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The Daves Law Firm: A Certified Texas Real Estate Commission Instructor Who Never Left Real Estate for Something Else

Where many Austin firms treat real estate as one line item among many practice areas, The Daves Law Firm has spent more than three decades keeping it as one of exactly three: real estate, probate, and estate planning. Founder John M. Daves is a certified instructor for the Texas Real Estate Commission — meaning he doesn’t just practice real estate law, he’s credentialed to teach other professionals how the state’s rules work.

Origin and Background

The Daves Law Firm is based at 3624 North Hills Drive, Suite B-100, in the Northwest Hills neighborhood of Austin, and serves clients across Travis, Hays, and Williamson counties. The firm was founded by John M. Daves, a University of Texas-licensed attorney with over three decades of practice; the attorney team also includes Lori P. Daves and Christopher P. Daves.

Practice Concentration

The firm’s real estate practice covers private lending, purchase and sale agreements, contracts, deed transfers, foreclosures, seller financing, condominium regime creation (including both traditional and “site” condominiums), 1031 exchange transactions, and excess proceeds matters. On the landlord side, the firm handles evictions and other property management issues, drafts and negotiates commercial and residential leases across property types including multifamily, office, industrial, and retail, and defends leasing agents, property owners, and real estate professionals against fair housing claims under the Fair Housing Act. The firm also advises homeowner and condominium associations on governing documents and Texas statutory compliance. See this Austin Real Estate & Property directory for how this three-practice-area boutique compares to broader general civil firms.

Notable Work / Track Record

As a transactional real estate and property management practice, the firm does not publish a running table of verdict or settlement figures, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify one. The firm’s practice areas span a wide range of specific, technical real estate transaction types — condominium regime formation, 1031 exchanges, series LLC structuring for real estate investment — that reflect sustained transactional depth rather than case-by-case litigation outcomes.

Client Voice

The firm holds 14 reviews on its Yelp business listing under Business Law, alongside additional listings under Real Estate Law categories on other directories. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a large independent review sample specific enough to characterize in detail; the sample available is modest relative to some larger firms in this category, and Awesome Attorneys discloses this directly.

Beyond the Courtroom

John M. Daves’s status as a certified instructor for the Texas Real Estate Commission is itself a form of professional community service — teaching continuing education to real estate professionals across the state rather than only representing individual clients. Awesome Attorneys did not identify additional civic or nonprofit board service beyond this instructional role.

Recognition for This Austin Real Estate Firm

Awesome Attorneys did not identify TBLS Board Certification in Real Estate Law for John, Lori, or Christopher Daves and does not apply “specialist” language to this firm on that basis. John Daves’s TREC-certified instructor status is a distinct, independently verifiable credential recognized by third-party directories, and Awesome Attorneys treats it as a genuine subject-matter recognition even though it is separate from formal board certification.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Landlord representation in evictions — one of this firm’s stated specialties — proceeds under Texas Property Code Chapter 24’s Justice of the Peace eviction process, layered with Chapter 92’s landlord-tenant obligations around repairs and security deposits. The firm’s condominium and HOA advisory work implicates the Texas Uniform Condominium Act and Property Code provisions governing property owners’ associations, both of which impose specific disclosure and governance requirements distinct from ordinary residential transactions. None of this is legal advice; a specific real estate or property management matter should be evaluated by a licensed Texas attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

The Daves Law Firm’s clearest differentiator is genuine, sustained focus: three decades in exactly three practice areas — real estate, probate, and estate planning — anchored by a founder credentialed to teach Texas Real Estate Commission continuing education, not just practice under its rules. The honest trade-off is a comparatively modest independent review footprint relative to larger competitors in this category, and the firm does not hold formal TBLS board certification in real estate law. For a client with a residential closing, landlord/tenant matter, condominium formation, or 1031 exchange who wants a firm whose entire practice has stayed concentrated in real estate and closely related areas for over 30 years, that focus is the strongest reason to shortlist this firm.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from The Daves Law Firm’s own website (firm overview and real estate practice page), the Better Business Bureau’s business profile, Yelp’s business listing, the State Bar of Texas attorney directory for John M. and Christopher Daves, and Catalog Lawyer’s firm directory entry.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by The Daves Law Firm or its attorneys prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.