Dallas, Texas — August 20, 2026
The Ashmore Law Firm, P.C. is proud to announce that Lori Ashmore Peters, Managing Attorney of Estate Planning and Probate, has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Trusts and Estates for the third consecutive year — most recently selected by her peers for inclusion in the publication's 33rd edition (2027), following her recognition in the 2025 and 2026 editions.
The recognition arrives in a milestone year: 2026 marks Lori's 30th year with the firm her father founded.
A Recognition That Comes From Other Lawyers
Best Lawyers is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession, and inclusion cannot be purchased. Selection is based on a Purely Peer Review™ process: attorneys are evaluated confidentially by other recognized lawyers practicing in the same area and region, and only those who earn sustained support from their peers are recognized.
Best Lawyers describes the 2027 edition as the most selective in the award's 33-year history. According to the official announcement, the edition recognizes 81,620 lawyers nationwide — roughly the top 5% of practicing attorneys — informed by 3.8 million evaluations from more than 32,000 voting lawyers. In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 2,595 lawyers were recognized across all 151 practice areas.
In other words, this recognition comes from the legal community itself — the attorneys best positioned to judge the quality of Lori's work in trusts and estates.
It is the latest in a long line of peer recognition for Lori, who has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers® in Estate Planning and Probate every year since 2012, a distinction Super Lawyers reports covers no more than 5% of eligible attorneys in Texas, and who holds Martindale-Hubbell's AV Preeminent® rating, the highest peer rating for legal ability and ethical standards.
Thirty Years in the Courts Her Father Presided Over
Estate and probate law runs deep in the Ashmore family. Lori's father, the late Joseph E. Ashmore, Jr., served 12 years as a Dallas County Probate Judge before founding The Ashmore Law Firm in 1987. Lori joined the firm in 1996, the year she was licensed to practice in Texas, and has spent her thirty-year career practicing in the courts he once presided over.
Those courts have extended their trust to her in turn: Lori has been appointed to serve as Special Probate Judge in Probate Court No. 3, Dallas County, has served as Master over Probable Cause Hearings, and is a certified Attorney Ad Litem and Guardian Ad Litem appointed in numerous probate and guardianship matters.
Her practice today spans estate planning and wealth preservation, including revocable and irrevocable trusts and planning structures designed to minimize estate tax exposure and protect assets across generations, as well as probate and estate administration for complex and high-value estates. When matters turn contested, she works in partnership with the firm's litigation attorney, Shep Sands, on will contests, fiduciary disputes, and contested guardianships. And because the firm practices family law under the same roof, Lori works alongside her brother, Gary Ashmore, on the high-net-worth divorces he handles, where she advises on trust interests and asset protection as settlements take shape, and is prepared to implement updated estate plans as soon as the divorce is final. It is an integrated process, not an afterthought.
"This recognition means a great deal because of where it comes from my peers, attorneys who do this work every day. Estate planning is ultimately about families protecting the people they love. Thirty years in, that's still what gets me to the office."
Lori Ashmore Peters
Managing Attorney: Head of Estate Planning, Trusts, Probate, Guardianship and Probate Litigation"I see Lori's work from a different angle than most people do — her office and mine share a wall. In the divorces I handle, the hardest questions are often estate questions like the trust, the family business, the estate plan that will need updating the day the divorce is final. Being able to knock on that wall means we work toward fair settlements with the estate picture in view from the start, and the new plan is ready to implement the moment it can be which is an integrated process, not an afterthought. Her peers recognizing her three years running just confirms what our clients — and our dad — already knew."
Gary Ashmore
Managing Attorney: Head of Family Law and Operations
About The Ashmore Law Firm, P.C.
The Ashmore Law Firm, P.C. is where family law meets family legacy. Founded in Dallas in 1987 by the late Joseph E. Ashmore, Jr., a former Dallas County Probate Court judge, the firm is led today by his children: Gary Ashmore, Managing Attorney of Family Law, focusing on complex and high-net-worth divorce, and Lori Ashmore Peters, Managing Attorney of Estate Planning and Probate. The firm itself is ranked in Best Law Firms® (2026 edition) — a firm-level recognition based on feedback from clients, peer attorneys, and firm evaluations. The firm has remained intentionally small — seven attorneys, nearly four decades, one philosophy: stay small enough to actually know your clients.
To speak with Lori Ashmore Peters about estate planning, probate, or trust administration, call 214-559-7202 or visit our Contact Page
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Best Lawyers in America®?
The Best Lawyers in America® is one of the oldest peer-review publications in the legal profession. Attorneys cannot pay to be included; selection is based entirely on confidential evaluations by other recognized attorneys in the same practice area and region through Best Lawyers' Purely Peer Review™ process.
What does the Trusts and Estates practice area cover?
Trusts and Estates encompasses estate planning (wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney), probate and estate administration, trust administration, and related matters such as guardianship. Lori Ashmore Peters has practiced in this field in Dallas for thirty years.
How many years has Lori Ashmore Peters been recognized by Best Lawyers?
Lori Ashmore Peters has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Trusts and Estates for three consecutive years — the 2025, 2026, and 2027 editions.
Who leads The Ashmore Law Firm?
The Ashmore Law Firm is led by siblings Gary Ashmore, Managing Attorney of Family Law, and Lori Ashmore Peters, Managing Attorney of Estate Planning and Probate. Their father, the late Joseph E. Ashmore, Jr., served 12 years as a Dallas County Probate Judge before founding the firm in 1987.