Law Offices of Donald L. Williams Email Us Chase Bank Bldg. 2829 Montana Avenue, Suite 204 El Paso, Texas 79903 Phone: 915-564-5559 Fax: 915-562-1224 Toll-Free: 866-295-6004

Donald L. Williams, a former JAGC Officer, has practiced family and military law almost exclusively for 33 years. He is also certified as an Advanced Family Law Mediator.

Bar Admissions

Texas, 1976
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1977

Colleges and Universities

• Appointed to and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, 1969
• University of Texas at El Paso, B.A., Political Science, El Paso, Texas, 1973
• University of Texas at Austin School of Law, J.D., Austin, Texas, December, 1975

Activities -- Colleges and Universities

• Army ROTC, Distinguished Military Student and Graduate
• Student Senate, Black Student Union
• President, Vice President, Dean of Pledges, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Kappa Chapter
• Outstanding Alpha of the Year (National) 71-72, 72-73
• Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, 71-72, 72-73
• First African-American President, UTEP Student Government Association, 1972-1973
• Top Ten Seniors, UTEP, 1973
• Men and Women of Mines, UTEP, 1973
• Featured in book Coattailess Landslide by UTEP Professor, Dr. Joseph Ray (President Emeritus)
• Recipient, Public Administration Internship Scholarship
• Served on various University Faculty-Student Committees

Activities -- Law School

• President, Thurgood Marshall Legal Society
• Director, Project Info-Law (Minority Recruitment)
• Law School Representative to the University Student Senate
• Board Member, Law School Student Association
• Member, Admissions Committee
• Who's Who Among Students at American Colleges and Universities
• Intern, Good Neighbor Commission
• Intern, Department of Defense Legal Internship Program (JAGC)

Professional Employment

• Assistant County Attorney, Travis County, Austin, Texas, 1975-76
• U.S. Army JAGC, 1977-83
• Regular Army Commission, 1980
• Honorable Discharge, 1983
• Officer-in-Charge of Gelnhausen Legal Center, Germany 1978-1980
• Senior Defense Counsel, Fort Bliss, Texas, 1980-83
• Instructor, University of Maryland (European Division), Paralegal Program, 1979-80
• Instructor, Legal Assistant Division, El Paso Community College, 1986-1992
• Associate Municipal Court Judge, El Paso, Texas, 1992-95
• Criminal Law Magistrate, El Paso County, Texas, 1995
• Family Court Judge, El Paso County, Texas, 1995-99
• Visiting Associate Family Court Judge, 65th District Court, 2006-2008
• Visiting Associate Family Court Judge, 171st District Court, Current
• Advanced Family Law Mediator, 1994-Current
• Solo-Practitioner, Law Offices of Donald L. Williams, 1983-Current

