Gonzales County Lawyers

St. Mary's University School of Law, 1999, cum laude Mathews and Brancsomb, P.C. 1999-2004 Cox Smith Mathews 2004-2015 (Partner 2007-2015) Dykema Cox Smith 2015-2018 (Partner) Law Office of Rene D. Ruiz, P.C. (2018-present) Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2013-Present) Chair, Water Committee, ABA Section of Public Utility, Communication, and Transportation (2010-2015) Chair, Water Committee, San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce, 2017

Practicing in San Antonio and South Texas.

LaJuana Acklin is a 2009 graduate of Texas Southern Thurgood Marshall School of Law and she obtained her undergraduate degree from Howard University in 2005. LaJuana possesses over thirteen years of state and federal administrative law experience. LaJuana began her career in private practice representing clients in various civil litigation matters, including color of title and premises liability disputes. Prior to joining Bertolino LLP, LaJuana adjudicated unemployment claims as a hearing officer for the Texas Workforce Commission. She also practiced administrative law at the federal level before the Social Security Administration where she successfully obtained benefits for...

From a family of distinguished public servants, after obtaining his law degree from UT Law School, Gregory honed his legal skills for 20 years at Atlas, Hall & Rodriguez, LLP, in McAllen, where he practiced a broad range of property law, including estate planning and probate. He has represented individuals, businesses, national and State banks, and local government entities on all sides of transactions. Gregory is a member of the State Bar of Texas , a member of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and is certified in Professional Fiduciary Management...

Board certified in civil trial law, appellate law, and family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Tim was licensed as an attorney in 1990. He has been practicing almost exclusively as a family law attorney for most of this time. Tim became a Board Certified Family Law Attorney in 2005, which means that he has devoted a substantial amount of his practice to family law, engaging in contested trials of cases involving matters such as divorce, property division, child custody, child support, adoption, and paternity. Although Tim is an experienced litigator, and will continue to help people in court, he knows from experience, that people are better served both emotionally and financially, if they can resolve...

Joey Leak has a diverse litigation and business practice, representing clients ranging from individuals and local companies to regional and national firms. His transactional practice includes general business and real estate matters, as well as private equity fund formation and offerings. An experienced litigator, Joey is also able to assist his clients in a broad range of commercial matters, including those involving breach of contract, fraud, embezzlement, property disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, business torts, partnership disputes, and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

I have been a practicing attorney for 39 years, handling a wide variety of civil cases. In 2007 I received intensive mediation training from the renowned mediation trainers, Dana Curtis and Richard Birke, to become certified for handling mediations for the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. Since then I have successfully handled a multitude of meditations involving all types of civil disputes. In 2019 I received mediation training from Kimberlee Kovach at the University of Texas, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution.

As a practicing attorney I have been involved in countless meditations and settlement conferences. I have...

Jessica Castilleja Dunn is a general practitioner lawyer currently serving Central Texas, but her roots stretch to the Rio Grande Valley where she first nurtured a passion for justice. Growing up in a unique and diverse culture offered Jessica experiences that today have shaped her approach and perspective to help serve her clients.

As a former Policy Advisor in the Texas Legislature, Jessica's legal practice has been built on a foundation of experience working on a broad spectrum of issues ranging from animal welfare to criminal justice. Her later experience working with a non-profit organization promoting basic worker's safety and dignity...

Troy took the exciting opportunity to join the Bertolino LLP team in 2021. He aggressively protects license defense clients whose livelihoods and reputations are under attack by government regulators. Troy works to make sure clients are well-informed about their cases and the options they have available throughout the regulatory complaint process. He brings his considerable government experience as a former regulator to bear in zealously protecting his clients’ legal interests and achieving positive outcomes that protect their livelihood, professional reputation, and careers. Troy also advises clients proactively before complaints are ever received. He works with clients...

Raymond Gray represents commercial property owners in property tax valuation disputes from administrative (ARB) protests thru litigation. Raymond Gray is the Texas affiliate of the American Property Tax Counsel (APTC), an affiliation of the premier property tax practitioners in North America.

