Stephen DePaul is a family law attorney at The Ashmore Law Firm. He has been licensed for more than 20 years and holds an MBA in finance, a pairing that serves clients well in divorces where the finances are complicated. He represents clients in divorce, child custody, and property division matters in Dallas County and the surrounding courts of Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
Prepared for trial, focused on resolution
Before joining The Ashmore Law Firm, Stephen spent seven years at a Dallas boutique practice devoted exclusively to family law, serving a largely professional, high-net-worth clientele. He handled cases from intake through final judgment: scores of bench and jury trials, temporary restraining order and temporary orders hearings, depositions, and hundreds of mediations.
That experience fits how The Ashmore Law Firm works. The firm prepares every family law case as if it were headed to trial. That preparation gives clients a full picture of their options and the footing to negotiate a fair settlement outside the courtroom, and more than 94% of the firm's cases settle before final trial. When a case does need a judge, Stephen has tried many of them.
Stephen is part of the firm's family law team. Several attorneys may confer on a client's strategy, and the client is billed for one.
A financial lens on complex property
Stephen earned his MBA in finance, with high honors, from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. As a graduate fellow with the Georgia Small Business Development Center, he advised medical practices on profitability, receivables, compliance, and valuation for sale and acquisition.
That background matters in high-net-worth and complex divorces. Stephen works closely with tracing and valuation experts in contested property disputes. He has extensive experience in business litigation, and his consulting work also gives him a practical grasp of how a closely held business or professional practice is run and valued, which helps business owners and practice owners protect what they have built.
Custody and the best interest of the child
In contested custody and conservatorship cases, Stephen works with mental health professionals and child custody evaluators. His aim is a clear, well-supported record of what serves the children, presented in mediation or in court.
Education and earlier career
Stephen graduated magna cum laude from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the Indiana Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He earned his undergraduate degree in Government and English from The University of Texas at Austin.
He began his career as a litigation associate at Freeborn & Peters LLP in Chicago, drafting pretrial and summary judgment motions in antitrust and employment cases. He later served as Director of Global Initiatives for The University of Texas System, advising the Chancellor and Board of Regents, and as Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Dickinson Center for Global Study & Engagement, where he built the Center's first academic partnership with Oxford University.
Stephen has presented a paper on the use of summary judgment in family law litigation at the annual meeting of the Family Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association.