Our Legal Services

For many people who are dealing with a family legal issue, this is their first encounter with the Texas court system. Whether this is the case or not, navigating the legal system alone can be very stressful, complicated, and confusing and often leads to poor results, which would be difficult to fix or undo. Quite often, individuals who attempt to represent themselves, known as Pro Se litigants, are told by a judge that they should hire counsel since the court and its staff members are not allowed to give legal advice.

Family-related legal issues are very personal and generally involve numerous issues and complex fact patterns. No two cases are exactly alike. Many new clients are not fully aware of the extent and impact that their legal decisions can have on their life going forward, and that’s where we come in. We take a very personal approach to guiding our clients toward the best solution available for them regarding their specific needs. With more than 50 years of combined experience in dealing with both legal and political family law issues in three different states, our team has basically seen it all.

We will always provide you with an honest assessment of your case facts and let you decide how to proceed based on the options that we present to you. In effect, we take on each new client to work with us as part of our team to help them understand the facts involved and how they intersect with the Texas Family Code, case law decisions, and how local judges tend to rule on such fact patterns. We know that it is vitally important that our clients understand the various strategies which we will employ to arrive at their desired results.

For uncontested matters, such as adoptions, drafting wills or premarital agreements, and where potential opposing parties appear to be in full agreement but need the blessing of the court, our strategy is simple. We gather the information needed to satisfy your goals, and then we move forward as quickly and inexpensively as possible to conclude your matter. John Izzo’s overarching philosophy is to arrive at the best possible result for each client, as quickly as possible, for the lowest manageable expense, so that the client can be done with lawyers and the legal system and move on with their life.

For contested matters, if our team cannot privately negotiate or participate in a mediation to settle your case, we will fight hard to protect what is important to you. To this end, we utilize the following legal strategy:

1. We listen to our clients’ concerns.
2. We assess their specific case facts.
3. We review all the options which are legally available for each case, as well as the probability of success related to each option.
4. We develop a strategy, with each client’s consent and participation, regarding our sound advice to arrive at the most successful result possible.

Dahlia Villalobos, our Senior Paralegal, is available in person at our Round Rock office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Please phone our main number at 512-218-9292 to schedule appointments and before making any in-person visits to avoid conflicts. In-person meetings with attorneys are also scheduled through our main number for all three office locations. If we can save the client time and transportation costs, we are also always glad to schedule phone conferences and/or exchange data via e-mail to save our time and money in the interests of efficiency and expediency.

Local County and District courts each have their pretrial procedures regarding hearings which we are mandated to follow. Some counties require a video judge’s conference with opposing sides present, whether that involves both attorneys or an attorney and a pro se litigant (meaning an individual representing themselves). Clients who counsel represents are not involved in such conferences. Judges’ conferences are generally very short and conducted via video format over a computer. They are meant to determine what issues will be addressed at trial. In either case, nearly all Texas counties require pretrial documentation to be exchanged before final hearings, including financial information and proposed dispositions of all issues requested by the court. Some counties also require that said information be exchanged between both sides before temporary orders hearings. Local rules dictate such procedures.

Court hearings, whether they are temporary orders hearings or final hearings, are also currently being conducted in some counties via computer video conferencing rather than in person. In such cases, we must send all evidence that is to be admitted at trial to the court before the hearing. Also, all witnesses must be available via computer or mobile device with audio and video capabilities. We provide the link to each trial as soon as we receive it from the court. In certain circumstances, some judges will allow testimony by a client or witness via telephone, but we must request permission in advance.

We fully instruct our clients and witnesses on preparing for all hearings. Sometimes, we can provide computer access at our office if needed. In addition, if a live hearing is scheduled and a witness is out of state, in rare circumstances, we can request that said witness appear via video, but said request must be made well in advance, and the likelihood that it will be approved is slim.

Attorneys in Texas have the right to subpoena witnesses within 150 miles of where the witness resides or is served. Business records, instead of live testimony, must be subpoenaed well in advance of a hearing and filed with the court 14 days before trial and exchanged with the opposing side.

We always inform our clients of the various COVID procedures required in different counties and even among different courts within the same county. Our office also complies with all Executive Orders from the Texas Governor’s Office and rulings handed down regarding special COVID directives from the Texas Supreme Court. Current specific directives follow:

Governor Abbott’s Executive orders and the Texas Supreme Court Covid Directives