John Russell Devoss

John Russell DeVoss was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1969. He is a fifth generation lawyer, along with his two brothers, in the DeVoss family.

John attended Adams Central High School in Monroe, Indiana where he was an accomplished three-sport athlete, lettering in football, basketball, and track. At the completion of his high school career, John was awarded the President’s Cup Athlete of the Year by the United States Armed Forces for his overall success and achievement as an athlete.

John followed his number one passion of football to Southern Methodist University in 1988. He had a successful collegiate football career playing in the Southwest Conference as a two-year starter at wide receiver for the Mustangs. John won the prestigious “M” Association Award presented annually to the player who shows the characteristics of hard work, determination and team spirit typical of lettermen. John graduated in 1993 with a bachelor of science degree in engineering management.

Like his father and grandfather before him, John attended Valparaiso University School of Law in northwest Indiana just outside the suburbs of Chicago. He focused on a track of study emphasizing trial work and litigation where he could expound upon the competitive nature and zeal developed during his years in athletics. John was a law clerk for several local litigation firms for each of his three years of education. He spent his summers in Dallas interning for two local prominent trial lawyers and the civil litigation division of the Dallas City Attorney’s Office. In addition to his studies and work, John participated in the civil trial advocacy clinic during his third year of law school representing the underprivilaged in northwest Indiana poverty-stricken areas.

After sitting for the Texas bar examination, John entered the workforce in Dallas, initially working downtown for a civil litigation defense firm. His work involved a variety of civil areas including contract negotiation, business litigation, and consumer trial proceedings. Realizing that he desired to be in private practice, John left the firm and reached out to his former colleague and friend Jeffrey Smith. In April of 1999, John and Jeff founded Smith DeVoss, P.L.L.C.

John is a no-nonsense negotiator and has handled a heavy docket of civil and commercial litigation cases, criminal cases and corporate and real estate matters throughout his private practice career. In his ever present desire and drive to professionally enhance his skills as an attorney, John has handled a broad spectrum of both litigation and transactional cases in nearly every field of law from real estate to oil & gas to commercial construction disputes and bad faith insurance litigation. John has represented consumers in family law cases, criminal cases involving both petty misdemeanors and serious felony offenses, and was even a licensed NFL sports agent for nearly seven (7) years. Having tried over fifty (50) cases to a jury verdict in his lifetime, John enjoys the competitive nature of the court room as much as he does sitting down at the negotiation table and resolving a dispute or finalizing the terms of a contract. John’s diverse background make him the ideal candidate to represent corporations or other business entities of all sizes and he fancies himself as the “captive corporate counsel” for those companies that he represents.

John resides with his family in Keller, TX and is active in coaching in multiple local youth sports associations. He enjoys golfing, hunting and fishing in his free-time.