Jim Parker graduated from high school in Houston in 1975, and following the family tradition, he came to Austin to go to the University of Texas. He never left. After obtaining degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering, an MBA, and a law degree, he began his legal career in 1984 at the Austin firm of Daugherty, Kuperman, Golden, and Morehead. Over 30 years later he is still in Austin at the firm of Johnson, Rial & Parker.

Over the years, the focus of Mr. Parker’s practice has changed as the economy has changed. These are the areas that Mr. Parker has focused on through his career:

Construction transactions and disputes involving mechanics’ liens and many different aspects of performance of construction contracts.

Securities disputes involving claims of fraud and regulatory actions for injunctions and license revocation.

Real estate transactions and disputes regarding purchase, sale, commissions, landlord-tenant relations, condemnation, title, easements, and boundaries.

Insurance disputes in the areas of sales, renewals, cancellations, bad faith, and payments of claims.

Partnership disputes involving management, purchase, sale, division of profits, and fiduciary relations.

Mineral resource exploitation involving issues of leasing, drilling, workover, and operations management.

General business transactions and disputes arising from contract negotiation, formation, performance, and termination.

Formation of LLCs.

Property tax disputes.

Employment matters including preparation of internal employment procedures for employers and disputes representing employers and employees involving covenants not to compete, trade secrets, and employment discrimination.

Appearances before administrative agencies or the State Office of Administrative Hearings in franchise tax and license revocation or disciplinary hearings.

Throughout his career, Jim has remained actively involved in the legal profession. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Austin Bar Association (formerly the Travis County Bar Association) in which he has served on several bar committees, the Williamson County Bar Association, and the American Association for Justice. In his younger days, Mr. Parker was a member of the Austin Young Lawyers Association in which he served on many committees and was a member of the Board in 1992-1993.

Mr. Parker is a Fellow of the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation, and the Austin Bar Foundation.

Having completed the 40 hour mediation training course under the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act, Jim is fully-qualified to act as a mediator.  He also acted as a public arbitrator in cases before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority from 1999-2021 (FINRA, formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers or NASD).

Jim has donated his time to the University of Texas School of Law to serve as a judge for mock trial and moot court competitions, and he has written and delivered many papers and speeches to continuing legal education courses. He has also been published in the Texas Bar Journal with the article “Running Objections: A Practical Tool for Trial Lawyers,” in the July 1995 issue.

Mr. Parker is also a licensed real estate broker in the State of Texas.

Jim’s many published case decisions are:

• Palmer vs. Enserch Corp., 728 S.W.2d 431 (Tex. App.–Austin 1987)
• Kwik Wash Laundries, Inc. vs. McIntyre, 840 S.W.2d 739 (Tex. App.–Austin 1992)
• Kelley vs. American Heyer-Schulte Corp., 957 F. Supp. 873 (W.D. Tex. 1997)
• Synergy Center, Ltd. vs. Lone Star Franchising, Inc., 63 S.W.3d 561 (Tex. App.–Austin 2001)
• Caro vs. Sharp, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 3963 (Tex. App.–Austin, May 8, 2003)
• Cargill, Inc. vs. Merit Distribution Services, Inc., 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 4598, 2003 WL 21241642 (Tex. App.–Austin, May 30, 2003)
• Banc of America Investment Services vs. Lancaster, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 7100, 2007 WL 2460277 (Tex. App.–Fort Worth, Aug. 31, 2007)
• Wright vs. First National Bank, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 4911, 2013 WL 1748741 (Tex. App.–Austin, Apr. 19, 2013)