Valera Family Lawyers

After gaining 13 years’ experience as a collaborative law divorce attorney, litigator and mediator with extensive experience representing families in Plano, Richardson, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, and Dallas in Texas courts, Sharon Corsentino made the decision to dedicate her practice exclusively to mediation. Sharon recognizes the value of taking a non-adversarial approach to family law matters, including divorce, child custody, and child support, to help parties maintain long-term relationships and keep children’s best interests at heart.

Sharon helps couples settle their disputes privately in a dignified manner, without involving a judge who could impose decisions on them that do not meet their...

Tom Trahan is proficient in all facets of family law, from out-of-court settlements to courtroom litigation. His deep understanding of the litigation process enhances the chances of reaching negotiated or amicable resolutions, as opposing counsel and clients often realize that finding common ground can lead to beneficial outcomes.

Doug Wright is a native of Fort Worth who graduated from Paschal High School in 1972 before earning a Bachelor’s of Business Administration at the University of Texas at Austin in 1976. He then attended St. Mary University School of Law. After graduating and getting licensed in 1979 he returned to Fort Worth where his father was a Family District Judge and began his legal career.After being in private practice for almost 30 years Mr. Wright joined the firm of Bailey & Galyen in 2009 as Managing Attorney of the Fort Worth Office. He has committed his practice to Family...

As a former assistant district attorney and successful private practice owner, Marilee Hazel Brown provides clients broad expertise in the legal process and a depth of trial experience when cases cannot be resolved outside the courtroom. She makes a difference by looking beyond the ordinary to find creative solutions that work to the best interests of her clients. In private practice, her experience is drawn from having handled hundreds of cases in the tri-county area.

For the past ten years, Ms. Brown has built a family law and personal injury practice that has helped hundreds of clients successfully resolve high-conflict disputes....

Fernando D. Gireud was born in El Paso, Texas, and graduated from Coronado High School in 2002. He attended the University of Texas – Austin where he majored in Computer Science and graduated in 2007. Afterwards, Fernando attended law school at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas where he graduated with his J.D. in 2010.

Shortly thereafter, Fernando moved back to his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where he worked for the Domestic Relations Office of El Paso County where he acted as friend of the court and worked on child support enforcement cases. In March 2012,...

Sandra L. Sprott is currently a solo practitioner and owner of the Law Office of Sandra Sprott, P.C. in Arlington, Texas. Ms. Sprott represents diverse clients in the fields of collections, small business planning, and commercial/consumer litigation. She also devotes her time representing clients in the areas of family law, landlord/tenant disputes, estate planning, and probate matters. From 2008 to 2013, Ms. Sprott was a Managing Attorney at the Law Office of Ben Abbott, P.C., in Garland, Texas. In this role she provided counsel and performed a full complement of legal activities in the plaintiff personal injury field....

I have been licensed to practice law in Texas for 40 years. I have tried thousands of cases, from traffic tickets to death penalty cases, from simple divorces and visitation cases to complex divorce and custody cases, to the court and to juries, in all levels of Texas trial courts and in the Federal Courts of Texas. I am a member of the San Antonio Bar Association, San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, State Bar of Texas.

Cherrell is from Saint Louis, Missouri, and moved to Texas in 2007. Thereafter, Cherrell commissioned from the Army Reserved Officer Training Course and served as an active-duty chemical officer. Cherrell served in the United States Army for 14 years. In January 2018, Attorney Holmes became a Judge Advocate in the US Army. During her time as a JAG Officer, she practiced family law, consumer protection, estate planning, military law, criminal defense, administrative law, and labor law. In January 2022, Cherrell began practicing family law in San Antonio, Texas. Cherrell has a passion for representing clients that need compassionate and zealous representation. Specifically,...

Julio Paredes is a Licensed Attorney under the Texas Bar Association, and is a Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

He graduated with High Honors and obtain his Juris Doctor from the UNT College of Law in Dallas, Texas. Mr Paredes also has a degree in Business Administration with a focus on Finance from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he graduated with the Highest Honors.

Upon obtaining his law license, Mr. Paredes opened up his own law firm and has been representing many people in all aspects of immigration, auto accidents, family law, criminal law, real estate...

