Attorneys
Lori M. Kern
Lori M. Kern has been involved in the practice of family law since 1999. She began her law career as a paralegal before becoming an attorney, and has worked for various law firms and organizations throughout the greater Houston area. Lori has been practicing since 2009 and has been Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2015. In addition to her litigation practice, she is a credentialed mediator and arbitrator, serves regularly as an Amicus Attorney, and is a trained collaborative attorney.
She has numerous published works and has spoken at several legal conferences and seminars. She is an active member of various professional associations, including serving on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors and the State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee. Lori is a former chair of the Collaborative Law Section and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Family Law Section for the Houston Bar Association, as well as several other family law and ADR organizations throughout Texas. In 2015, Lori represented a client in the first same-sex divorce case in Harris County history, an event which was covered in local news media. Lori is an adjunct professor of Collaborative Law at South Texas College of Law Houston.
Lori is a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. Lori received her Bachelors of Business Administration from Houston Baptist University with a double major in Business Management and Business Administration. She was an executive member of Phi Mu sorority, a Leadership Scholar, an honors student, and she participated in multiple academic achievement programs, including Harvard Model United Nations. Lori is a native Houstonian and attended St. Agnes Academy.
In her spare time, Lori enjoys traveling, cooking, crafting, reading, volunteering with local animal rescue groups, and spending time with her husband and dogs.
Affiliations
- Adjunct Professor of Collaborative Law- South Texas College of Law, 2017-present
- American Academy of Family Law Specialists- Associate Institute Attendee, 2013
- American Academy of Family Law Specialists- AICPA National Divorce Conference Attendee, 2014
- American Bar Association- Family Law Section, Member
- Burta Rhoads Raborn Family Law American Inns of Court- Barrister, 2015 – 2018; Member, 2008 – 2015
- Collaborative Divorce Houston, Founding Member, Board of Directors, 2016 - 2021, Secretary 2018-2019
- Collaborative Divorce Texas, Member
- College of the State Bar of Texas, Member
- ESCAPE Family Resource Center, Legal Advisory Board, 2016-2019
- Family Bar of Fort Bend, Founding Member, Treasurer, 2018-present
- Fort Bend County Bar Association, Board of Directors, 2018 - 2020; Member, 2013 - present
- Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists, Member, 2015-present
- Houston Bar Association- Animal Law Section, Member; Family Law Section, Board of Directors, 2016 - 2019; Collaborative Law Section, Treasurer/Chair-Elect, 2013-2014, Chair, 2014-2015, Immediate Past Chair, 2015 – 2017
- Houston Lawyer Referral Service- Board of Directors, 2012-2014
- Katy Bar Association, Member
- State Bar of Texas- Board of Directors, 2021-2024
- State Bar of Texas- Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Board of Directors, 2024-present
- State Bar of Texas- Collaborative Law Section, Board of Directors, 2015- present
- State Bar of Texas- Family Law Section, Member
- State Bar of Texas- Grievance Committee Panel Member, 2019-2021
- Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, 2015-present
- Texas Bar Foundation Fellow, 2021-present
- Texas Family Law Foundation, Lifetime Member
- Texas Rising Star in Family Law, Super Lawyers Magazine, 2018, 2019, 2020
- Texas Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers Magazine, 2020-present
- Top Lawyer in Houston, Houstonia Magazine, 2018-present
- Wise Woman's Guide to Divorce- Katy/Richmond, Founding Member, 2019
Publications and Appearances
Presentations
- Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders: Integrating Collaborative Law Into Legal Education, Panelist, presented to the Collaborative Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, June 2024
- Taxation Issues in Divorce, presented to the Family Bar of Fort Bend, June 2024
- Mediation Law Update, presented to the Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution Course, 2024
- Collaborative Crash Course, A 3-Part Series, presented to Collaborative Divorce Houston, 2023
- Good Grief! The Texas Bar Grievance Process, presented to the Family Bar of Fort Bend- July 2022, Katy Bar Association- September 2022
- Zoom Mediations- Maximizing Your Potential for Success, presented to the Family Bar of Fort Bend, May 2020
- Family Law Issues in Mediation, Guest Lecturer- Manousso Mediation Training, 2018-present
- What Every Realtor Should Know About Texas Family Law, 2019-present
- Differences in Psychological and Custody Evaluations, presented to the Family Bar of Fort Bend, June 2019
- Nuts and Bolts of Trial Preparation from an OCD Former Paralegal presented to the Family Bar of Fort Bend, April 2018
- Stop Your Amicussin'- From Appointment Through Trial, presented to Burta Rhoads Raborn Family Law American Inns of Court, April 2017
- The Jury Trial: What You Need to Know to Be Successful, presented by the Houston Bar Association, Family Law Section, March 2017
- Same Sex Marriage: More Questions than Answers, presented to Burta Rhoads Raborn Family Law American Inns of Court, September 2015
- First Same-Sex Divorce in Harris County- Interview and coverage by Fox News Houston, July 2015
- The Ins and Outs of Spousal Support, presented to the Advanced Family Law Practice for Paralegals 2013
- Googling Glaucoma Doesn’t Make You A Pot Smoker: Avoiding an E-Fishing Expedition, presented to Gulf Coast Family Law Section, October 2012
Publications
- Mediation Law Update by Lori M. Kern, Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolutions Course, January 2024
- Same Sex Marriage: More Questions Than Answers by Lori M. Kern, Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists Quarterly Newsletter, August 2015
- The Ins and Outs of Spousal Support by Lori M. Kern, Advanced Family Law Practice for Paralegals 2013
- Contributing author- Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists Quarterly Newsletter, 2008-2010
- Making and Meeting Trial Objections by John F. Nichols, Sr. and Lori M. Kern, presented to the State Bar of Texas Webcast, Austin, Texas 2007