Professional/Bar Activities

• Member State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, National Bar Association
• El Paso Bar Association, Lawrence A. Nixon Bar Association, Mexican-American Bar Association
• Board of Directors, El Paso Bar Association
• Member, Family Law Section, State Bar of Texas
• Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, State Bar of Texas & El Paso Bar Association
• Member, College of the State Bar of Texas
• Member,  Texas Bar Foundation
• Member, State Bar of Texas Racial Diversity Committee
• Chairman, Executive Committee, Family Law Bar Association, 2006, 2007, 2009
• State Bar Grievance Professional Enhancement Program
• Former Sub-Committee Chair, El Paso Bar Fee Dispute Committee
• Domestic Violence Prevention Commission
• YWCA, Advisory Council, Helping Children Cope With Divorce and ROLLERCOASTERS
• Candidate, 388th Judicial District Court, 1999
• Course Director, Family Law 101 Seminar, El Paso Family Law Bar Association, 1999
• Co-Course Director, Resolving Custody, Visitation & Access Disputes, 2000
• Planning Committee, Presenter, Family Law On the Border, 2001 and 2004, 2006
• Panelist, Attorney Ad Litem/Guardian Ad Litem Seminar, 2002, 2006
• Presiding Officer, University of Texas School of Law-CLE-Family Law and the Military, 2005
• Moderator and Presenter, Pro Bono Seminar, State Bar of Texas 2003
• President, El Paso Family Law Bar Association, 2003, 2004, 2005
• Presenter, State Bar of Texas, Texas Minority Attorney Program, 2006, 2008
• Course Director, Family Law and the Military, 2003 & 2007
• Presenter, State Bar of Texas Marriage Dissolution Institute Boot Camp, 2007
• Course Director, Family Law 201, Effective Practice Before the El Paso Family Courts, 2007
• Panelist, Military Law Update, State Bar of Texas Webcast, 2007
• Originator of House Bill 930 that Amended Texas Family Code, §201.007, 2007
• Presenter, 13th Annual Civil Trial Seminar, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2009
• Compiled, 171st District Family Court Staff Orientation and Reference Manual, 2009
• Presenter, El Paso Family Law Bar Association, Child Support Seminar, 2009
• Panelist, Family Law In the Military Combat Zone, State Bar Webcast, 2009
• State Bar of Texas Committee, Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans, 2009

Legal Articles, Handbooks and Publications

• Brotherly or Sisterly Love or Sibling Rivalry-Resolving Relationship Issues through the Texas Lawyers Creed
• Military Support Requirements-Establishing and Calculating Military Child Support
• An Alternative to Temporary Custody Battles
• Preparing Effectively for the Temporary Orders Hearing
• Is This the Client You Want? Screening, Signing Up and Maintaining Quality Clients
• Associate Judge Statute
• Joint Complex Retirement/Child Support Calculations
• Top Ten Tips for Developing A Successful Solo Practice
• Interviewing, Counseling Military Service and Family Members in Family Law Cases
• Unique Family Law Issues in the Military Community
• Texas Divorce Information Handbook
• Child Support Handbook
• Paternity Handbook
• Modification Handbook
• Clarification and Enforcement of Military Retirement Handbook
• Pro Se Divorce Litigation-Self Representation in Family Court
• Texas Family Law in the Military Combat Zone

Awards and Recognition

• Outstanding Young Men of America, 1982
• Recipient, UTEP Black Student Image Award, 1983
• Lawrence A. Nixon Judicial Achievement Award, 1992
• Black El Paso Democrats' Outstanding Community Service Award, 1992
• Outstanding Church and Community Service Award, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, 1992
• Grand Marshal, El Paso Black History Month Parade, 1993
• Who's Who Worldwide, 1992-1993, 1994-1995
• National Directory of Who's Who of Executives & Professionals, 1996-97
• Continental Who’s Who Registry, Millennium Edition, 2001-2002
• Featured in book, African-American Achievers Making History on the Border in El Paso, Texas by Ethel Toliver-Kindred
• Honorary Member and Inductee, University of Texas at El Paso Honors Council, 1998
• University Of Texas at El Paso Strategic Planning General Education Study Group
• 411 News Unity Award, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999
• Committee to Establish the R.E.L. Washington Elementary School, 2000
• Committee to Establish the Chester E. Jordan Elementary School, 2007
• Celebrity, “Papeleros With a Purpose,” LULAC Project Amistad, 2007, 2008
• Outstanding Community Service Award, Phillips Chapel CME Church, 2007
• Outstanding Citizenship Award, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, 1992
• Established, The Donald L. Williams Endowed Student Enhancement Fund, UTEP, 2006
• Silver Life Member, National NAACP, since 2007
• 1st Recipient, President’s Award, El Paso Branch NAACP, 2007
• Inductee, El Paso County Democratic Party Hall of Fame, 2007
• Recipient, Community Service Award, El Paso Branch NAACP, 2008
• El Paso Commission for Women Community Service Recognition 2008, 2009
• Visitor’s Chapel Community Excellence Award, 2009