Meet me, Attorney John MacDonald – a force to be reckoned with in the legal field, driven by an unparalleled commitment and a relentless pursuit of justice for my clients. Over the years, I have skillfully handled the intricacies of legal challenges, consistently achieving favorable results for my clients while vigorously defending their rights in front of judges and referees throughout Comal County and beyond. My approach is bold yet compassionate, ensuring that every client feels listened to, understood, and empowered. In the realm of estate planning, you can trust me to bring not just knowledge, but also heart to every...

With more than 15 years of experience as a practicing attorney, Armando J. Román provides advice and counsel to clients needing legal representation in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense, civil defense, citizenship and immigration services, removal defense, real estate, business, contracts, wills, probate, guardianship and family law matters.

Lawyers tend to focus or specialize in only particular areas of the law, while Armando focuses on serving his clients in several areas of the law. He represents people who are injured in motor vehicle accidents or because of the negligent acts of others. He represents people who have...

Ricardo Julio was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His family moved to the US at an early age, and he has lived in Texas ever since. Growing up in a foreign country, he quickly learned the value of hard work and dedication. Ricardo received his Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Baylor University in 2009. After graduating, Ricardo attended the night program at St. Mary’s Law School while maintaining a full-time job in Austin. At St. Mary’s, Ricardo was part of the St. Mary’s Civil Clinic where he provided pro bono representation to members of...

Our teams start with a deep understanding of our clients’ business objectives. We share knowledge across practices and regions. We help our clients not only mitigate risk, but also discover opportunity. And each success begins with the same simple question…

How can we help you?

By pooling our energy, talents and resources, we are able to achieve the highest order of excellence in the practice and profession of the law. Through such practice we are able to give back to our communities, and in all things to govern ourselves as members of a free democratic society with responsibilities both to our profession...

Mr. Bridge serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Firm Managing Attorney at Bailey & Galyen, one of the largest consumer law firms in Texas. A dedicated leader and experienced attorney, James has been instrumental in driving the firm’s success and overseeing its operations. James earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University (TCU) and went on to graduate from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 1998. During law school, he demonstrated his leadership abilities as the President of the Student Bar Association and as the President of his legal fraternity. With a proven track record in litigation, James is a...

Jennifer is very driven; which helps her be a strong and effective advocate for her clients. She believes in treating people who are dealing with difficult situations as well as happy events such as adoptions and prenups with dignity, compassion, and respect while providing excellent representation and personal service. Born and raised in the North Dallas area; Jennifer graduated from Plano Sr. High in 1993. Four years later, she received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Criminal Justice, Business Law and English from UNT. Following college, she took two years off to begin her family before continuing her education and going...

J.C. was admitted to the bar and to practice before the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas in 1988. He received his undergraduate degree from Abilene Christian University and his law degree from the Baylor University School of Law. J.C. is a member of the Order of Barristers, the State Bar of Texas, and the Tarrant County Bar Association. A frequent speaker on a wide array of subjects, he enjoys making presentations for professional groups, businesses, churches and schools. Addressing challenges in a constructive and professional manner is the highest priority of Mr. Bailey’s practice. J.C. has...

Jane Mapes has been practicing law for 26 years and has devoted her practice to Family Law for the past 16 years, in Texas. Prior to relocating to Texas in 1996, she concentrated on real estate and personal injury law in the State of Florida, where she went to law school, and was admitted to the Bar in 1988. Upon moving to Texas, Ms. Mapes was admitted to the State Bar of Texas, and began practicing with a general practice law firm in Grand Prairie, where she familiarized herself with the courts in Tarrant and Dallas Counties. Jane then joined...

Louis Leichter practices administrative, health, and criminal law, focusing on the area of licensure and license defense. Mr. Leichter advises clients on disciplinary actions and misconduct allegations that may affect their professional licenses. Mr. Leichter also represents clients on related issues that are divergent from the receipt of a disciplinary order within a healthcare practice. Peer review and medical staff privileges, practitioner data bank disputes, network agreements, contract negotiations, and license renewal questionnaires are important to medical and other health care professionals who are involved in disciplinary action. Prior to starting a private practice, Mr. Leichter prosecuted criminal cases as an...

