JENKINS KAMIN - Key Persons
Aaron Reimer earned his undergraduate degree from Dallas Christian College cum laude, with a double major in Theology and Psychology. After graduation, he worked for several years in the banking industry before moving to Houston to attend South Texas College of Law.
While in law school, Aaron clerked for the Honorable Judge Georgia Dempster of the Harris County 308 th Family District Court. He also clerked for the Honorable Justice George C. Hanks, Jr., in Houston's First Court of Appeals.
After graduating from law school, Aaron continued his education at the University of Houston Law Center, pursuing a Masters of Law in taxation. The specialized training he received provides him added depth of knowledge when handling complex property issues for his clients and make him an invaluable asset to the marital property team. In addition to representing parties in complex divorce litigation, Aaron also represents clients in negotiation of premarital (prenup) agreements and partition (postnup) agreements.
Aaron lives in Houston with his three rescue dogs, Danielle, Homer, and Bean.
Practice Areas
Family Law
Claire Elizabeth Rogers, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, earned her bachelor's degree in Forensic Chemistry in 2007 and her bachelor's degree in English in 2008 from the University of Mississippi. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 2011.
Claire developed a passion for helping families and children during law school. During her first year of law school, she completed family mediation training and volunteered with Just Solutions Mediation Services in Louisville, Kentucky. During her third year of law school, she interned with Chancery Court Judge Edwin Roberts in Oxford, Mississippi, as well as participated in the Guardian Ad Litem clinic at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
Since graduation, Claire has solely worked in family law in Houston bringing to her practice the skills she learned as a mediator, as well as a Guardian Ad Litem. She endeavors to help her clients reach resolutions without the necessity for contracted litigation. Claire understands the importance of parents being able to work together after the lawsuit ends and tries to find amicable solutions for families during their most difficult times, whether it be a divorce or custody dispute.
She has co-authored articles on the use of technology in empowering victims of domestic violence and on forensics. Claire supports the Friends of DePelchin, a group of young professionals who are committed to supporting DePelchin's mission.
Practice Areas
Family Law
Education
BS, University of Mississippi, Forensic Chemistry,
BA, University of Mississippi, English,
JD, University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
Claudia Canales is a native Texan and has been practicing family law in Houston since 2003. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice in 1997 from the University of Houston-Downtown. While attending the University of Houston-Downtown, Claudia worked as a clerk for the Harris County District Clerk's Office and as an assistant clerk for the 310 th Judicial District Court of Harris County. In 2002, Claudia graduated cum laude with a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University-Thurgood Marshall School of Law. During law school, she interned in the 310 th Judicial District Court of Harris County. Upon graduation from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Claudia immediately opened her own law practice and remained in private practice for 18 years until she partnered with Jenkins & Kamin, L.L.P. in January 2022.
Prior to joining Jenkins & Kamin, L.L.P. as a partner, Claudia maintained a successful law practice in Child Welfare and Family Law. During her 18 years in solo-practice, Claudia represented parties of divorce while also developing a uniquely diverse perspective through other various roles in the family law world. She accepted child welfare court-appointments as an Ad Litem Attorney representing parents and children involved in cases with the Texas Department of Family Protection Services (TDFPS), including termination of parental rights, participation in services, modification of custody orders, and adoptions. Claudia accepted appointments as an Amicus Attorney to provide legal services to the Court to protect the best interests of children in high-conflict custody matters, including divorces, modifications, and private adoptions. Claudia is a seasoned litigator who spent most of her 18 years of practice in a courtroom litigating complex family law cases to the bench as well as many juries. In addition to her primary role as an attorney in family law, Claudia maintained a successful mediation practice, mediating a variety of highly contested child custody and child welfare cases.
Claudia lives in Houston with her husband Michael of 32 years. Claudia and Michael have been avid runners since 2014 and have run over 20 half marathons in different cities across the nation, including the Houston Aramco half marathon, the Houston Chevron full marathon, Las Vegas Rock & Roll half marathon, and the New Orleans Rock & Roll half marathon.
