Smithville Lawyers

I spent most of my legal career as an Assistant Attorney General and became Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, and became an appellate expert. Most of my time there was spent in Tort Litigation, where I defended doctors, nurses, PA's, and Medical Schools. I also tried premises and general negligence cases. Now I teach at ACC’s paralegal program and practice criminal defense, and personal injury.

DiafiLaw is a full service family law office owned and operated by attorney Sarah Diafi. Sarah has committed nearly three decades of her career to the practice of family law in Austin. Sarah Diafi is a fully licensed attorney in the State of Texas, and has practiced law in Texas since 1989. Sarah has lived in Austin since 1976. Sarah graduated from the University of Texas in 1985 with a bachelor of arts in English Literature. She then attended St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, receiving her law degree in 1988. She lives in Austin with...

Since 2005, attorney Mark Kinzler has successfully assisted hundreds of immigrants and their families in securing the American dream. Mr. Kinzler has represented and advised clients in a wide variety of immigration-related matters, both as private practice attorney and as the director of a major Austin-area non-profit immigration services program. He has been a tireless advocate for his clients. Mr. Kinzler has also been a staunch advocate for the rights of immigrants at both the local and national level by participating in and organizing lobbying efforts to put a stop to the harsh and inhumane effects of many current U.S....

I have practiced oil and gas law in Texas since 1975, specializing in representation of land and mineral owners. I am certified in oil and gas law by Texas Board of Legal Specialization. I have been employed at Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody in Austin, Texas since 1978, and have been serving as President of the firm since January 2018.

Graduated from St. Stephens Episcopal School 1968. Undergraduate Yale University 1972, JD University of Texas 1975, Clerk on Texas Supreme Court 1975-76, Justice Ross Doughty.

Amanda Traphagan is a Texas tax attorney who has spent her entire legal career assisting taxpayers with contested tax matters. She has assisted taxpayers against the Texas Comptroller, the Internal Revenue Service, and tax authorities of other states in administrative proceedings as well as state and federal trial and appellate courts. Amanda Traphagan is admitted to practice law in the State of Texas, the United States Tax Court, and before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and District of Columbia Circuits. Amanda Traphagan's published state tax cases include the Texas Supreme Court cases Combs v. Roark Amusement &...

Rand recently joined The Butler Firm after heading up the bankruptcy department at Patricia Brown & Associates, P.C. He has extensive knowledge and experience handling bankruptcy cases and enjoys finding creative ways to obtain debt relief for consumers and businesses. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Rand moved to Austin in the late-nineties to attend the University of Texas at Austin. While in college, Rand met his wife and developed a love of Austin that would stay with him for the remainder of his life. After acquiring a bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in Business Administration, Rand enrolled in...

Anthony Choueifati graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. in Psychology in 2002 and from South Texas College of Law, receiving his Juris Doctorate in 2005. His 19+ years of experience plays a significant role in advising clients, whether that involves forming business entities, complex partnership agreements, contract drafting and negotiation, estate planning, or mergers and acquisitions. Anthony enjoys meeting business owners of all types and strives to form long-lasting relationships with his clients. Anthony is married, has two children, and enjoys golf and traveling.

Before starting his own law practice, Don worked for a well-regarded corporate law firm, for a state attorney general, and as a judicial law clerk. He has seen first-hand how the law is made, how it is shaped by court decisions, and how it affects business clients. Don began his legal career with a one-year clerkship at the Texas Supreme Court, which is Texas's highest court and focuses on civil (not criminal) cases. Law clerks help the Court evaluate which of the roughly one thousand petitions filed each year should be granted and help the Justices write their opinions. His private practice...

I graduated with dual degrees from the Arts & Sciences and the Business schools at Washington University and set out to find employment in the corporate workforce. I quickly found corporate life to be monotonous, so after a year of working in the business sector, I returned to school to study law.

In 2010 I graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and I immediately began litigating with Lone Star Legal Aid, handling cases under VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) grant work.

In these roles, I noticed that—regardless of the specific subject matter of the case—familial problems often caused, contributed to, or...