I have been a member in good standing of the State Bar of Texas since 2003. In that time, I've focused on family law and estate planning/probate matters, with a special emphasis on child abuse and neglect cases. When it comes to child abuse and neglect cases, I've sat at every table in the courtroom, having represented parents, children and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services during my career.

At Roberson Duran Law, PLLC, we take a client-centered approach to legal representation, where we take into consideration the unique and specific needs of each client. We treat each...

Emily chose family law to help protect clients’ well-being. She works with clients to find a personalized solution for their situation. Emily understands that divorce and other family law matters are not simply a transaction, but a significant life transition. She offers practical and sound advice to help guide clients through this time to a hopeful future.

Candice B. Deyerle is a founding partner of Deyerle Silva Smith, PLLC and is board certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Clients with particularly complex family law issues, including divorce with businesses involved, multi-million dollar estates, privacy or publicity concerns, contested custody matters, children or parties with disabilities and/or special needs, or difficult issues such as alcoholism, drug abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or personality disorders involved particularly benefit from Candice’s expertise. From the initial consultation, she will listen to and thoughtfully evaluate the facts of your case and work with you to...

The mission of Hiller Law is to deliver expert divorce and family law counsel in a tough, smart, and professional manner. Michael Hiller is known as a fierce courtroom lawyer, and his team provides each client with aggressive and innovative approaches to ensure the best possible outcomes.

Michael Hiller is a Texas Board Certified family lawyer who has extensive legal experience in handling all kinds of family law cases and is specifically trained to handle high conflict divorce cases for high net worth individuals. The Hiller Law Team takes pride in working diligently to present truthful and honest evidence in court...

Graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1997 with a Bachelor in Social Work and soon thereafter, worked with the immigrant community as a social worker at a local middle school. In my work, I saw first-hand, the difficulties the undocumented confronted and decided to pursue law school to assist the immigrant community and have a greater impact on their everyday lives. Immediately upon enrollment in St. Mary's School of Law in 2000, I began assisting immigrants obtain legal status as a student attorney through the St. Mary's Immigration Clinic. I obtained my Juris Doctor...

Merrilee L. Harmon is a Family Law specialist, Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1985. Merrilee has lived most of her life in Waco. She graduated from Baylor University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in elementary education with a minor in English. Merrilee also received certificates in teaching and in the fields of language and learning disabilities and mental disabilities. Merrilee graduated from Baylor Law School in 1978 with a Juris Doctor degree and concentration in Civil Trial Law. From 1978 to 1981, she practiced Criminal Law as...

Jamie Kerr graduated from Rice University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2000. He spent nine years in education, working mostly with high school and university students through the process of application for admission to undergraduate, graduate, business, and law schools. In 2009, Jamie returned to school himself and graduated three years later from the University of Texas School of Law with a Juris Doctor. During his tenure at UT, Jamie focused heavily on clinical education, the study of the dynamics of domestic violence, and criminal law. He spent a year helping victims of domestic violence with their civil cases...

Jennifer represents clients in adoptions, premarital planning and estate planning.

Mary Jones has been resolving family law matters, including complex financial issues, custody and visitation concerns, immediate and long reaching ramifications of settlement provisions for more than 25 years. Mary’s long-standing focus has been in all aspects of family law and collaborative divorce, including traditional and same-sex divorce, child support, spousal support, child custody, modifications, complex property division, maintenance, post-divorce disputes, paternity, adoptions, enforcement, pre- and post-marital agreements, and grandparent access.

I’m an Austin criminal defense lawyer that puts in all the effort required of an attorney striving to be recognized as one of the best criminal defense lawyers in Austin. I investigate evidence, hire experts when needed, and locate and interview witnesses on behalf of my clients. Some Austin defense lawyers choose to help the state by coaching a defendant into a plea-deal for the sake of convenience. Unless the circumstances of the case demands it, that’s not how business is done at the Law Office of Jackson F. Gorski. I prefer to fight for the accused. My law firm provides...

As a solo attorney, Kacie Biebas has spent the last several years focusing on family law in Bell and surrounding counties. She has helped hundreds of clients achieve favorable verdicts and stay well informed during their experience with the justice system.

