998; Member, State Chapter Presidents Comm., President, Illinois Chapter, 1995-96; Co-Chair, Ad Hoc Internet Comm., 1995-97; Certified Arbitrator.
Former Faculty, ABA Trial Advocacy Section Institute, Univ. of Houston Law School, 2002-2007. Member: AAML Foundation; IAML; American College of Family Trial Lawyers; ABA, Family Law Section, IL State Bar Assn., Matrimonial Law Comm; Chicago Bar Assn.; Women's Bar Assn. Previous Positions: Chair, CBA Matrimonial Law Comm. 1988-89; ABA Family Law Section: Member of Council, 1993-96; Chair, Long Range Planning, 1994-95; Publication Development Board, 1984-91; IICLE Drafting Marital Settlement Agreements, 1999; Natl. Business Inst: Tax Aspects of Divorce in Illinois, 2002.
IICLE Family Law Handbook, Chapter, Valuation of Property Rights, 1994-98; ABA Family Advocate, Opposing Removal, Fall 1997.
NANETTE A. McCARTHY
Nanette A. McCarthy is a partner at Griffin McCarthy & Rice LLP. She obtained her B.S.B.A. from Lawrence Technological University and her Juris Doctor from DePaul University School of Law in Chicago. She began practicing family law in 1995 and, in 2003, started Griffin & McCarthy, LLP, as one of two founding partners. Now, Griffin McCarthy & Rice LLP, is an eleven-attorney boutique law firm practicing exclusively in the area of family law.
Nanette has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer in the area of family law by Thomson Reuters and the publishers of Chicago Magazine, and is a fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Nanette has also received training in negotiation at the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation. She has been appointed by the Cook County Circuit Court to act as a child's representative in custody and visitation proceedings. Nanette is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association Committee for Matrimonial Law and Adoption Law.
Nanette has in-depth experience with cases involving intricate financial assets and strategies. Nanette has spoken at numerous engagements on the topic of matrimonial law, has published articles on family law topics, and has written many briefs for the Appellate Court of Illinois.
CHARLES FOX MILLER
Charles Fox Miller, Partner, Bies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, Hollywood, FL, is Board Certified in Marital and Family law by The Florida Bar, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar. He is Chair of The Florida Bar Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee "I", a member of the American Bar Association, Family Law Section, and a faculty member of the American Bar Association's 2007 Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute. He is listed in the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Best Lawyers In America.
Mr. Miller has published articles and lectured extensively on family law issues.
JOHN F. NICHOLS, SR.
John F. Nichols, Sr. of Nichols Law, P.L.L.C. is an accomplished, veteran law firm with a track record of astute judgment, unsurpassed knowledge of the law, and an often ingenious approach to solving legal problems that has produced uncommon, consistent results for its clientele. The firm stands on the foundation of success that John F. Nichols, Sr., has built since passing the Texas bar following his graduation from Rice University and law school. John Sr. has been a trailblazer, a prolific author, and a legal mentor in the Houston community and throughout Texas. Nichols Law, P.L.L.C. offers quality representation in all family law matters to people throughout Texas, throughout the country, and internationally.
Since being admitted to the Texas Bar, John F. Nichols Sr., has accumulated a stellar collection of professional accomplishments. He has been named among the "Best Matrimonial Lawyers in America" by several publications, and has been named one of "Houston's Top Lawyers" and a "Texas Super Lawyer." He has written dozens of published articles and several articles about the law and been asked to teach over 100 classes and seminars. Mr. Nichols is a certified specialist in Texas in the areas of family law, personal injury, and civil trial law. He has argued in front of the highest Texas courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Because of our collective qualifications, specialized training, in-depth experience and our proven ability to obtain favorable outcomes for our clients, we are frequently willing to take cases to trial that others may not. Known for our legal discernment and ability to think outside the box, we regularly take on especially challenging litigation on behalf of other attorneys. Our firm's founder, John F. Nichols, Sr., has been a certified specialist in family law since 1975, in civil trial law since 1978, and in personal injury law since 1987.
RICK ROBERTSON Board Certified in Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Rick Robertson was selected one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Dallas-Fort Worth by his fellow attorneys and is featured among the most outstanding family lawyers in the publication, Texas' Best Lawyers.
Mr. Robertson is the firm President and co-Managing Partner. He came to Koons Fuller after many years with the largest law firm in McKinney, Texas. Born on May 15, 1953, he was raised in Austin and attended the University of Texas (B.B.A., 1976) and the University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1978).
He is a Fellow in the Texas Bar Foundation, a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and the College of the State Bar of Texas, a former Director of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and a member of the Collin County, Texas and American Bar Associations.
STEPHEN J. WAGNER
Practice emphasizes Traditional Client Representation and Litigation.
LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS: State Bar of California; Sacramento County Bar Association; IAML; American College of Family Trial Lawyers. Previous Position: Executive Committe, Family Law Section, Sacramento County Bar. 1997-.2002, Chair 2000-01. Member of State Bar Family Law Executive Comm. 1989-95, Chair 1992-93; Governor's Child Support Task Force, 1993-94; Member of FL Advisory Committee to the California Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California (1988-89); Member, Property Division Standing Comm. of FL Section, 1982-88.
CLE PRESENTATIONS: Over 100 Presentations since 1980.
AUTHOR: Co-Author with Dawn Gray: Complex Issues in California Family Law, Published by Matthew Bender; Author: Editorial Board of the California Family Law Monthly, published by Matthew Bender since 1985. Consultant/Contributor: California Family Law Trial Guide, Published by Matthew Bender since 1992.
For more information contact Ben Santillan 713.646-2937; bsantillan@stcl.edu
HOUSTON FAMILY LAW TRIAL INSTITUTE
Advocacy is what we teach
