Lisa A. Vance - San Antonio, TX

Overview

Lisa has over 40 years of wide-ranging experience as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts, winning significant verdicts for companies with challenging disputes, including dangerous vicarious liability claims of sexual assault and murder as well as document-intensive national litigation. She founded her own law firm in San Antonio, in 2001, now focused on all aspects of family law.

Lisa advocates for a gentler approach to marital termination, convinced that a family's energies should be spent on the healthy development of children rather than end-of-marriage angst. Her practice has expanded from litigation to collaborative law, and in addition to practicing collaboratively when possible, she also advocates for working in tandem with mental health professionals to help married couples and their children work toward healing.

When situations call for litigation, however, particularly in protecting families, she successfully promotes the best interests of her clients and their children in the courtroom. Abuse and violence is prevalent in many forms, and these call for aggressive trial strategies-to protect the victims.

Lisa's clients know her as someone who really cares about them and their family. She works hard to find solutions that work for all the members of the client's family, regardless of what that family looks like. Lisa's firm is based on the realization that for all of us, our families matter most. Choosing a lawyer to protect a family's future, and work toward peace of mind, is a critically important decision. And for this firm, we are acutely aware of the obligation that imposes on us.

Lisa has accumulated numerous awards throughout her career. She has been named one of the city's Best Family Lawyers by SA Scene magazine every year since their survey began, a Texas Super Lawyer, and an AV lawyer, meaning that her clients and peers have found her to have the highest skills and ethics. Lisa is most proud of creating a firm registered in the Martindale-Hubble Bar Register of Pre-Eminent Lawyers, made up of talented, knowledgeable lawyers who allow her to serve the wide-ranging family law needs of a diverse clientele.

What clients may not know about Lisa is how deeply she loves her non-human friends and family-and the value of their participation as peace-promoters. She learned the value of having animals present in the firm decades ago, when she worked with distraught law students. Lisa was in charge of the recruiting efforts for the local office of an international law firm. It was up to her to be sure that the students who came to the firm understood their responsibilities. That experience could be frightening for young law students, and sometimes, they would need support. As scared students would shyly come to Lisa and close her door, it would not take long to ferret out their fears. So, Lisa developed the habit of placing one of her fat white rabbits into the student's laps. As the student stroked the rabbit, all the anxiety would float away, and the students could talk and plan.

There are now three cats and four bunnies who live in the office. A few of the office staff bring their dogs with them daily. The bunnies are brought out when clients, who have no other choice, bring their children along. The children can sit next to the bunny cage and just watch bunny antics. The animals are never seen by clients, unless the situation needs them. If a client is fearful or is just not a critter-lover, they work with the lawyers and paralegals in a conference room and never know the animals are there.

At home, Lisa and her husband have rescued horses, donkeys, goats, dogs-and no telling how many cats have shown up for cuddles and kibbles. At the end of a long day of working through the pain of her clients, Lisa will bury her face in the neck of one of the rescued horses, and her own stress bubbles away.