Cody Bowman, a native Texan, received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, with a Bachelor of Science, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law Houston, where he graduated in 2001. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in November 2002.
While in undergraduate school, Cody was both an intern for U. S. Representative Charles Stenholm and a staff assistant for the U. S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee. While in law school, he was a legislative intern for the Texas Department of Agriculture, as well as an intern in the 247 th District Court for the Honorable Bonnie Hellums.
Practice Areas
Divorce
Elva C. Godwin is an experienced, solid attorney with strong ties to her church and community. Elva obtained her undergraduate degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and graduated from South Texas College of Law in 1981. Elva served on the Alumni Board of Southwestern University, staying active within the educational community and serving on the Board of Trustees for First United Methodist Church in Houston.
Practicing probate, business, and oil and gas law, Elva spent her first 12 years in practice with the firm of Strong, Heyburn, and Cockrell. With her strong background in these areas, Elva joined Jenkins & Kamin in 1995 and has been an invaluable addition to the marital property team ever since. She is able to utilize her past experience in order to provide clients with a unique perspective that works to their advantage when resolving a case.
She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Texas Family Law Foundation, the Burta Rhoads Raborn Inns of Court, the Houston Bar Association Family Law Section and the Collaborative Law Section of which she was a founding director and chair for the 2008-2009 year.
Elva has co-authored several articles with Joan F. Jenkins for various continuing legal education seminars including several articles for the Advanced Family Law Course and New Frontiers in Marital Property Law presented by the State Bar of Texas as well as South Texas College of Law.
Elva has embraced the Collaborative Law process for resolution of family law matters. She has participated in numerous training workshops and seminars and was actively involved in the planning committee for the 2007 University of Texas Collaborative Law Seminar in Austin. She has successfully resolved many complex family law cases over the past few years using the Collaborative Law process.
Jeanice Dawes is a University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) graduate. Before joining Jenkins & Kamin, LLP, as an Associate Attorney, she was an Assistant County Attorney with the Harris County Attorney's Office, representing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (commonly called CPS). Jeanice is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Child Welfare law.
Jeanice has extensive experience litigating family law cases. She has tried numerous bench trials and has first and second-chair jury trial experience. Her family law experience includes handling divorce, child custody, modifications, paternity, adoption, and termination cases. Additionally, Jeanice has juvenile law and civil litigation experience.
Jeanice Dawes was an Assistant District Attorney with the Galveston County District Attorney's office representing CPS. For approximately four years, she was a private practice family law attorney representing clients across Texas, including Harris and surrounding counties. In her private practice, Jeanice represented parents as an Ad Litem attorney in Child Welfare cases and children as an Amicus and Ad Litem attorney. She also served as a Child Advocate during law school. She received the UHLC Distinguished Service Award for serving the community as a student attorney with the UHLC Civil Practice Clinic.
Before matriculating at the University of Houston Law Center, Jeanice Dawes was a member of the Financial Managing Program (FMP) at General Electric Company. After her stint at General Electric, Jeanice served as the Senior Financial Accountant for Imperial Homes, LTD. In 2002, Jeanice graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Jeanice Dawes is a proud Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated- Omicron Tau Omega chapter member. She volunteers with her church, Time of Celebration Ministries Church (TOCMC), with the teen youth group. Jeanice is a member of the State Bar of Texas Family Law and the Child Welfare Law sections. She is also a member of the Houston Bar Association and a past member of the Houston Lawyer's Association. She is the proud aunt of four nieces and three nephews. Jeanice is a dog mom to a four-year-old boxer, Duchess Dawes, and a native Houstonian.
Practice Areas
Family Law, including:
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Retired - Former Managing Partner
Joan Foote "Jo" Jenkins, named partner of Jenkins & Kamin, LLP, has devoted her practice solely to family law for her entire 35 year career. In recent years Jo has expanded her litigation practice to include collaborative law and service as a mediator and arbitrator.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jo is a sixth generation Texan who spent four years in the Chicago area where she graduated from high school. After acquiring her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in 1972, Jo worked in business and politics, raising her two children, Jessica and John, while attending law school. Graduating from South Texas College of Law in 1982, Jo joined the firm in 1985.
