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Goranson Bain Ausley: Two Board-Certified Partners Lead Texas’s Largest Family Law Firm’s San Antonio Office

A San Antonio family law attorney search doesn’t often turn up a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only honor limited to just 100 family law trial lawyers nationwide, but Kristal Thomson holds that distinction — a credential this directory has not found elsewhere in this market. This profile is part of Awesome Attorneys’ coverage of San Antonio divorce lawyer options.

At a Glance

Origin & Background

Kristal Thomson earned her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2002 and built a 20-plus-year practice concentrated on high-asset divorce — trust characterization, separate and community property tracing, business valuation disputes, and above-guideline child support matters. Beyond her board certification, she is a past president of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, past chair of the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section, and past president of the Texas chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers — a run of statewide leadership roles that few San Antonio family law attorneys can match. Charla Davies, her co-lead in the San Antonio office, is also TBLS board certified and has chaired the San Antonio Bar Association’s Family Law Section. The San Antonio office operates as a branch of a firm with more than 30 board-certified family law attorneys across seven Texas cities.

San Antonio Family Law Attorney Practice Concentration

As a San Antonio family law attorney office, the practice covers divorce, child custody, prenuptial agreements, and high-asset property division, with particular stated attention to military family law given San Antonio’s significant military presence. The San Antonio team offers both traditional litigation and Collaborative Divorce, a structured settlement-focused process that avoids court, giving clients a documented alternative track when litigation isn’t the preferred approach.

Track Record

The firm states Texas Lawyer has ranked it #1 in the Austin/San Antonio market for three consecutive years, alongside a Dallas/Fort Worth #1 ranking. These are firm-wide and market-level recognitions rather than individual case results; family law outcomes depend heavily on the specific financial and custody facts of each case, and past results do not predict or guarantee an outcome in any future matter.

Client Voice

Independent third-party review aggregation for the San Antonio office shows a mixed but generally positive record — a “Good” rating of 3.50 out of 5 across 16 reviews on ProvenExpert, alongside a strongly positive account on the firm’s own site describing paralegal Vanessa as keeping a client “well informed” and reducing stress throughout a divorce process. This directory discloses the more modest third-party aggregate score directly rather than presenting only the firm’s own selected testimonial, consistent with the honest-assessment standard applied across all profiles here.

Beyond the Courtroom

Thomson has delivered more than 100 continuing legal education presentations nationally on family law topics and received the Texas Family Law Foundation’s Brian Webb Legislative Award, given for contributions to family law legislation and policy rather than courtroom advocacy alone. Davies has served in San Antonio Bar Association leadership specific to the local family law bar.

Recognition

Board certification disclosure: Kristal Thomson and Charla Davies’s Texas Board of Legal Specialization certifications in Family Law were independently confirmed through Martindale-Hubbell, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers directory, and the firm’s own attorney biography pages, which is why “specialist” language is used for them individually in this profile. Thomson’s Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” honors (2021, 2023) reflect that publication’s peer-review survey process, distinguished here from state licensing certification.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas is a community property state, meaning most assets and debts acquired during the marriage — with exceptions for gifts, inheritances, and pre-marital property — are divided in a divorce, though “divided” does not require an exact 50/50 split; Texas courts divide community property in a manner the court deems “just and right,” considering factors like fault, earning capacity, and the needs of any children. Military divorce, a stated focus of this office given San Antonio’s military installations, layers federal law on top of Texas procedure: the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act governs how military retirement pay can be divided, and specific rules apply to healthcare and survivor benefit elections that a general family law practice without military-specific experience can miss. Texas also allows both fault-based and no-fault divorce grounds, with fault findings sometimes affecting property division outcomes even though Texas doesn’t require fault to grant a divorce.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Goranson Bain Ausley’s clearest strength for a San Antonio client is depth: two TBLS board-certified partners in one office, backed by the resources of a 30-plus board-certified-attorney firm statewide, with Kristal Thomson’s American College of Family Trial Lawyers diplomate status representing a national-caliber credential rarely found locally.

The honest trade-off is one common to any large, multi-city firm’s satellite office: the San Antonio office is one of seven the firm operates, and the modest third-party review volume specific to San Antonio (16 reviews, a “Good” rather than top-tier aggregate score) is worth weighing against the firm’s national credentials and market-level rankings. Prospective clients should ask directly whether their case would be handled primarily by Thomson or Davies personally, or by another attorney on the broader team.

Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was compiled from Goranson Bain Ausley’s own website (gbfamilylaw.com), Kristal Thomson’s Martindale-Hubbell and American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers attorney profiles, the firm’s Best Lawyers firm page, its Yelp and ProvenExpert review listings, and Manta’s business directory listing. Board certifications were cross-checked against Martindale-Hubbell and AAML directory listings for both named San Antonio partners. Statutory references were checked against Texas’s community property framework, the federal Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act, and Texas’s fault and no-fault divorce grounds as generally published. No case results, credentials, or quotes were invented; the client statements referenced above are drawn from the firm’s own site and independent third-party review aggregation.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Goranson Bain Ausley, PLLC prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placements clearly labeled as such, but no payment of any kind determines inclusion in, or the content of, this editorial profile. This article is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Goranson Bain Ausley or Awesome Attorneys.