Paul Leopold is double board certified in Civil Appellate Law and Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and focuses his practice on family law appeals. He has successfully argued appeals and original proceedings in multiple state and federal appellate courts, ranging from complex property disputes, custody, child support, international child abduction, constitutional rights of parents, and myriad other issues. He has been voted by his peers as a “Top Attorney” in both family law and appellate law and has been recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters for appellate law. Paul regularly prepares materials to teach other attorneys in Texas and around the nation through continuing legal education courses.

As appellate counsel, Paul works with trial attorneys at each stage of a case. He helps with strategy, pretrial practice, dispositive motions, trial, preservation of error, and jury charges. Paul is called on by attorneys around Texas for guidance with complex issues or handling appeals from their cases as well.

Paul actively participates with both local and statewide bar associations and legal groups, including providing monthly case law updates to the Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association. Paul was previously appointed to work with the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee to draft procedural and evidentiary rules that affect the enforcement of foreign judgments in family law cases. He is a member of the Texas Family Law Foundation legislative committee, and helps to shape family law in Texas to benefit Texas families.

Honors & Awards

• Texas Rising Star, Thomson Reuters, 2020-Present
• The Best Lawyers in America^®, Family Law & Appellate Law, 2024-2026
• Top Attorneys: Appellate Law, 360 West Magazine,  2019-2023, 2025
• Top Attorneys: Family Law, Fort Worth Magazine, 2019-2020, 2023
• Top 40 Under 40, The National Advocates, 2018
• 10 Best Attorney for Client Satisfaction, American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, 2017
• The Joseph W. McKnight Best Family Law CLE Article, Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, 2017

Publications & Presentations

• Author/Speaker, Temporary Orders Pending Appeal, 2025 State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Family Law, San Antonio, Texas.
• Author/Speaker, Social Media, 2025 State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Criminal Law, Dallas, Texas.
• Speaker, Drafting and Defending Against Enforcements, Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association, June 2025, Fort Worth, Texas.
• Author/Speaker, Attorneys as Experts: Mixed Questions of Law & Fact, 2024 State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Family Law, San Antonio, Texas.
• Author/Speaker, Social Media, 2024 State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Criminal Law, San Antonio, Texas.
• Author/Speaker, Preserving Error, 2024 State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Evidence and Discovery, Dallas, Texas.
• Moderator, Tarrant County Bar Association Brown Bag Seminar: Appellate Law, January 2023, Fort Worth.
• Speaker, Anders Briefs, Tarrant County Bar Association Brown Bag Seminar: Appellate Law, January 2023, Fort Worth.
• Speaker, Appellate Tips for Trial Lawyers, May 2023 Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association Monthly Luncheon.
• Author, Cutting Edge Electronic Evidence Issues in Divorce: Wordless Communication, 2023 Marriage Dissolution Institute, Austin, Texas
• Author, “The Weight of the World: Posturing the Property Case for Appeal,” State Bar of Texas Annual New Frontiers in Marital Property Law, 2022, Truckee, California
• Author, “Cutting Edge Evidence,” State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Family Law, 2022, San Antonio, Texas
• Author, “Cutting Edge Evidence,” State Bar of Texas Annual Texas Bar College Summer School, 2022, Galveston, Texas
• Author, “Cutting Edge Evidence,” State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Trial Strategies, 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Co-Author, “Covid-19 Legislation Creates New Financial Issues in
• Author, Divorce Litigation,” 34 Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 473, 2022
• Presenter, “Family Law Case Law Update,” Wise, Jack & Montague
• Presenter, Counties Women’s Bar Association, 2022, Online CLE Webinar
• Presenter, “Top 20 Family Law Cases of 2021,” Tarrant County
• Presenter, Family Law Bar Association Monthly Luncheon, 2022, Online CLE Webinar
• Author/Presenter, “Cutting Edge Evidence,” Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association Advanced on a Shoestring, 2021, Fort Worth, Texas
• Author, “Exiting the Case: Creative Property Division and Other Remedies at Final Trial,” State Bar of Texas Annual New Frontiers in Marital Property Law CLE, 2021, Austin, Texas
• Author, “Texas Evidence Handbook,” State Bar of Texas Annual Advanced Family Law, 2021, San Antonio, Texas
• Contributing Editor, “Predicates Manual 5.0,” Texas Family Law Foundation, 2021
• Contributing Author, “Fast Guide to Family Law: Checklist for Everyday Practice,” State Bar of Texas Family Law Section, 2021
• Contributing Author: “Essentials of E-Discovery, 2nd ed.,” Texas Bar Books, 2021
• Author: “The Evidence Handbook: Basic Evidence in Family Law: Getting It In, Keeping It Out, and Dealing With Electronic Evidence,” State Bar of Texas Handling Your First (Or Next) Divorce Case, 2021, Online CLE Webinar
• Presenter, “Access, Disclosure, and Use of Mental Health Records
• in Family Law,” Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Virtual 58^th Annual Meeting, 2021, Online CLE Webinar
• Presenter, “2021 Changes to the TRCP,” Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association Monthly Luncheon, 2021, Online CLE Webinar

