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Susan
McLerran

Managing Partner, Board-Certified

Profile

Susan McLerran’s practice encompasses a broad array of family law matters, with a focus on complex divorce proceedings involving marital property characterization, valuation and division, business valuation, taxation, issues related to retirement assets, stock options, restricted stock and employee benefits, conservatorship, visitation and child support matters, pre-marital and post-marital agreements and suits regarding modification and enforcement of court orders.  Susan’s experience includes litigation, arbitration and mediation of all family law matters.

Susan graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in May 2005 and was licensed to practice law in June 2005.  She is also a graduate of The University of Texas, where she was a four-year starter for the Lady Longhorn Volleyball Team, competing in the NCAA Division I National Championship in 1995.

  • DISTINCTIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

    Susan is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and was granted Fellowship into the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2016. She was named to the “Top Women Lawyers” list by Thomson Reuters (2019 – 2022) and selected as a “Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters (2014 – 2022) in Texas Monthly Magazine and the Texas Super Lawyers Publication. Susan is currently Present-Elect of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and serves on the Texas Family Law Counsel of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. She is a past President of the Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists and the Burta Rhoads Raborn Family Law Inn of Court. In addition, she is a Fellow of the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation, a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a past director of the Houston Bar Association Family Law Section.

    Awards

    Certifications

    • Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2010

  • PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
    • American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (Fellow, 2016-current)
    • Family Law Council, Family Law Section State Bar of Texas (Council Member, 2017-current)
      • Awards & Scholarships Committee (Chair, 2019-current)
      • CLE Committee (Co-Chair, 2021)
      • Finance Committee (Member, 2022)
      • Hall of Legends Subcommittee (Chair, 2019-current)
      • Membership Committee (Chair, 2021-current)
    • Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists (President Elect, 2023, Executive Committee 2019-current, Director 2016-2019)
    • Gulf Cost Family Law Specialists (President 2019-20; Executive Committee 2016-18, Member 2010-current)
    • Burta Rhoads Raborn Family Law Inn of Court (President, 2016-17; Executive Committee, 2013-18)
    • Texas Bar Foundation (Fellow, 2016-current)
    • Texas Family Law Foundation – Sustaining Member
    • Houston Young Lawyers Foundation (Fellow 2014-current)
    • Editor of Family Law Forum, Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists Publication (2015-17)
    • Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association Family Law Section (Director, 2011-2013)
    • State Bar of Texas, State Bar of Texas Family Law Section, 2005 – current
    • Houston Bar Association (Family Law Section), 2005 – current

  • PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING
    • Inventories Beyond the Formbook, Advanced Family Law Drafting Course, Fort Worth, Texas, 2023;
    • Property Considerations in Non-Traditional Relationships, 28th Annual New Frontiers in Marital Property Law, Charleston, South Carolina, 2023
    • Marital Property Agreements, Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2023
    • Trial Prep: Best Practices and Tips, 2023 Marriage Dissolution Institute, Austin, Texas, 2023
    • Co-Course Director, 48th Annual Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2022
    • Out of This World (Or at Least Outside of Texas): Out-of-State and Foreign Marital Property Considerations, 27th Annual New Frontiers in Marital Property Law, Lake Tahoe, California, 2022
    • Preparing for the Unexpected, Advanced Trial Skills for Family Lawyers Course, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2022
    • If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time: Financial Documents Explained, Marriage Dissolution Institute, Fort Worth, Texas, 2022
    • Unique Property Issues, Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, TX, 2021
    • Characterization and Tracing 101, Marriage Dissolution 101, 2021
    • Representation in the Substance Abuse Case, Panhandle Family Law Association, 2021
    • Visual Advocacy: Preparing and Presenting Financial Exhibits, Advanced Trial Skills for Family Lawyers Course, 2020
    • Marital Property Agreements and Cohabitation Agreements: What’s All the Fuss About?, 31st Annual Estate Planning & Probate Drafting Course, 2020
    • I Know There’s An Answer: Getting the Information You Need To Win, Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, TX, 2020
    • Pre-Marital Agreements, Advanced Family Law Drafting Course, Dallas, Texas, 2019
    • Co-Course Director, 24th Annual New Frontier In Marital Property Law, Savannah, Georgia, 2019
    • Preparing Clients: Woodshedding Made Legal, Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2019
    • Representation in the Substance Abuse Case, 2019 Marriage Dissolution Institute, Galveston, Texas, 2019
    • Co-Course Director, 34th Annual TAFLS Trial Institute, San Francisco, California, 2019
    • Special Issues with Step-Parent Adoption, Handling Your First (or Next) Termination or Adoption, Austin, Texas, 2018
    • Characterization, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas, 2018
    • Marital Property Issues in Drafting Planning Documents, Attorneys in Tax and Probate Meeting, Houston, Texas, 2018
    • Proper Role of Expert Witnesses, 2017 Advanced Family Law Conference, San Antonio, Texas, 2017
    • Tracing, 2017 Marriage Dissolution Institute, Austin, Texas, 2017;
    • Pick a Number, Any Number: Valuing Businesses, 2017 Marriage Dissolution Institute, Austin, Texas, 2017;
    • Tracing, 2016 Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2016
    • Property Division, Texas Bar College Summer School Course, Galveston, Texas, 2015;
    • Percentage Division, Houston Bar Association Family Law Section Course, 2015;
    • Spousal Maintenance – An Analysis and Judicial Survey, 2014 Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2014;
    • Basics of Characterization, 2014 Marriage Dissolution, Austin, Texas, 2014;
    • The Intersection Between Family Law and Business Entities and Real Estate Law, South Texas College of Law 28th Annual Family Law Conference, Houston, Texas 2014;
    • Handling Finance-Related Ethical Issues in Family Law Cases, Advanced Family Law Practice for Paralegals, 2013;
    • Pre-marital and Post-Marital Agreements, Houston Bar Association 2012 Family Law Institute-Property Day, 2012;
    • Pre- and Post-Marital Agreements, South Texas College of Law 26th Annual Family Law Conference, Houston, Texas 2012; Tax Considerations in Drafting, 2011 Advanced Family Law Drafting Course, Dallas, Texas 2011; Preparing for and Passing the Board Certification Exam, 2011 Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas 2011;
    • How to Interpret Financial Statements, Income Tax Returns, and Other Similar Documents, 2011 Marriage Dissolution 101, Austin, Texas, 2011;
    • Closing Documents in Layman’s Terms, 2011 Family Law Institute, Houston, Texas, 2011; Business Organizations – Identifying the Differences and Understanding What They Mean, Dollars and Sense: An In-Depth Exploration of the Financial Side of Family Law, Houston Bar Association Family Law Section Course, Houston, Texas, 2010;
    • Key Tax Considerations for Family Law Practitioners, American Bar Association 101 Practice Series, 2010;
    • Third Party Discovery, 2010 Advanced Family Law Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2010.

Education

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas

University of Houston, Houston, Texas

Bar Admissions

Texas, 2005