Matthew J. Hill

Matthew J. Hill is the founder and managing member of Hill Family Law, PLLC, a family law firm handling mediation, trial, litigation appeals from its offices in New Braunfels, Texas. After two decades practicing family law across Central Texas — including years as a partner in respected area firms and a decade running his own — Matthew opened Hill Family Law in 2026 to do one thing without compromise: represent Texans in the family law matters that shape the rest of their lives.

From the firm's home in Comal County, Matthew represents clients throughout the Austin–San Antonio corridor, with deep roots in New Braunfels, San Marcos, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, Spring Branch, and Bulverde, and regular appearances in the courts of Comal, Hays, Guadalupe, and the surrounding counties.

A Trial Lawyer's Practice

Matthew is, first and last, a courtroom lawyer. Licensed in 2006, he has spent his entire career in Texas family law and built his reputation on the cases other lawyers refer out: contested custody and modification suits, complex marital property division, disputes involving grandparents and other non-parents, premarital and postmarital agreements, enforcement and contempt actions, protective order litigation, and family law appeals. He has tried cases to judges and juries alike, and he prepares every matter as if it will be one of them — because clients negotiate from strength only when the other side knows their lawyer is ready for trial.

That preparation is paired with candor. Matthew tells clients what the law actually is, what a court is realistically likely to do, and what each path will cost — in money, in time, and in wear on a family. Not every case belongs in a courtroom, and Matthew is a credentialed mediator, having completed 40-hour basic mediation training through the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at the University of Texas School of Law and 30-hour advanced family law mediation training through the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center at the University of Houston Law Center. When resolution is possible on fair terms, he gets clients there efficiently. When it isn't, he tries the case.

Leadership in the Texas Bar

Few family lawyers in the region have been entrusted with the range of statewide responsibilities Matthew has held. He served as the elected Director for District 15 on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors (2022–2025), helping govern a bar of more than 100,000 lawyers. He currently serves as a member of the Council of the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section (Class of 2030) — the leadership body of the section that shapes family law practice statewide — and sits on the State Bar's Pattern Jury Charges – Family and Probate Committee (2016–2029), the committee that writes the very jury instructions Texas courts use in family law trials. He previously chaired Investigatory Panel 15-4 of the District 15 Grievance Committee (2020–2022), served on the State Bar's Administration of Rules of Evidence Committee (2016–2019), and is the current Chairperson of the Hays County Family Law Section (2025–2026). He is a Fellow of both the Texas Bar College and the Texas Bar Foundation, distinctions reserved for attorneys recognized for exceptional commitment to legal education and to the profession.

Recognition by Peers and the Judiciary

Matthew has held the AV Preeminent® peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell — the highest rating available for legal ability and ethics — continuously since 2018.* He has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list in Family Law by Texas Monthly every year since 2021, following back-to-back Rising Stars selections in 2019 and 2020, and has carried a perfect 10.0 "Superb" rating on Avvo since 2015. He has been Lead Counsel Rated and peer recommended in family law since 2012 and was repeatedly named among the Top Family Law Lawyers by San Antonio Scene Magazine.

Author, Speaker, and Advocate for Reform

Matthew writes and teaches the law he practices. He is the author of Beyond the Formbook: Using Discovery to Protect Parental Rights, published in the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section Report (2026), and of The Art of Appropriate Discovery Objections in the Texas Bar Journal (2025), and co-author of Large Language Models: A Look at Their Role in E-Discovery, also in the Texas Bar Journal (2025). He is a frequent CLE presenter for bar associations and statewide seminars on discovery, evidence, trial practice, professionalism, and the responsible use of technology in family law — teaching the lawyers and, on occasion, informing the judges who work in these courts every day.

From 2023 to 2025, Matthew served as President of Texans Concerned for Family Law Justice, a nonprofit devoted to educating lawmakers and advancing common-sense reforms to the Texas Family Code — because he believes the family courts should be more affordable and more accessible for every Texan, not just those who can outspend the other side.

Education and Admissions

Matthew earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Texas A&M University (2002) and his Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University School of Law (2006). He is admitted to practice before all Texas state courts, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas.

When your family's future is on the line, experience is not a luxury — it is the whole point. Matthew J. Hill and Hill Family Law, PLLC bring twenty years of Texas family law trial experience to every client the firm accepts.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.

Practice Areas:

• Divorce
• Family Law

Admissions:

• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas, 2007
• United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2007
• State Bar of Texas, 2006

Honors and Awards

• Elite Lawyer, 2026
• “AV Preeminent” Rated, Martindale-Hubbell, 2018 – 2026
• Lead Counsel Rated/Peer Recommended, “Family Law,” Leadcounsel.org, 2012 – 2026
• Rated "10.0, Superb"/Peer Endorsed, “Family Law,” Avvo, 2015 – 2026
• “Super Lawyer,” Family Law, Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly, SuperLawyers.com, 2021 – 2026
• “Rising Star,” Family Law, Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly, SuperLawyers.com, 2019 – 2020
• “Top Family Law Lawyers,” San Antonio Scene Magazine, 2015, 2017 – 2019

Memberships:

• Austin Bar Association (Family Law Section)
• Comal County Bar Association
• Hays County Bar Association (Family Law Section)
• Hays County Bar Association, Board of Directors, 2013 – 2016
• Hays County Family Law Section, Chairperson, 2025 – 2026
• Hays County Family Law Section, Chairperson-Elect, 2023 – 2025
• Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity
• San Antonio Bar Association (Family Law Section)
• State Bar of Texas (Appellate and Family Law Sections)
• State Bar of Texas, Administration of Rules of Evidence Committee, 2016 – 2019
• State Bar of Texas, Board of Directors, District 15 Representative, 2022 – 2025
• State Bar of Texas, District 15 Grievance Committee, 15-4 Panel Chair, 2020 – 2022
• State Bar of Texas, Pattern Jury Charges – Family and Probate Committee, 2016 – 2029
• State Bar of Texas – Family Law Section, Family Law Council Member, Class of 2030
• Texas Bar College, Fellow
• Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
• Texas Family Law Foundation, Member

Published Works & Certifications

• Author: Matthew J. Hill, Beyond the Formbook: Using Discovery to Protect Parental Rights, Fam. L. Sec. Rep. (State Bar of Tex.), Vol. 2026-3 (Summer 2026), at 24.
• Presenter/Speaker: “When Almost 50/50 Really Isn’t,” Hays County Family Law Section, San Marcos, March 2026
• Author/Panel Member: “Objecting Without Being Objectionable: Modern Family Law Discovery,” Handling Your First (or Next) Divorce Case, Austin, November 2025
• Course Director: 3rd Annual Hays County Family Law Section Fall CLE, San Marcos, September 2025
• Author/Speaker: “Objecting Without Being Objectionable,” Comal County Bar Association, New Braunfels, August 2025
• Author/Panel Member: “Objecting Without Being Objectionable,” Advanced Evidence and Discovery Seminar, Houston – April 2025; San Antonio – May 2025
• Co-Author: Chase Hardy, Matthew J. Hill, Large Language Models: A Look at Their Role in E-Discovery, 88 TEX. B.J. 192 (2025)
• Author: Matthew J. Hill, The Art of Appropriate Discovery Objections: Balancing Advocacy and Professionalism in Texas Civil Litigation, 88 TEX. B.J. 197 (2025)
• Co-Presenter: “A.I. and ChatGPT – The Essentials of Using Generative AI In Your Law Practice,” Handling Your First (or Next) Civil Discovery, Austin, October 2024
• Presenter/Speaker: “Family Law Update,” Solo Practitioners and Small Firms CLE Seminar, Lubbock, September 2024
• Presenter/Speaker: “Rushing Toward AI in Texas Family Law,” 2nd Annual Hays County Family Law Section Fall CLE, San Marcos, September 2024
• Presenter/Speaker: “Client Intake/Client Expectations: I'm Your Drama Client - I'm the Most Fun!” Family Law Essentials CLE Seminar, San Marcos, May 2024
• Author/Speaker: “Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable: Civility in Family Practice,” Hays County Family Law Section, San Marcos, May 2024
• Presenter/Speaker: “2023 Family Law Legislative Update,”
  • Comal County Bar Association, New Braunfels, October 2023
  • 2023 Hays County Family Law Section Inaugural Fall CLE, San Marcos, September 2023
• Presenter/Speaker: “Litigation Essentials,” Family Law Essentials CLE Seminar, San Marcos, June 2016
• Author/Speaker: “Professionalism – Avoiding the Big One,” San Antonio Bar Association’s Family Law Section, Extreme Family Law Makeover XIV, San Antonio, February 2016
• Presenter/Speaker: “The Ethics of Fee Agreements and Firm Bank Accounts,” Hays Caldwell County Young Lawyers Association, Alice in Wonderland: CLE Series, San Marcos, December 2015
• Panel Member: “Professionalism for Lawyers,” Hays, Comal and Caldwell Bench Bar Conference, Dripping Springs, October 2015
• Presenter/Speaker: “Navigating the Spine-Chilling Waters of the ‘New’ Rule 21,” Hays County Bench Bar Conference, Dripping Springs, October 2014
• Presenter/Speaker: “How to Use the Internet to Get Information for Your Case,” Family Law Essentials CLE Seminar, San Marcos, September 2013

Relevant Employment Positions

• Hill Family Law, PLLC, New Braunfels, Texas
  Managing Member, July 2026—Present
• Key Law Office, PC, New Braunfels, Texas
  Partner, February 2025 through July 2026
• Eggleston Law Firm, PC, San Marcos and New Braunfels, Texas
  Partner, January 2021 through February 2025
• Texans Concerned for Family Law Justice, New Braunfels, Texas
  President, A Texas Non-Profit Corporation, January 2023 through January 2025

  Focus – Educating and lobbying lawmakers to make simple, effective, common-sense reforms to the Texas Family Code to make family law more affordable and accessible for everyone

• M. J. Hill & Associates, PLLC, San Marcos, Texas
  Managing Member, December 2010 through December 2020
• David K. Sergi & Associates, P.C., San Marcos, Texas
  Associate Attorney, January 2008 through December 2010
  Of Counsel, June 2007 through December 2007
• Law Offices of Matthew J. Hill, San Antonio, Texas
  Sole proprietorship/Private practice, December 2006 through December 2007

Education:

• Law School: St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas Juris Doctor, 2006
• College/University: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas Bachelor of Science, Political Science, 2002
• Other: A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center, University of Houston Law Center
• Completion of 30 Hour Advanced Family Law Mediation Training, March 2015
• Other: Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution, University of Texas School of Law
• Completion of 40 Hour Basic Mediation Training, December 2014