Leon County Business Lawyers

Robert Killeen was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1962. He attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1984, and a Juris Doctor in 1987. Mr. Killeen was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1987, and the Texas Bar in 1990. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States Court of Federal Claims, United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas, and United States District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts...

Attorney Tara Arnold grew up in a small town in Louisiana and worked at a local personal injury firm. This experience, along with her mother’s advocacy work on behalf of crime victims, fostered a passion for the law at a young age. Dedicated to success, Tara graduated as valedictorian of her high school class as well as summa cum laude and number one in her college class. She then went on to attend Tulane Law School, where she graduated magna cum laude and a member of the Order of the Coif (top 10% of her class). During her...

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.

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...

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...

I have been practicing law for 30 years. I obtained my law degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 1994 and graduated in the top 10% of my class. I am licensed to practice in Texas and North Dakota and in all federal courts in Texas and North Dakota plus the Supreme Court of the United States. Before I obtained my law degree, I worked as an environmental engineer for 10 years and before that I was a brakeman/conductor for the Burlington Northern Railroad and a trainmaster for the Colorado & Southern Railway. I wrote about my railroad...

Joe’s clients benefit from his extensive hands-on experience with researching, drafting pleadings, and discovery. As a trusted advocate, Joe learns his client’s business objectives to effectively litigate matters involving a variety of complex oil and gas disputes, contract disputes, and a variety of other civil matters even through the state and federal appeal process if necessary. His research and experience with drafting briefs in both the state and federal appeals and has helped bring favorable solutions to his clients in previous disputes. In addition to his experience in the courtroom, Joe has provided advice and prepared agreements that cover...

Charles McGarry is a sole practitioner in McKinney, Texas. The main areas of his practice are civil trials and appeals and entertainment law. He has been board certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1989.

Charles graduated with High Honors in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1979, and from the University of Texas School of Law in 1982. Upon graduation, he clerked for Hon. Bill Stephens at the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas in Dallas, the state’s largest and busiest appellate court. Ten years later, he received...

Matthew G. Messerli is the founding attorney of The Messerli Law Firm, PLLC. Prior to pursuing his legal career, Attorney Messerli earned his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and his Master’s in Finance (MSF) from the Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He has accumulated more than a decade of experience as a business consultant and operator. Attorney Messerli later spent several years serving as a financial advisor to high-net-worth individuals and businesses before earning his Juris Doctorate (JD) from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman Law School in Dallas, Texas. His unique blend of...

Attorney John Haugen has been serving the needs of his community and nation for his entire life. He graduated from West Point and then went on to spend five years as an U.S. Army Captain. After he was honorably discharged, he continued his higher education at USC, then received his Juris Doctor as Texas Wesleyan School of Law. Currently, he is a member of the Dallas County Bar Association, Denton County Bar Association, and the Tarrant County Bar Association. He is licensed to practice in all Texas courts, and advocates for clients who are facing family law matters, criminal defense...

Martin C. Law is an associate in the litigation section of Patout & Shaw, PLLC. His primary practice areas are arbitration, mediation, oil and gas, commercial law, real estate litigation and development, construction law, and consumer transactions. While in law school, Mr. Law was awarded the Lawrence C. Hoff Jr. Memorial Scholarship and the Dean’s Scholar Award. Mr. Law actively participated in the school’s award winning advocacy program, which culminated in a first place finish at the 2013 FINRA/St. John’s Securities Dispute Resolution Competition. He was an active member in the Oil and Gas Law Society, the Environmental Law...

Steven Goodspeed is a partner at My Church Law firm, a full-service, client-centered and cost-effective firm dedicated to serving churches, private schools, and nonprofit ministries nationwide. He has over 23 years of experience representing nonprofit organizations and is dedicated to delivering high quality legal services and advocating for you.

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....

Christina Wanies-Guirgis studied government and politics at St. John’s University in New York, New York, and received her law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. As a Houston native, Christina has a personal connection to the community, and her loyalty is reflected in her representation. She served as an Article and Note Editor for Currents: International Trade Law Journal, and holds memberships in several esteemed organizations, including: Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA) Houston Bar Association (HBA) State Bar of Texas

Duncan is the sole shareholder of the firm whose practice primarily focuses on estate planning, trusts, business matters, and construction law. He graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1977 with a business administration degree in accounting and finance and earned his law degree from SMU in 1980.

Duncan has more than thirty-five years of legal experience and has been admitted to practice in the United States Tax Court, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.

During the three years Inside Collin County Business conducted its annual awards,...

BTK Suchet Avocats is a law firm based in Paris which represents and advises corporate clients and individuals on many national and international legal matters. Our lawyers are all fluent in English, French and German and have international experience. They intervene in counseling, drafting of legal documents and representation before the Courts.
With more then 10 years of experience, we have an extensive network within German-speaking countries including Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, which allows it to assist and support its clients in these countries.

Sylvia Borunda Firth is a solo practitioner lawyer in El Paso, Texas specializing in governmental law, administrative law, real estate and general business. Sylvia received her B.B.A. Magna Cum Laude from St. Mary's University in San Antonio and her J.D. for the University of Texas School of Law. Her legal career has been very diverse and she has experience working for governmental entities, as in house corporate counsel and private practice. While in private practice Sylvia has been employed by a medium size firm in addition to her current work at Sylvia Borunda Firth, PLLC.

Sylvia has...

I am a 6th generation Texan and blessed because all of those generations were hard-working farm laborers--good people. I was born in the Texas Panhandle, in the small cattle town of Hereford and raised on an onion field in Rio Grande City, right on the Texas-Mexico border.

I studied business and economics for almost 10 years before I decided I needed a law degree to complement my profession as a consultant. Along the way, I learned that business, economics, law and onion fields all have one important thing in common: roots.

My life is God, family, and my profession, and...

EDUCATION Ms. Lesinski graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi with a B.A. in political science and a minor in criminal justice. She then attended Southern Illinois University-Carbondale School of Law and received her J.D. degree. She was an associate editor for the Journal of Legal Medicine. Ms. Lesinski was awarded the W. Eugene Basanta Award for her professionalism from SIU. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Ms. Lesinski has a broad understanding of civil litigation as a result of her experience as a paralegal and trial attorney. Ms. Lesinski is well versed in construction law and has represented a wide range of clients from...