Community Service

• Charter Member, St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church
• Former Chair, Board of Trustees, St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church
• President, St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church of El Paso, Tx., Inc., 2008
• Charter Member, Black El Paso Democrats
• Former President, Pebble Hills Elementary PTA
• United Way Allocations Committee
• Executive Committee, Family Law Bar Association, 1995-99, 2002-2007, 2008, 2009
• Past President, Theta Delta Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
• Co-Chair, (YES) Youth Enrichment Seminar, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
• Graduate, Leadership El Paso, Class 10, 1987-1988,  El Paso Chamber of Commerce
• Board of Directors, Leadership El Paso Alumni Association
• Board of Managers-Casa Blanca Therapeutic Communities, Inc.
• University of Texas El Paso Commission 2001, Leadership Committee
• Board of Directors, UT El Paso Alumni Association, 1995-97
• Board of Directors-Junior Achievement of the Desert Southwest
• Advisory Council, El Paso Community College, Legal Assistant Program
• Moderator, Delta Sigma Theta/UTEP, African American Knowledge Bowl, 2009
• Member, El Paso Black Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Vice Chair/Chair, UT El Paso, Thelma White Network, 1997-2000, 2000-2003
• Volunteer, Juvenile Drug Court, 409th District Court, Current
• El Paso Community College Diversity Program Ribbon Cutting, 2009
• El Paso Community College Diversity Advisor, 2009
• 1st Vice President, El Paso Branch NAACP, 2009
• Complete Count Committee, City of El Paso, 2009

Political Activities

• El Paso Grassroots for Obama
• Successfully Challenged the El Paso Democratic Delegation Allocation before State Credentials Committee (Austin), 2008
• Delegate-Precinct, County and State Democratic Conventions, 2008
• Senatorial District 29 Delegate to National Democratic Convention, 2008
• El Paso County Democratic Party UNITY 2008
• Chair, El Paso Branch NAACP, Political Action Committee, 2005-Present
• Chair, Black El Paso Democrats, 2005-Present

Community Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, Project Alpha, A Man to Man Talk About Teen Pregnancy
• Speaker, Paternity/Child Support, Father/Son Conference, Americas High School
• Speaker, Texas State Legal Secretaries Association
• Speaker, El Paso Legal Assistants Association
• Speaker, 70th Ordnance Battalion Prayer Breakfast
• Speaker, 11th ADA Brigade, Offsite
• Speaker, La Tuna Federal Prison
• Speaker, Joint Task Force Six
• Speaker, Martin Luther King Celebration, Ft. Bliss, Texas
• Speaker, El Paso Inter-Club Council, Juneteenth Heritage Breakfast
• Speaker, ADA 552, Domestic Violence Prevention
• Speaker, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Biggs Field
• Speaker, Texas Health Information Management Association Workshops
• Speaker, El Paso Interpreters and Translators Association
• Speaker, Junior League Court Link
• Speaker, Asociacion Lideres Mexicanos Americanos (ALMA)
• Speaker, University of Texas at El Paso, Student Government Association Induction
• Speaker, University of Texas at El Paso Honors Council Induction
• Speaker, University of Texas at El Paso 50 Year Desegregation Celebration
• Speaker, University of Texas at El Paso Multi-Cultural Graduation Celebration
• Speaker, Border Patrol, El Paso Sector
• Speaker, El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC),Veterans Day Presentation
• Speaker, International Boundary and Water Commission, United States Section
• Speaker, Black History Month and Career Day Programs at various middle and high schools
• Speaker, Silhouettes “Ladies in Red” Annual Brunch. 1st Male Keynote in 42 Year History of the Organization
• Speaker, St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church Father’s Day Program

Please email us or visit our website for additional information.

Articles by Law Offices of Donald L. Williams:

• Calculating Military Child Support
• Texas Family Law in the Military Combat Zone