Michael M. Probus, Jr. received his law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1988. Mr. Probus served as judicial law clerk for the chief judge for the United States District Court in Houston, Texas during his first two years as an attorney, then he returned to Austin for the private practice of law. In 1997, Mr. Probus founded his own law firm. Mr. Probus has been listed in Who's Who in American Law since 1996.

Brad earned his B.A. with honors from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) and his J.D. from the University of Houston. His law career started 30 years ago in his small hometown in Texas as a general practice which concentrated on real estate and probate matters. He was later elected to serve as County and District Attorney where he assumed responsibility for all misdemeanor and felony prosecutions. Subsequently he practiced law in Austin, Texas where he developed experience in the areas of personal injury and insurance law. He obtained sizable jury verdicts...

Jodi Lazar practices family law exclusively and represents clients in both the traditional litigation and collaborative law models, depending on the client’s needs.

Jodi is also an Adjunct Professor in the Advocacy Department at The University of Texas School of Law, where she teaches Intensive Trial Skills and works with the Interscholastic Mock Trial Program.

EDUCATION
The University of Texas School of Law, 1988
The University of Texas at Austin, 1985

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS & HONORS
Member, State Bar of Texas (Family Law Section)
Member, Oregon State Bar
Member, American Bar Association (Family Law Section)
Member, Austin Bar Association (Family Law Section)
Member, College of the State Bar of Texas

COLLABORATIVE LAW...

Alan Tysinger is a an attorney in private practice in San Antonio, Texas. He is a sole practitioner focusing on civil trial litigation. He is involved in plaintiffs' side personal injury litigation and administrative law, with particular emphasis on workers' compensation and nonsubscriber work-related injuries. He also represents select clients in estate and business planning as well as probate work. Alan graduated cum laude from the University Scholars program at Baylor University in 1996. He began his practice in 1999 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, where he was a founding...

Experienced in federal sector personnel actions, both Equal Employment and Merit System Protection Board matters. Experience in risk-management for employers with review and implementation of employee-manuals, employee policies documents, personnel orientations in regards to avoidance of wrongful termination claims and workplace efficiency. Also involved in contract negotiations and preparation. Personally handled several trials, both civil and criminal. Negotiated a collective bargaining agreement between American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO and one of the largest Head Start Programs in the United States. Wrote and self-published Concept Deskbook on Employment Law. Represents both defense and plaintiff...

Practicing in San Antonio, Texas for 40 years. I enjoy helping people with their legal needs in Family Law, divorces, custody cases, collaborative law, along with an emphasis on bankruptcy, probate, and criminal work.

I practice in all the state and federal courts of both Tennessee and Arkansas. I also practice in the Eastern District of Texas as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. I have also been associated to practice in the federal courts of Mississippi. During the course of my working life, I have negotiated more than $250 million in contracted business by building partnerships that have benefited my employers as well as my clients producing positive results from these partnerships in a time when opportunities for such success were limited. ...

JASON J. JAKOB, ESQ. Mr. Jakob is a Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Diaz Jakob, LLC. His practice is focused on business and corporate litigation, commercial transactions, constitutional law, family law and civil litigation. Mr. Jakob received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from University of Houston Law Center, and his Bachelor's degree from University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas in Political Science, Magna Cum Laude. After attending law school he served as a General Counsel of Core Funding Group, L.P., until starting his own law firm in 2006. As General Counsel, Mr. Jakob managed the legal department of the company....

For the last 15 years, Dan spent his time helping San Antonio small businesses and real estate investors achieve their dreams. “An attorney is a small business,” said Burke. “That’s why I take real pride in helping my clients grow. We’re all on the same team.”

After working with large law firms and companies, Dan found that helping small businesses improve their processes, grow and thrive was his calling. He now enjoys providing San Antonio with personal and affordable legal services for business, real estate and probate needs.