Representative Reported Cases

• In re C.E., 687 S.W.3d 304 (Tex. 2024) (per curiam).
• Baker v. Bizzle, 687 S.W.3d 285 (Tex. 2024).
• In re A.H.S., 676 S.W.3d 355 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2023, pet. denied).
• In re C.E., 692 S.W.3d 486 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2023) (mem. op.), rev’d, 687 S.W.3d 304 (Tex. 2024) (per curiam).
• In re Younger, 659 S.W.3d 453 (Tex. 2022) (orig. proceeding).
• In re D.A.A.-B., 657 S.W.3d549 (Tex. App.—El Paso Aug. 30, 2022, no pet.).
• In re D.L., 641 S.W.3d 873 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2022, orig. proceeding).
• Lundstrom v. Young, 857 Fed. App’x 952 (9th Cir. 2021), cert. denied, 142 S.Ct. 1363 (2022).
• In re H.L., 613S.W.3d 722 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2020, no pet.).
• Smith v. Smith, 976 F.3d558 (5th Cir. 2020).
• ​​Waldrop v. Waldrop, 552 S.W.3d 396 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2018, no pet.) (op. on en banc reconsideration).
• In re S.V., 599S.W.3d 25 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2017, pet. denied) (op. on reh’g).

Representative Unreported Cases

• Bravo v. Bravo, No. 05-24-00419-CV, 2025 WL 2053579 (Tex. App.—Dallas July 22, 2025, no pet. h.) (mem. op.).
• In re C.E., No. 02-22-00285-CV, 2025 WL 1203188 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Apr. 24, 2025, pet. filed June 9, 2025) (mem. op.).
• Sloan v. Sloan, No. 02-23-00361-CV, 2024 WL 4509728 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Oct. 17, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• Prentiss v. Prentiss, No. 05-23-00646-CV, 2024 WL 4343440 (Tex. App.—Dallas Sep. 30, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• Aijaz v. Arellano, No. 05-23-00628-CV, 2024 WL 2269265 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 20, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re M.B.G., No. 05-23-00505-CV, 2024 WL 1925871 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 2, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re P.A., No. 05-22-01048-CV, 2024 WL 1652352 (Tex. App.—Dallas Apr. 17, 2024, pet. denied) (mem. op.).
• In re S.N., No. 02-24-00017-CV, 2024 WL 566540 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 13, 2024, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
• In re H.T.S., No. 06-23-00029-CV, 2023 WL 7381409 (Tex. App.—Texarkana Nov. 8, 2023, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re J.G., No. 02-22-00238-CV, 2023 WL 2179463 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 23, 2023, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• Poydras v. Poydras, No. 02-22-00152-CV, 2023 WL 415804 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Jan. 26, 2023, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re M.M., No. 05-21-00992-CV, 2023 WL 179810 (Tex. App.—Dallas Jan. 13, 2023, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re Marriage of Wells, No. 12-21-00152-CV, 2022 WL 3724724 (Tex. App.—Tyler Aug. 30, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re A.Y.S., No. 12-21-00074-CV, 2022 WL 868046 (Tex. App.—Tyler Mar. 23, 2022, pet. denied) (mem. op.).
• Shakouri v. Shakouri, No. 02-20-00297-CV, 2022 WL 189084 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Jan. 20, 2022, pet. denied) (mem. op.).
• In re K.F., No. 02-21-00056-CV, 2021 WL 5742239 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Dec. 2, 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re T.M., No. 02-19-00388-CV, 2020 WL 7393741 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Dec. 17, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re H.L., No. 02-20-00120-CV, 2020 WL 5949920 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Oct. 8, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re E.A., No. 02-18-00233-CV, 2020 WL 3969587 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth June 18, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• C.C. v. L.C., No. 02-18-00425-CV, 2019 WL 2865294 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 3, 2019, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re C.W.J., No. 11-17-00085-CV, 2019 WL 1067489 (Tex. App.—Eastland Mar. 7, 2019, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re K.F., No. 02-18-00187-CV, 2018 WL 6816119 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Dec. 27, 2018, pet. denied) (mem. op.).
• Pedone v. Harvey, No. 07-17-00394-CV, 2018 WL 3677804 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Aug. 2, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.).
• In re E.B., No. 12-17-00214-CV, 2017 WL 4675109 (Tex. App.—Tyler Oct. 18, 2017, orig. proceeding [mand. denied, June 8, 2018]) (mem. op.).

Professional & Community Involvement

• State Bar of Texas, Family Law and Appellate Sections, Member, 2014-Present
• Texas Bar College, Member, 2015-Present
• Texas Family Law Foundation, Member, 2015-Present
• Texas Young Lawyers Association, Member, 2015-Present
• Tarrant County Bar Association, Appellate Section
• Planning Committee, Secretary, 2023
• Member, 2015-Present
• Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association, Member, 2015-Present
• Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, Associate Member, 2017-2018
• National Family Law Trial Institute, Alumnus, 2016

KoonsFuller, P.C.

Our courts are not infallible. Sometimes an unjust or questionable ruling happens, and spouses, parents, and grandparents have the right to appeal a decision in the Court of Appeals, and, potentially, to the Texas Supreme Court.

At KoonsFuller, we have the resources needed to investigate and review your case, prepare for or defend against an appeal, and argue your case before an appellate court. Our team is both experienced in and committed to ensuring that any decision is fair and equitable to all parties involved.

Not all rulings are final

Our team of attorneys have experience in appealing rulings in all areas of family law. This includes such areas such as:

• • Unfair custody and visitation rulings
  • Inequitable division of assets
  • Unreasonable terms and conditions for the dissolution of assets
  • Amounts and terms of child custody and spousal support
  • Improper valuation of business holdings, real estate and other assets