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Sandoval Family Law: Eight Consecutive Years as a Super Lawyers Rising Star, Then Promoted to the List Itself

Super Lawyers’ “Rising Star” designation is explicitly capped and time-limited — it’s meant for attorneys under 40 or in their first ten years of practice, a farm-team list rather than the main roster. Raul Sandoval Jr. made it eight years running (2015–2022) before graduating to the standard Super Lawyers list itself in 2022, then being named one of the state’s top 100 up-and-coming lawyers across every field of law that same year. That’s a documented trajectory, not a single credential.

Origin and Background

Raul Sandoval Jr. earned his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2010, where he served as executive managing editor of the Administrative Law Journal, and his B.A. from Washington & Jefferson College in 2007. Before founding his own Austin practice, he worked for one of the largest family law firms in the United States. He is board certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, certified in 2018, and has been licensed to practice in Texas since 2010. Sandoval speaks Spanish, which the firm markets as a practical asset for Austin’s Spanish-speaking families navigating family court. He is the sole attorney at his firm, working with a dedicated support staff rather than a team of associates.

Practice Concentration

Sandoval Family Law handles divorce, child custody and support, suits affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR), domestic violence and protective order matters, complex property and business division in divorce, modifications and enforcement of existing orders, cases involving children from more than one family, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. The firm’s stated focus on complex business and property division cases distinguishes it from a purely uncontested-divorce practice. For a broader comparison of Austin family law practices, see our Family Law & Divorce directory.

Notable Work / Track Record

As is standard for family law practices, Sandoval’s site does not publish a verdict or settlement table, since Texas family court outcomes are individualized and case records are frequently restricted from public access. Awesome Attorneys is disclosing that gap rather than substituting marketing language for it. What is independently verifiable is a documented, multi-year peer-recognition trajectory: Rising Star designation for eight consecutive years (2015–2022), promotion to the standard Super Lawyers list beginning in 2022 and continuing through 2025, and inclusion among Super Lawyers’ top 100 up-and-coming Texas attorneys across all practice areas in 2022 — a broader distinction than a family-law-specific one.

Client Voice

One Martindale-Hubbell peer review, from a fellow attorney rather than a client, states: “I think Raul is a very good lawyer. He’s smart, ethical, and represents his clients well. I’ve sent clients to him for these reasons” — a form of endorsement (an attorney referring business to a competitor) that carries specific professional weight. Sandoval’s own testimonials page includes a client account describing a “family law transactional matter” handled in “a short timeframe” with clear explanations throughout. Awesome Attorneys notes that the firm’s Martindale profile indicates it has chosen not to display client-submitted reviews on that platform, and Awesome Attorneys did not locate a large independent public consumer review sample (Google, Avvo, Yelp) for this attorney at the time of research; this is a smaller review footprint than several other firms in this directory, which is worth disclosing directly.

Beyond the Courtroom

Sandoval has taught continuing-education seminars for other family law practitioners, including presenting on working with parties involving substance abuse and mental illness at the 18th Annual Domestic Litigation Forum in 2018 — subject matter that reflects experience with some of family law’s more clinically complex cases. He has also been recognized by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys as one of the “10 Best Attorneys” for client satisfaction, a client-experience-focused award distinct from the peer-driven Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers recognitions.

Recognition for This Austin Family Law Attorney

Peer-reviewed and third-party credentials: board certification in Family Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, held since 2018; inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2026, following five years (2021–2025) on the “Ones to Watch” list, which recognizes attorneys earlier in their careers; and Super Lawyers recognition spanning Rising Stars (2015–2022) through the main Super Lawyers list (2023–2025). The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys’ “10 Best” award is a client-satisfaction-oriented recognition rather than a peer-review credential, and Awesome Attorneys distinguishes it accordingly from the TBLS, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers recognitions above.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Complex property and business division in a Texas divorce — a stated focus of this practice — operates under Texas’s community property framework (Texas Family Code Chapter 3), where property acquired during marriage is presumed community property subject to “just and right” division under § 7.001, while separate property (owned before marriage or received by gift or inheritance) must be traced by clear and convincing evidence to be excluded. Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR) — the formal legal term for custody, visitation, and support matters — are governed by Texas Family Code Title 5, with courts applying the “best interest of the child” standard under § 153.002 to conservatorship and possession determinations. None of this is legal advice; a specific property division or custody matter should be evaluated by a licensed Texas attorney based on the actual facts and assets involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

The strongest, most specific fact here is the documented recognition trajectory — eight years as a Rising Star followed by graduation to the main Super Lawyers list and a top-100-statewide distinction — paired with continuous TBLS board certification and a genuine focus on complex property and business-division cases that not every solo family law practice takes on. The honest trade-off is the same one that applies to any true solo practice: Sandoval is the only attorney, so there’s no associate bench for overflow work, and the publicly available client review sample is thinner than at some larger or more consumer-review-active firms in this directory, making outside verification of day-to-day client experience harder. For a Spanish-speaking family or a case involving genuinely complex business or property division that benefits from one attorney’s continuous, direct involvement, that combination is a reasonable basis for a shortlist. For a client who wants to compare a large, easily verifiable public review record before hiring, it’s worth asking Sandoval directly for references given the platform’s limited displayed reviews.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Sandoval Family Law, P.C.’s official website (sandovalfamilylaw.com), Raul Sandoval Jr.’s Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, and Lawyers.com attorney profiles, and the Texas Board of Legal Specialization’s public certification standards. The peer endorsement quoted is reproduced from Sandoval’s public Martindale-Hubbell peer review page.

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 Raul Sandoval Jr. or Sandoval Family Law, P.C. 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.