I'm a Board Certified Administrative Law problem solver: a litigation attorney specializing in administrative law (a special area of law focusing on representation before licensing boards, regulatory agencies, and commissions). I aggressively represent and defend clients at informal settlement conferences (ISC), enforcement committee meetings (EC), the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), Travis County district court, and the courts of appeals, specifically related to these agencies:
•Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners
•Texas Medical Board
•Texas Board of Nurse Examiners
•Texas State Board of Dental Examiners
•Texas Board of Architectural Examiners
•Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners
•Texas Board of Professional Engineers
•Health and Human Services Commission...

Registered lobbyist Steve Koebele provides public policy representation, counseling, and advocacy for a diverse range of clients composed of market leaders in their respective industries. He successfully improves laws and government toward clear goals: increasing job creation and enhancing economic opportunities. From the best Texas lobbyist office location, Steve Koebele has successfully achieved legal and public policy goals before diverse state agencies.

My practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration. I represent clients in high-stakes, high-dollar disputes involving breach of contract, employment law, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, insurance coverage, securities disputes, class actions, and whistleblower claims. I have represented both plaintiffs and defendants before state and federal courts, and in domestic and international arbitration proceedings.

Blair Leake is a young attorney with considerable litigation experience and success. His practice thus far has focused on civil and criminal trial work, as well as estate and business planning. Blair attended the University of Texas for his undergraduate degree and received his doctorate of jurisprudence at the University of Houston Law Center.

Scott Cook represents employees in a variety of employment disputes with their employers. Scott Cook is Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has dedicated his career to extensive knowledge and practice in the area of employment law. His law firm, the Cook Law Firm, also focuses primarily on the representation of employees in employment law cases, ranging from disputes regarding unpaid overtime to discrimination to retaliation (and a long list of other matters). Dedicated to obtaining justice and fairness in the workplace, the Cook Law Firm continues to...

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...

Rick Kennon was appointed judge of the 368th District Court in 2013. His docket was comprised of civil, felony criminal, family, and child protective cases. He was the highest rated judge—as surveyed by the Williamson County Bar Association—in five consecutive bi-annual surveys. Prior to his appointment, Rick was a trial attorney for 29 years. He began his legal career as a prosecutor in 1985 in Travis County and then worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas. When he first went into private practice, he concentrated on criminal defense work and represented clients charged with misdemeanors and...

Pamela Hailey-Petty is an experienced attorney and owner of Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC. She has legal offices in both Austin and San Antonio. Since 2014, Mrs. Hailey-Petty has helped numerous Texans organize their futures through her knowledge and expertise in estate planning law. She also regularly provides legal counsel to clients navigating the probate process and to those interested in business formation.

Prior to her career as an attorney, Mrs. Hailey-Petty worked for the Governor of Texas. During her time at the Governor’s office, she served as the Investment Manager and Deputy Director of the 300-million-dollar Emerging Technology Fund.

Mrs....

Jim Rodman is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial lawyer located in Austin, Texas. Jim Rodman was originally licensed in Texas in 1986. He received his Board Certification in Personal Injury Trial Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1994.

Jim was born and raised in Odessa, Texas. He graduated from Permian high School in 1978 and attended the University of Texas at Austin where he received his BBA in Petroleum Land Management in 1983. Following undergraduate school Jim attended the University of Texas Law School, graduating in 1986. After law school he joined the United States Marine Corps...

Mike began his legal career as a prosecutor at the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s office representing the State of Texas in the prosecution of Misdemeanor and Felony criminal cases. He learned to prepare cases for trial and go to trial on a wide variety of criminal matters. Mike was then recruited by a leading employment law firm, Aaron Pena & Associates in the Rio Grande Valley representing clients in all aspects of employment litigation. During his tenor at Aaron Pena & Associates he learned the civil aspect of litigation. Mike handled cases from the inception of...

Robert W. Berry, Attorney at Law is located in Austin, Texas, and offers 15 years of experience in Consumer Bankruptcy law (Chapter 7 & Chapter 13), Small Business / Sole Proprietorship Bankruptcy law (Chapter 7 & Chapter 13), and Corporate Bankruptcy law (Chapter 7). Robert W. Berry is a bankruptcy lawyer who believes in working personally with individual and small business clients in order to assist them with each and every phase of the bankruptcy process from initial consultation through the successful completion of their case. Mr. Berry was born in Lubbock, Texas and admitted to the State Bar of Texas in...

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...

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...