About Jon M.
Jon M. Franks began his legal training at Southwestern University, where he completed a B.A. in history and English literature in 1959. He moved on to the University of Texas at Austin and earned his J.D. in 1963. Those two degrees set the groundwork for a long career centered in Texas courts and bar organizations.
Early in his career he served as a municipal judge in Irving in 1973. Five years later he took on the same role for the City of Southlake in 1978. Those judicial posts put him in daily contact with local dispute resolution and municipal procedure. They also informed his later work as a lawyer and advisor in family law matters.
Over the years Franks has held roles beyond the bench. In 1997 he served as Special Counsel to the State Bar of Texas and the Commission for Lawyer Discipline. He has maintained memberships and fellowship roles in a number of professional groups. He has been a member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas since 1980 and a member of the Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association since 1984. He belonged to the Dallas Bar Association Family Law Section from 1978 to 1992, and to the Irving Bar Association from 1967 to 1990. He was a fellow of the North Texas Family Law Specialists Association from 1981 to 1987.
Franks holds fellowship status in broader family law organizations as well. He became a fellow of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists in 1987 and has been listed as a fellow of the American Bar Association Family Law Section since the same year. Those affiliations reflect sustained participation in professional circles focused on family law practice and education.
He is a Certified Family Law Specialist, accredited by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. That certification is a formal recognition of specialized training and examination in family law practice under Texas standards.
Franks maintains an association with Bailey & Galyen Lawyers at Law. Over decades of service he has combined judicial experience, disciplinary work for the bar, and long-standing participation in family law organizations. He lives and practices in Texas, where his focus is family law.
