Laura D. Heard

LAURA D. HEARD grew up in San Antonio and has been serving the legal needs of families in San Antonio and surrounding areas since 1987. From her San Antonio office, she has represented clients across the state of Texas including the counties of Bexar, Comal, Kendall, Guadalupe and many others. Laura has represented people in court all the way from the panhandle down to Corpus Christi.

Awards

I have been honored and excited to receive many awards for my work. One of the nicest awards I’ve won was “Outstanding Lawyer” by the San Antonio Business Journal in 2019. There were many stringent requirements, and I was humbled by the quality of the other outstanding lawyers who were also recipients of the award. There was an inspiring ceremony that made me want to do even more for the community.

In 2018, I won a “Top Lawyers in Texas” award for “Highest Ethical Standards and Professional Excellence,” and I’ve been awarded 10 Best Family Law Attorneys in Texas by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys every year from 2019 through 2022. I was a Top Family Lawyer in San Antonio in Scene in SA Magazine in 2021 and a San Antonio Best Lawyers in Appellate Law in the same magazine in 2006.

While in law school in 1986, I received the American Jurisprudence Awards in both Domestic Relations and Agency & Partnership Law for achieving the highest grade in my classes. I am proud to have received at A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau every year since 2018 to the present (2022).

Community Involvement

Laura has participated in many community activities including Prevent Child Abuse Texas, Habitat for Humanity and Food for the Hungry. She has been a parent volunteer for boy scouts and girl scouts, and a girl scout troop leader. She is an active member of her church where she sings in the church choir. For relaxation Laura enjoys fishing, music, and she loves to watch San Antonio Spurs basketball and Baylor Bears football.

Bar Admissions:

State Bar of Texas, 1987
Admitted to all of the U.S. District Court regions in Texas
Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1990
United States Supreme Court, 1992

Education:

St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas, 1987, J.D. Honors: With Distinction
Baylor University with Honors, 1983

Published Works:

Alternative Reproduction & Texas State Probate Law, St. Mary’s Law Journal 927, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1986
Ethical Issues in Probate Practice, (NBI 2007)
How to Handle Post-Trial Issues, (NBI 2007)
Divorce and Estate Planning in Texas – How to Plan Ahead for the Unexpected and Save Your Family’s Future, (Jacobs & Whitehall, copyright 2022).

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Remedies Seminar-Consumer Law, People’s Law School – San Antonio Bar, 1995
Business Law, Business Ethics, Criminal Law, HealthCare Law, Law & Society, Wayland Baptist University, 1993-2005
Adjunct Professor of Law, Wayland Baptist University, 1993-2005
Various continuing Legal Education courses for National Business Institute 2006-2007

Honors:

American Jurisprudence Awards, Domestic Relations, 1986
American Jurisprudence Awards, Agency and Partnership Law, 1986
State Bar College – Fellow
Voted one of the “Best Appellate Lawyers in San Antonio”, 2005 & 2006
American Institute of Family Law Attorneys “10 Best Attorneys in Texas” 2019
Better Business Bureau, accredited A+ rating

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Alamo Area Mediators Association, volunteer mediator
National Association of Women Business Owners, Member
North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, Member
Christian Legal Society – San Antonio, Former President
Texas Women Lawyers, 1987-1988, Charter member of the Board of Directors
San Antonio Bar Association, Family Law Section, Member
San Antonio Bar Association, Elder Law Section, Member
San Antonio Bar Association, Appellate Law Section, Member
Women in Business for Good, founding member

My motto: “Justice Flows From Truth, Persistence, Compassion and Wisdom”