Why Choose Us?
Our firm is dedicated solely to the practice of family law.
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.
Skilled in the collaboration, mediation and litigation of family law disputes.
Mary uses effective, creative, real-world approaches to effective problem solving in family law cases and has helped hundreds of clients over the years set realistic goals and achieve them, both through the collaborative process, mediation and when necessary, litigation. She has established an excellent reputation for thoughtfully meeting each client’s legal, financial and emotional needs with knowledge, skill, care and concern. She is there for them to see them through this difficult period in their lives, to reach the best individualized possible results, without exacerbating the situation and tearing apart the family.
We help our clients with setting realistic goals, and achieving them.
Her experience and knowledge helps guide you through the legal, financial, emotional and psychological aspects of your family law matters. Mary Jones has proven to be adept at analyzing family law matters, skillful at resolving both complex financial issues and excelling at negotiating the best possible conclusion with the least animosity between the parties involved.
Using novel approaches to each issue, we look at every angle possible to assure our clients of receiving all assets, rights and benefits available to them.
For more than 25 years Mary has represented clients in Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Burnet counties. Decades of experience have given her the skills necessary to zealously advocate for her clients regardless of the paths their cases take. She achieves results through the collaborative process, mediation, negotiation, or litigation in court, as necessary – educating, innovating and advocating for her clients with equal effectiveness.
Mary’s knowledge of collaborative divorce, which she has practiced since 2001 when Texas first enacted legislation adopting the collaborative divorce process to accord the same finality to an agreement reached through this process as is accorded a settlement agreement reached in mediation, provides a method for cooperatively resolving even complicated matters in a less stressful, more cost effective process that can help to set the tone for amicable solutions for current disputes and even future probleMs. Essential to this process is the elimination of the spoken or unspoken threat of “If you don’t agree with my proposal then we can just let the Judge decide. I’ll see you in court.”
Mary’s work and training as a family law mediator since the early 2000’s not only allows her to mediate other attorney’s cases, but also gives her insight into the most effective means of approaching mediation in her cases. Her familiarity and extensive experience with local experts in mental health and financial services allows her to guide her clients toward the best resolution for their case and their family.
Mary’s experience in family court litigation can reassure her clients that they will be well represented if judicial intervention is appropriate. She has decades of family law litigation experience in Central Texas.
More About Us
Mary graduated from the University of Illinois in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and in 1992 from the University of Kentucky College of Law with a Doctorate of Jurisprudence. After spending almost a decade teaching and coaching at the middle school and high school levels in public schools in Illinois, Texas and North Carolina, she pursued her law degree and has continued her service to parents and children in the legal realm for over 25 years. Prior to establishing her private practice in 1997, she practiced family law with the firm of Hearne, Knolle, Livingston and Holcomb, and Douglass D. Hearne, Sr. for 5 years. She has represented clients in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Burnet, and Blanco Counties. Ms. Jones is a Texas Bar Foundation Fellow, Lifetime Member Texas Family Law Foundation, continuous Member of The College of the State Bar of Texas since 2004, and a founding member of the Travis County Bar Foundation. She is a member of Collaborative Divorce Texas and sits on the board of directors for Collaborative Divorce Austin.
Mary has established a reputation for being compassionate, empathetic and genuinely caring for her client’s emotional, legal and financial well-being, as well has her honesty, intelligence, dedication and hard work, in resolving all matters of family law issues. She sincerely cares about her clients and their children. Having been a former teacher, she is in tune with her clients’ needs and has a keen psychological understanding of what her family law clients and their children are experiencing during this crisis time in their lives.
Through her years of experience working with clients and their family members and treating professionals, Mary has a deep understanding of family life in a household dealing with mood disorders. She has decades of experience both with the struggles and awful emotions that can consume and overwhelm a family, as well as ways of coping and finding therapies and professional help that can allow family members to weather the storms, grow, and move towards better health and well-being. Over the years she has worked extensively with numerous mental health professions both personally and in her family law practice, affording her a greater understanding and respect for the importance of addressing the needs of families dealing with mental health issues and working with them in finding the best, and appropriate professionals as are needed given the circumstances.
After her husband passed away suddenly when their son was 8 years old, she has been a single parent to her son who is now a college student. Her interests include running, sprint triathlons, gardening, traveling, being a constant learner, and her volunteer work with various organizations including Volunteer Legal Services, Boy Scouts of America, and her church.
Credentials
Fellow Texas Bar Foundation – Fellows are elected to membership and selected for their outstanding professional achievements and their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the State of Texas. Election is a mark of distinction and recognition of Ms. Jones’ contributions to the legal profession. Each year only one-third of one percent of State Bar members are selected to become Fellows.
Lifetime Member Texas Family Law Foundation –an elite group of family lawyers who are uniquely committed to helping the Foundation grow so that it can continue to improve the family law practice and jurisprudence of the State of Texas.
Fellow of The College of the State Bar of Texas continuously since 2004, evidencing her commitment to maintaining the highest levels of performance and professionalism, most especially in the study of the law.
Director of Collaborative Divorce Austin – Mary is on the Board of Directors for Collaborative Divorce Austin, the only open active collaborative divorce nonprofit in Austin.
Member Collaborative Divorce Texas.
Founding Fellow, Travis County Bar Foundation.
Member State Bar of Texas, Travis County Bar Association and Williamson County Bar Association.
Admitted to United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, 1994.
Admitted to United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1993.
Admitted to United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1993.
Admitted to United States District Court, Western District of Texas, 1993.
New Ways for Families – trained since 2013.
