Attorney Profiles

James W. Piper was born in Minnesota in 1950. He graduated from Baylor University, summa cum laude with a BBA in 1971. He attended law school at The University of Texas in Austin, graduating with a JD in 1974.

He was admitted to practice law by the Texas Supreme Court in 1974. He was also admitted to practice before the United States District Court, Western District of Texas (1978); United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit (1980); and the United States Supreme Court (1980).

Mr. Piper has been Board Certified in Family Law since 1988. He previously served as a faculty member of the Texas College of Trial Advocacy. Among the associations Mr. Piper is active in are the following: Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists; Travis County Family Law Advocates; Family PAC; State Bar of Texas (Family Law Section); and American Bar Association.

From 1974 until February 1984, Mr. Piper worked for the Legal Aid Society of Central Texas. His responsibilities at this organization grew during his ten year period. During the last eight years, he was a managing attorney, supervising up to as many as 25 staff members. During that time, in addition to family law matters, he handled other complex forms of litigation, including serving as lead counsel in many class-action lawsuits.

In 1984, Mr. Piper left the Legal Aid Society of Central Texas and formed Piper & Powers, L.L.P. By the late 1980's, the firm had limited its representation to litigation in the area of family and domestic law.

The law firm of Piper & Powers, L.L.P. was dissolved in early 2004. Mr. Piper's practice remains limited to representation of clients who need help in the area of complex family law and domestic litigation.