A graduate of Tarleton State University and Oklahoma City University School of Law, during which he was inducted as a Member of the International Legal Fraternity of Phi Delta Phi - Hand Inn, Chad Allman founded Allman Law, a general practice firm, in 2007 with the intent of serving those in need. Having grown up in a large family, Chad easily relates to people, allowing him to be sensitive to his client’s needs. 

Christine Clary was raised in Bridgeport, Texas and graduated from Bridgeport High School. She discovered a passion for law while working in her father’s law firm and competing in speech and debate tournaments on the weekends. Christine went on to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After college, Christine worked for Dr. Phil McGraw at his trial consulting firm, Courtroom Sciences, Inc. Christine then attended St. Mary’s University School of Law, where she was active in the Student Bar Association and mock trial competitions. During law school, Christine also interned...

ABOUT BEN
Dallas-based attorney Benjamin Palatiere is a courtroom veteran with over 10 years of experience helping individuals, families, and businesses in civil disputes.


Education

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, 2008
Texas State University, magna cum laude, 2005


Licensed/Admitted

Benjamin is admitted to the Texas Bar and licensed to practice in all district and county courts at law throughout the state.


Groups / Clubs

Dallas Young Lawyers Association
Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Mr. Sanchez is licensed in Texas and Nevada and practices law in both states. He began his legal career working for a mid-sized law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada practicing in corporate law, business structuring, and estate planning. Mr. Sanchez taught seminars on Asset Protection, Tax and Estate Planning, and business strategies for companies around the country.

After several years he decided to go on his own, opening his own practice that handles personal injury law, family law and civil litigation. After years of practice, he decided to move back to his hometown of New Braunfels, Texas and open...

When you retain fifth-generation attorney Patrick O’Fiel to represent you in your legal matter, you can rest assured knowing he will personally be handling your matter from start to finish. His success is attributable to his knowledge, aggressive representation, dedication to his clients, and the personal attention and service he provides. With more than 10 years of legal experience and the extensive skill and knowledge gained through being a fifth-generation lawyer, Mr. O’Fiel believes in aggressively representing his clients. You can count on the aggressive pursuit of your claim or legal goals, as well as the aggressive protection of your rights. You...

The Barrows Firm provides effective solutions in high conflict divorce cases, criminal and juvenile criminal matters, probate, guardianship and more.

Ms. Wright is an experienced litigator and advocate. Her direct approach and prompt communication have earned her the trust of her clients and the respect of her peers. Though she is trained as a trial attorney, Ms. Wright attempts to keep her clients out of the courtroom if possible for their benefit, both financially and emotionally. If going to court is necessary, Ms. Wright is trained and ready to be your advocate. She will prepare you thoroughly for each next step.

She is a goal-oriented attorney, and firmly believes in client involvement and keeping clients informed. One of the first requests...

Paul G. Daly has a strong desire to help people resolve their legal issues. Since joining Anderson Legal Group, P.C., in August of 2012, Mr. Daly has resolved a variety of family law (including adoptions, divorces, custody disputes, and child support modifications) and criminal law cases for his clients.

Education and Goals
In addition to his Law Degree, Mr. Daly also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology, or the study of the physical, cultural and societal developments of people. As such, Mr. Daly has a deep understanding of a wide range of cultural backgrounds and ideologies....

Amber Shemesh is a divorce and family law attorney in Dallas Fort-Worth area with passion and dedication of helping her clients with complex divorce and family law matters. She has represented clients in different counties of Texas, including Dallas, Collin, Tarrant, Denton, Rockwall, and Ellis. Amber Shemesh has been practicing family law in Texas for over 10 years now, and over the years she has helped her clients with contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child support, child custody, parental rights, property division, domestic violence protection, and restraining orders. Her passion to help her clients with their legal matters, dedication to...

In life, nothing imparts knowledge better than experience. Having endured a high conflict divorce that ended her twenty-year marriage, Robin Rubrecht Zegen understands her client’s fears and concerns first-hand. Compassionately, but zealously, helping her clients get through the process and ready for a happy and healthy future is her main focus. With over twenty years of experience Robin Rubrecht Zegen will help you identify and prioritize your goals and she will explain the options available for achieving them. She knows that divorce is a life changing and very personal event. She guides...