Page 14 - Dallas Vol 5 No 1

AT A GLANCE
KOONSFULLER
OTHER LOCATIONS
1717 McKinney Avenue, Suite 1500
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 871-2727 www.KoonsFuller.com
Denton Houston Plano Southlake
PRACTICE AREA
Family Law
Juris Doctor, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, 2001
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, Texas A&M University, 1993
SELECT PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Board Certi ed in Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Barrister, Patrick Higginbotham American Inn of Court State Bar of Texas, Family Law Section
American Bar Association, Family Law Section
Dallas Bar Association, Family Law Section Collaborative Law Institute of Texas
The College of the State Bar of Texas Fellow, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
SELECT HONORS
America’s Best Lawyers for Family Law and Collaborative Law, 2015-2017
Texas Monthly Super Lawyer, 2012-2017 Texas Rising Stars, 2009-2011
Her years of focus in family law have Porter look- ing to the horizon of emerging issues that continue to a ect her eld. “ e eld of family law has experi- enced a tremendous expansion over the last decade, and faced substantive new legal issues,” she says. “For example, in 2015 same-sex marriage was established as law in all 50 states which had a huge impact.”
Additionally, she points out that with the recent tax reform act, the treatment of alimony will be changed signi cantly, which will no doubt impact how prop- erty divisions are structured. “It is these ever-chang- ing areas in the law that impact how we approach and resolve family law matters and keeps things interest- ing,” Porter adds.
OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
Outside the o ce, Porter’s three children are her primary focus. Her oldest child, Faye, is graduating from the University of Texas in Austin in May and has applied to medical school. “We are currently waiting to nd out where she will go in the fall,” Por- ter says, “so it has been a bit nerve-racking to say the least.”
Emery, her middle child is a freshman at Texas Tech in the engineering program, and her youngest, Tom, is a freshman at Highland Park High School. Porter is very active with her children and spends as much time with them as they allow!
In her free time, Porter enjoys running, hot yoga and travel. She and her husband, Gary, who have been married almost four years, also enjoy traveling together, riding motorcycles and spending as many weekends as possible at their lake house on Lake Jacksonville where they water ski, jet ski and enjoy the outdoors. e self-professed animal lover counts birds, dogs, sh, a cat, lizards and a turtle among her menagerie at one time or another, and any stray that wanders upon Porter’s home is always welcome too. In fact, one of her favorite gi s from a client was two white love birds, who very quickly have produced a family of their own.
Having gone through a divorce herself, Porter has her own perspective on the process. She explains, “I was married for 17 years when I got divorced. I know that divorces can be complicated and emotional. Hav- ing gone through it, I can relate. My experience cer- tainly has had an impact on how I view other people going through a divorce and the compassion I feel for them.”
Porter nishes, “What I have learned both person- ally and professionally is that relationships do not end at divorce, especially when children are involved. I encourage clients to build a working relationship with their ex-spouses for the sake of their children, when possible. If there is such thing as a successful divorce, that would be it.”
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Ken Hatley Photography