Attorney Profiles

For over 40 years, founding partner of Short Carter & Morris, L.L.P., J. Lindsey Short, Jr. has devoted his considerable legal talents and skills to the practice of family law. A native Houstonian, Lindsey graduated from St. Johns School and received his Bachelor of Arts from Washington & Lee University. He earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1967. Lindsey also served shipboard in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant during the Vietnam era. After completing his military service, Lindsey returned to Houston to begin his law practice. Initially focusing on real estate and oil and gas law, he turned his attention to family law in 1973 where he has concentrated his practice ever since.

Lindsey has been board-certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1980, shortly after the inception of the certification process for family law. He is still considered by many to be one of Houston's top child custody attorneys, although the majority of his practice is now devoted to complex marital property issues. He has represented several high profile cases over the years and has appeared both on satellite and national television programs, including the Today Show with Jane Pauley. Throughout his career Lindsey has represented many high profile Houstonians; yet he understands and appreciates the necessity for discretion and a client's need for zealous representation without undue notoriety.

Lindsey has been married to Agnes May Short for over 40 years and they are the parents of three adult daughters. As a family man, he understands the dynamics of the family and the emotional trauma that often accompanies a divorce or custody situation. He has the ability to communicate truthfully about the possible outcome of a situation and does not attempt to gloss over hard details to fit the client's desires. He also knows how to balance the legal implications of a complex family litigation with the emotional concerns of the client and can draw from that knowledge and experience to resolve his cases, be it through litigation to a Judge, jury, collaborative law or settlement at mediation.

In the early years of his practice, Lindsey maintained many associate lawyers and then in January of 2008, Lindsey and four lawyers who had practiced with him for a number of years formed Short Carter Morris, L.L.P. He has served as a source of encouragement to his "team" and he continues to develop the firm's commitment to the community, both in the area of legal services and volunteer services.

Lindsey is active in state, national, and international organizations that are dedicated to the practice of law. He has played an integral part in the development of the high standards to which today's family law attorneys aspire. Lindsey served as a Director of the State Bar of Texas, Chair of the Family Law Council of the State Bar of Texas, Chair of the Family Law Advisory Commission, and as President of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists. He has also served as director of the Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists, president of the Family Law Forum, and Chairman of Family Law Committee of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. He is currently also a member of the Texas Bar Foundation, the Houston Bar Foundation and the State Bar College. He has also served on the State Bar Grievance Committee.

Lindsey served as President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in 2002, a national organization which is dedicated to the same principals of professionalism and competence to which Short adheres. He is also past President of the Texas Chapter of the AAML and a founding fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the Family Law Council on Community Property States, and the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, a national organization limited to one hundred members.

Lindsey is dedicated to the development of the profession through education and has been a visiting law professor for a full semester at the University of Texas School of Law, Washington & Lee University School of Law, and the University of Houston Law Center. He has numerous publications to his name and has served as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Lindsey is also a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars across the country as well as for the State Bar of Texas and has served as the Course Director for many seminars presented by the State Bar and other professional organizations. Lindsey has delivered over 80 speeches during his career to the legal profession.

Over the course of his career, Lindsey has consistently been honored for his commitment and contributions to the practice of family law. In 1990, he was named Outstanding Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and received the AAML Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service in 1988, 1990 and 1998. In 1998 he was also the recipient of the Sam Emison Award presented by the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists for outstanding contributions to the profession, and was chosen by his peers to be included among The Best Lawyers in America, published throughout the country for over twenty years, Texas Super Lawyers every year since its inception and H Texas Magazine.

He has been recognized in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and was named by Worth Magazine as one of The Top 10 Divorce Lawyers in the United States. He is well respected nationally, statewide, and locally by his peers and the judiciary. He has served as a mentor and role model for many young lawyers during his career. Although the majority of hi cases have been situated in Harris and surrounding counties, Lindsey has litigated family law cases throughout the State of Texas.

Lindsey is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and by the Supreme Court of Texas.

On a lighter note, Lindsey is an avid waterfowler and upland game hunter and has the appropriate wall mountings to prove it. He is also a gourmet cook and frequently provides cooking tips and samplings to friends, colleagues and staff.