Experience. Service. A commitment to treating every person with dignity.
I have served as the Presiding Judge of Harris County Probate Court No. 3 since 2019. Before taking the bench, I spent nearly 15 years practicing probate law in Harris County, representing individuals, families, and financial institutions in estate, trust, guardianship, and fiduciary litigation.
For me, probate law has never been simply about property or legal procedure. The cases that come before a probate court often arise during some of the most difficult moments in people’s lives—the death of a loved one, a family dispute, a loved one’s loss of capacity, or a mental health crisis. I believe those cases require not only knowledge of the law, but patience, preparation, fairness, and respect for every person who enters the courtroom.
Experience Built for a Specialized Court
I earned my undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University and my law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
After law school, I built my career in probate and fiduciary litigation. From 2004 until taking the bench, I practiced with Galligan & Manning, representing both individuals and institutions in contested estate, trust, and guardianship matters.
That experience prepared me for the unusually broad responsibilities of Harris County’s statutory probate courts. Probate Court No. 3 hears matters involving decedents’ estates, trusts, guardianships, and related litigation. The court also has primary responsibility for Harris County civil mental health proceedings—cases in which careful adherence to the law and due process can directly affect an individual’s liberty, health, and autonomy.
Since becoming judge, I have worked to combine that specialized legal experience with effective court administration, innovation, and individualized attention to the people whose lives are affected by the court’s decisions.
Leadership Beyond the Courtroom
I believe judges have an important role in strengthening the legal profession and improving the systems in which they serve.
I am President of the Texas Probate Law American Inn of Court and serve on the Guardianship Subcommittee of the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, where I contribute my experience to discussions about guardianship and the rights and needs of Texans with disabilities.
I am also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, teaching future lawyers in the areas of estate administration and guardianship.
I regularly provides continuing legal education on probate, guardianship, and civil mental health law. Since 2019, I have organized and presented Probate Court No. 3’s Annual Mental Health Seminar, helping attorneys better understand this complex and highly specialized area of practice.
My writing and educational work has also contributed to leading Texas probate and guardianship resources, including the Texas Guardianship Manual and the Texas Probate System.
A Commitment to Mental Health
Civil mental health has become an important part of my work on the bench.
I have played a leading role in Harris County’s Assisted Outpatient Treatment program, a collaboration with The Harris Center, UTHealth, and university partners that connects judicial oversight with treatment and practical community-based support.
My approach reflects a principle that guides his work throughout Probate Court No. 3: the legal system should protect individual rights while helping people and families navigate extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
Service to the Houston Community
My commitment to service began long before he took the bench.
A cancer survivor myself, I have been a longtime volunteer with MD Anderson Cancer Center, where I helped develop programs and resources supporting patients and caregivers, including young adults confronting cancer. In 2017, MD Anderson presented me with the Joseph T. Painter Award in recognition of my contributions to patient support.
In addition, the Houston Bar Association honored me with its President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2022.
Those experiences have shaped the way I approach public service. Whether someone enters his courtroom as an attorney, a grieving family member, a person with a disability, or someone experiencing a mental health crisis, I believe that person deserves to be heard and treated with dignity.
Rooted in Houston
A third-generation Houstonian, I have spent my professional life serving the community that raised me.
I am a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, practiced probate law in Houston for nearly 15 years, have taught Houston-area students for many years, and now have the privilege of serving the people of Harris County from the bench.
For me, public service is ultimately about trust: following the law, doing the work, treating people fairly, and remembering that behind every case number is a person or family whose life is being affected by the court.
My husband and I make our home in Houston, where I am proud to serve the community that has been home to my family for generations.