Jo was board certified in family law in 1987 by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Over the years Jo has devoted countless hours to the advancement of the family law profession, including serving as Chair of the Texas Family Law Foundation, a state wide organization devoted to promoting legislation to protect Texas families who must seek help from our judicial system. Jo is also the past Chair of the Pattern Jury Charges Committee for Family Law. She served as an ex officio membership of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, responsible for advising the Court on necessary changes to our Texas procedural and evidentiary rules and a member of the Texas Supreme Court Child Support and Visitation Guidelines Committee. Jo was elected Chair of the Family Law Section of the State Bar in 2002 and she continued to serve as member of the Legislative Committee of the Family Law Section until 2014.
Jo is also a member of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, having handled many cases involving cross-border issues.
Recognized by her peers for high ethical standards, in 1995 Jo received the highest honor bestowed upon a family lawyer in the Houston area, the David Gibson Award for Professionalism and Excellence in the Practice of Family Law awarded annually by the Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists. Jo was selected by her peers to be included in the current edition of Best Lawyers in America, an honor she has received for over 15 years and was selected as the 2010 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers. Jo has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer, a Thomson Reuters business published by Texas Monthly magazine each year since the inception of this award. She has also been named as one of the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Texas and Top 100 Houston Region Attorneys; all by a Thomson Reuters business published by Texas Monthly magazine.
A frequent author and speaker at family law related seminars, Jo's bibliography includes a diverse range of topics from complex property issues to child custody, evidence, trial tactics and summary judgments. Jo is a co-author of O'Connor's edition of the Texas Family Code, entitled Family Code Plus and the O'Connor's Family Law Handbook.
Her commitment to continuing legal education has also included her leadership as course director for some of the most respected family law seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Texas as well as her inclusion as a faculty member and speaker at many seminars, including those sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, the University of Texas, and other organizations devoted to the continuing legal education of family law attorneys.
The mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother, Jo understands the high stakes that can be involved in family law litigation and she takes her responsibilities to heart. When she's not in the courtroom or at work in her office, Jo enjoys spending time with her family and spending weekends at her home in the Hill Country.
Lauren Heyde earned her undergraduate degree from University of Houston cum laude, with a major in Sociology. After graduation, she attended South Texas College of Law where she graduated magna cum laude.
While in law school, Lauren clerked for The Beacon as a law clerk assisting Houston's homeless and indigent population. She later joined Jenkins & Kamin as a law clerk and, after being licenses by the State Bar of Texas, became an associate attorney with the firm.
Lauren and her husband live in West Houston with their rescue dog, Petey, and Ziggy, the cat.
Practice Areas
Family Law
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Managing Partner
Lynn Kamin joined the firm in 1993 became a partner in 1998. She is passionate about advocating for the needs of children and families in crisis. For Lynn, the practice of family law inherently contains an element of public service and she maintains a personal and professional commitment to helping families.
Lynn holds several undergraduate degrees and a master's degree in Secondary Education and Psychology. After graduation she taught children with learning disorders for several years before deciding to focus on family law, which she believes is an extension of her public service commitment to children and families. She has been an active volunteer throughout her law career and has served on the board of Child Abuse Task Force where she had a leadership role in the organization and development of the Children's Assessment Center, a program focused on meeting the sensitive needs of child sexual abuse victims.
In addition to her work with children, Lynn has volunteered for various community service programs through the Houston Bar Association. She has also served as editor-in-chief of the Houston Bar Association's Family Law Handbook. The handbook has been distributed across the state to assist parties and agencies in understanding essential family law topics.
Lynn has also served on the board of directors of Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists and is Past President of the Burta Rhoads Raborn Inns of Court. She has been active in the Houston Bar Association's Family Law Section where she has served in various leadership positions and is the past chair of the Houston Bar Foundation.
