James Scott "Jake" Gilbreath

Jake is an amazing lawyer- his firm did a fantastic job representing me. They understood all of the complex dynamics of my divorce and after being represented by two other firms I was astounded at how efficient, diligent, pragmatic and most importantly how effective Jake's firm was in dealing with th...e issues at hand and getting my divorce settled. They are hands down the best family attorney's in Austin and I would highly recommend them to anybody.

Best divorce lawyer period! When I first met Jake, I was looking for an attorney that would help guide me through the process of a very amicable divorce that included a 50/50 custody split for our 3 children. I only needed a simple contract between two individuals and Jake was extremely helpful, gu...iding me with candid advice on what should be included in the contract, how the legal system worked, and gave me the emotional comfort of knowing that I was protected in the event the case became contentious. We quickly drafted the original agreement and it worked to establish the grounds for my spouse and I to separate households. About a year later, things became contentious and some unreasonable demands were being placed on the final divorce decree proposals. I needed help to defend my position and unfortunately Jake was on leave from work due to the birth of a new baby. I was forced to hire a different attorney to represent me and it was the biggest mistake I have ever made. My spouse had hired an aggressive attorney and I went through a period of time where everyone that I knew was subpoena for depositions about the case. I lost my job, went through all of my savings paying for legal time, and was having a difficult time even making ends meet. All I wanted was to mediate our differences and conclude the divorce proceedings, but it seamed that my spouse and her attorney wanted to pressure me to give in to their demands without comprise. Then I reached out to Jake and found that he had returned to work and he immediately asked that I come in to catch him up on the case. After a brief 30 minute conference he said that he would take my case and would be sending out notices to the other attorneys. The moment that those emails went out, my nightmare ended. The apposing counsel immediately stopped harassing me with subpoenas and my spouse actually reached out to me and asked that we work on a compromise. It was a total change from the instant that Jake sent notification that he was back on the case. It was literally a few hours later that my spouse contacted me and said "I just heard that you changed lawyers. How about we just mediate this and work it out." I think other lawyers truly respect Jake and act differently when he takes a case. Ultimately it took only 3 hours in mediation to resolve the issues, draft the final decree, and finish the divorce. I would highly recommend Jake for anyone going through a divorce. He provides a great service in an industry where some lawyers like to do unnecessary services. Jake is direct and does not waist time at all on unnecessary tasks. If you have a question, he is quick to respond and gives you honest and direct answers. He gives you options and tells you his recommendation, then let's you decide. I had lots of questions and his responses always gave me the feeling that I was safe and protected. Divorce is an emotional and draining experience. Jake makes the process as smooth and as calm as it can possibly be. Thank you Jake.

When my ex-wife hired Becky Beaver, I knew I needed attorneys that had experience fighting her and her crazy process. Jake knew both Becky's process as well as her associates' tactics and used that against them. We blunted her attack and counter-attacked very, very effectively. My team out-prepare...d Becky's side and essentially won all of our hearings, killed my ex's separate property and wasting claims, and successfully navigated a great recommendation from the guardian ad litem. In the end, there was very little for my ex to fight over and we settled the week before trial (which is exactly what my team told me would happen with Becky). As frustrating and as expensive a process as it was for me (and that was driven by Becky and my ex-wife), the final mediated settlement was substantially better than what I expected and better than what I would have settled for early in the case.

When my wife of 10 years and partner of 20 filed for divorce I was devastated. We had spent the past 10 years of our lives planning for a family. My father and I had built us an incredible arts and crafts home in the Texas hillcountry, we had a nice sized savings and we were ready to s...tart a family. After trying to have children of our own, along with numerous failed IVFs, we eventually adopted a beautiful baby boy. My wife became so consumed with our new son, she thought it best to take him and leave. Her lack of concern for total destruction was incredible. She made it very clear that the house was going to sell, she'd get half of the proceeds, she would get full custody of our son and leave me destitute. On top of that, she had a job that paid considerably more than mine. She hired a very high priced attorney. I, in turn, hired a local attorney. Two weeks into the divorce, I was sent the most insulting proposal. It basically stated that she was taking our son and that I needed to leave the house immediately. My attorney called and told me that I needed to figure out how to buy the house back within the week. That was the lowest point of my life. Depressed, I called numerous friends. I eventually was led to Brian Walters. He called me and talked me through details and eased my anxieties. Although he could not take my case, he recommended Jake, his new partner. After a conference call with Brian and Jake, I fired my old attorney and moved ahead with Jake. THE BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE!!! I lived with my wife through this ordeal only to be with my son. It was awful and painful to be around her. She was so confident to the very end she was going to bleed me dry. On the day of mediation, Jake proved to be everything you'd ever dream of in an attorney. Strong, confident, brilliant, and swift. In the end, I ended up with more than I ever expected. I got as much time as the law would allow with my son, my house (I just took over the payments,) my retirement,and half our stock portfolio. My wife left with her retirement, 3/4 of the divorce debt and the loss of what could have been a wonderful life. I've got a new life to figure out now, but I have my son in it, and I'm not pauper. I can provide for him and move on with this new life with my son. I can't thank Jake enough. Jake's tough as nails. He fights the fight with the high priced lawyers and comes out on top. I can't recommend him enough. Thanks Jake, I owe you my new life.

Jake was thorough, competent and responsive. He handled working with challenges from opposing counsel that were unpredictable and without rational basis and were therefore frustrating. He kept his cool and followed through such that we were able to achieve best outcome for all concerned including mys...elf as plaintiff in case and the defendant which saved money and time for both sides.