Safeguarding Life’s Most Important Things
Lindley Bain on doing what’s best for clients:
I help clients frame and reach healthy, attainable, future-focused goals. My clients include professionals in the tech and start-up industry, business owners, real estate developers, medical professionals and their spouses, and high-achieving career women.
Together, we shape and make clear-headed decisions that recognize but are not clouded by emotional pain. Drawing on extensive experience in the courtroom, at the collaborative table, and with family dynamics of all stripes, I focus on financially complex divorces and asset division, high-conflict custody matters, and premarital agreement negotiations. I am a strong advocate of Collaborative Divorce and mediation, especially for clients who want an out-of-court settlement. However, when court is the best option I litigate to safeguard what is most important for clients. The goal is to figure out what is optimal in the present and best for your future.
What I help clients do:
- Provide hands-on support to clients by guiding them through the process.
- Understand what’s important in the moment and what comes next by putting reason and emotion, the near term and long term, in perspective and balance.
- Evaluate options to achieve high-priority objectives.
- Chart a constructive, financially-sound approach that minimizes conflict and delivers productive, cost-effective solutions.
- Develop long-term strategies customized to future goals and needs, like planning for retirement and children’s education—even as immediate concerns such as separating property, obtaining an optimal financial package, and making parenting arrangements are arranged.
- Guiding clients to a place where they feel in control, comfortable and confident in making decisions and fully understanding their implications.
Professional Credentials
With a background in finance and negotiation, Lindley is especially skilled in the division of complex assets, high-conflict cases, negotiated divorce, pre-and post-nuptial agreements, and divorces that involve mental health issues. Lindley has been continually named to The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Family Law since 2015. Her election as the firm’s managing partner is a testament to the respect she has earned from her colleagues as well as her business and leadership acumen. Lindley is also one of the select few Austin divorce attorneys to be named a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Lindley received her J.D. degree and a Masters in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. As the firm’s second female managing partner, Lindley builds on a history of strong representation of women leaders.
Interests
Lindley lives in Austin with her husband and two beautiful children. She was raised among a family of entrepreneurs, including her mom, Angie Bain, who was a founding partner of Goranson Bain in 1987; dad, a veterinarian firm CEO; and brother, a player in the tech start-up world.
Services
- Complex Property
- Adoption
- Paternity
- Child Support
- Child Custody
- Property Division
- Cohabitation Agreement
- Alimony & Spousal Support Maintenance
- High Net Worth Divorce
- Contested Divorce
- Uncontested Divorce
- LGBTQ+ Divorce
- Divorce
- Divorce Mediation
- Litigated Divorce
- Flat Fee Divorce
- Negotiated Divorce
- Collaborative Divorce
- High Conflict Divorce
- Divorce for Business Owners
- Appealing a Divorce Decree or Judgment
- Pre-Divorce Guidance
- Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
- Modification and Enforcement
Honors & Awards
- Selected to the Texas Rising Stars list, Thomson Reuters, 2010 – 2020
- Inclusion in the Texas Super Lawyers list, Thomson Reuters, 2020-2022
- Up-and-Coming 100: Texas Rising Stars List, Thomson Reuters, 2017 – 2020
- Up-and-Coming 50: Women Texas Rising Stars List, Thomson Reuters, 2017 – 2019
- Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Family Law, Woodward and White Press, 2015 – 2023
Articles
Articles
- 8 Common Tax Issues to Consider When Negotiating Your Divorce Settlement March 24, 2022
- Five Tips for Communicating With Your Spouse About Money October 2, 2020
- The Importance of Financial Discussions Prior to Marriage September 10, 2014
- 6 Ways To Protect Your Credit in a Divorce February 13, 2014
Published Works
- Co-Author, “Making a Better Agreement: Negotiating Premarital, Post-Marital and Cohabitation Agreements in the Collaborative Process” – 11th Annual Collaborative Law, 2018 (with Keith Maples).
- Co-Author, “Speaking in Codes”- Marriage Dissolution Course, 2008 (with Thomas P. Goranson, Carson Epes Steinbaurer, Judge K. Denise Garcia)
- Co-Author, “Speaking in Codes” – Advanced Family Law- 2006- State Bar of Texas (with Judge K. Denise Garcia, Ronald L. Goranson, Kathryn Weiser, Carson Epes, Kevin Scrivner and Lindley Bain).
- Co-Author, “Cohabitation Agreements for Same-Sex Couples, 2009- 9th Annual Family Law on the Front Lines Conference (with Angeline L. Bain and James Mueller).
Videos & Podcasts
Videos
Presentations
- “Characterization of Property in a Divorce”, State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division, TAPS Seminar, 2019
- “Making a Better Agreement”, State Bar of Texas, Collaborative Law Course, Co-Presenter, 2018
Professional Associations
- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Fellow
- American Bar Association, Family Law Section
- Member
- Annette Stewart Inn of Court
- Member
- Austin Bar Association
- Member
- Austin Young Lawyers Association
- Member
- Collaborative Divorce Texas (f/k/a Collaborative Law Institute of Texas)
- Member
- Collaborative Professionals of Dallas
- Member
- Collin County Bar Association
- Member
- Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
- Member
- Dallas Bar Association
- Member
- International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
- Member
- Mac Taylor Inn of Court
- Member
- State Bar of Texas, Family Law and Collaborative Law Section
- Member
- Council Member
- Vice Chair, 2018
- Chair, 2019
- Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists
- Member
- Texas Family Law Foundation
- Member
Education
- Southern Methodist University School of Law, 2007
- J.D., Law
- Southern Methodist University, 2007
- M.B.A., Finance
- Austin College, Sherman, Texas, 2002
- B.A. (Cum Laude), Honors Spanish and International Studies
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 2007
Certifications
Board Certified in Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2012