Lynn has earned the respect and admiration of her peers was named "Friend of HBA, Family Law Section" by that organization, the David A. Gibson 2005 winner and the recipient of the Burta Rhoads Raborn Mentor Award from the Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists. She has been recognized with many accolades as nominated by her peers.
Known for her generosity of spirit and legal expertise, Lynn is a frequently sought-after speaker on custody issues, complex property issues, and other family law issues at both local and state continuing legal education programs.
Equally comfortable before a judge or a jury, Lynn is recognized as a brilliant and tenacious trial attorney who has tried highly contentious cases throughout the state. When she is not advocating a position before a judge or focusing her presentation to a jury, Lynn enjoys reading, traveling, sailing with her husband, and playing with her grandchildren.
Practice Areas
100% Family Law
Lynn focuses her practice on Civil Appellate Law, which includes presenting your case to one of Texas' fourteen courts of appeal and to the Texas Supreme Court. As an appellate attorney and part of the Jenkins & Kamin team, Lynn also works on dispositive motions in the trial court, the court's charge, jurisdictional challenges, and post-trial proceedings.
Lynn has extensive appellate experience and is well known for her work in the areas of interstate child custody litigation; intentional interference with possession of a child; informal/common law marriage; premarital and post-nuptial agreements; police and firefighter retirement plans; and tortious conduct in the context of divorce.
Outside her professional life, Lynn devotes time to her family, friends, neighbors, and a rotating cast of rescue dogs and cats. She is married to William L. Stanton III (Larry) and together they have four children and nine grandchildren. Lynn also supports P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) which provides scholarships and loans to women. She is a Daughter of the American Revolution, a member of Chapelwood United Methodist Church, has served on the board of her neighborhood homeowners' association, and is a past Instructor at the W omen's Institute of Houston.
Practice Areas
Civil Appellate Law
Peter F. Walbridge Jr., a native Houstonian, earned his undergraduate degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, with a major in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. After graduation, he taught elementary school as a member of Teach for America and clerked with Jenkins & Kamin before attending Tulane University School of Law.
While in law school, Peter interned with the Harris County District Attorney's Office in their Family Criminal Law Division. Peter spent his first 10 years in practice with Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA), representing victims of domestic violence in protective order and other family law matters. Peter spent the last three years of his time at AVDA as one of their managing attorneys, representing clients on all family matters, providing community outreach to victims and agency partners, and supervising the Harris County Protective Order Program.
Peter and his wife live in West Houston with their two sons.
Practice Areas
Family Law
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Family Law and Collaborative Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas
Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Susan moved to Texas in 1999 to attend Baylor University. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Economics, she moved to Houston to attend law school at South Texas College of Law Houston. She graduated with a Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 2006 and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas later that year. Susan started exclusively devoting her practice to family law in 2007. She quickly gained experience in the courtroom and in mediations, and joined J&K in 2008. Susan has continued to earn her reputation as a steadfast, knowledgeable, and compassionate advocate for her family law clients. In 2017, she became Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and was invited to become a partner of the firm in February 2018. In 2020, Susan was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Susan is a member of the Family Law and Collaborative Law sections of the State Bar of Texas and the local Houston Bar Association. She is also a member of Houston Young Lawyers Association, Texas Family Law Foundation, Burta Rhoads Raborn American Inn of Court, and is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Susan has co-authored articles presented at the Advanced Family Law seminar and Marriage Dissolution seminar, held by the State Bar of Texas.
Throughout her enthusiastic practice of family law, Susan has been recognized as a "Rising Star" by Texas Monthly Super Lawyers magazine (2010-2012, 2016, 2017), and as a "Top Lawyer" by Houstonia magazine (2016, 2017).
When she is not advocating for her clients, Susan actively gives her time to help others. She is involved in Dress for Success Houston, a nonprofit organization that empowers other women to obtain economic independence by providing professional attire and developmental training. For several years, she has served on the Houston Bar Association's Fun Run Committee, benefitting The Center Houston, which supports individuals with developmental and vocational disabilities. She earned the Houston Bar Association's prestigious President's Award in 2015, for her volunteerism as a co-chair of this event.
Practice Areas
Divorce