In The News

After a four-year battle and appeal process Bexar County Court 13 Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez won an appeal over her right to display a rainbow flag in her courtroom.

Their eventual decision on the flag dispute could set a precedent, “not only in Texas, but across the nation,” said Deanna Whitley, who is representing her.

Hearing scheduled Oct. 1 could lead to a temporary ban of the new law.

MaryAnn Martinez, KENS 5 Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land for less than a week but the first same-sex divorce in Bexar County is already underway. A lesbian couple in San Antonio has been trying to get a divorce since July 2013.

By Michelle Casady: July 1, 2015 Allison Flood Lesh buried her face in her hands and cried tears of joy Wednesday when her attorney told her that this weekend, for the first time in more than a year, she’d get to see her daughter.

By Michelle Casady : July 1, 2015 SAN ANTONIO — A Bexar County same-sex married couple going through a divorce will share custody of their young daughter, a state district judge ruled Wednesday.

Associated Press – Thursday, May 15, 2014: SAN ANTONIO — A Texas judge has rejected a push by state officials to block a same-sex couple’s divorce and child-custody case from proceeding. State District judge Barbara Nellermoe set a May 29 custody hearing in San Antonio for the fight between Kristi Lesh and Allison Flood Lesh over custody of their nearly 15-month-old daughter.

Mike W. Thomas – San Antonio Business Journal The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to make gay marriage a constitutional right could boost the economy in San Antonio and nationwide as a wave of increased consumer spending follows the court clarifying ownership rights for gay couples.

(PRWEB) January 16, 2015 : The Fourth Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on January 21, 2015, in a case involving a transgender father, Dino Villarreal, and his plight to have the right to see his two children.

By Sam Sanchez – January 23, 2015: Transgender dad Dino Villarreal’s former partner has him denied access to seeing the two boys he helped raise during their 17-year relationship. It’s been over a year since Dino Villarreal has seen the two boys he helped bring up since birth.

By Gilbert Garcia – January 22, 2015: Dino Villarreal always considered himself the father of Sandra Sandoval’s sons. Villarreal, 48, a San Antonio transgender male, had been living with Sandoval for eight years when she adopted a newborn boy with Down syndrome in 2002. Two years later, Sandoval adopted another boy.

By Sam Sanchez – January 15, 2015: A San Antonio transgender man, who helped raise two boys while in a committed relationship with their mother, is seeking a ruling from the Fourth Court of Appeals that would allow him to see the kids on a regular basis.

(PRWEB) January 16, 2015: On Wednesday, The Whitley Law Firm, P.C. will present oral arguments to the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, on behalf of Dino Villarreal, arguing that this transgender father has the right to see his children.

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY – July 25, 2014: Allison Flood Lesh wants a divorce. She’s happy to share custody of her 17-month-old daughter. At the moment, she can’t have either wish. Her home state of Texas doesn’t consider her to be married or a mom. Her name isn’t even on the birth certificate.

By Guillermo Contreras – May 14, 2014 – SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio judge Wednesday denied a bid from the state of Texas to stop divorce and child-custody proceedings between a same-sex couple.

By Associated Press Published: May 15, 2014 – SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas judge has rejected a push by state officials to block a same-sex couple’s divorce and child-custody case from proceeding. State District judge Barbara Nellermoe set a May 29 custody hearing in San Antonio for the fight between Kristi Lesh and Allison Flood Lesh over custody of their nearly 15-month-old daughter.

(PRWEB) April 09, 2014 – The Whitley Law Firm, P.C., together with Judith K. Wemmert, represent the Petitioner who filed Bexar County’s first same-sex divorce case.

By Adolfo Pesquera – San Antonio Community Issues Examiner: May 30, 2014 – For some reason known only to God, Bexar County has become ground zero for legal challenges to the state’s anti-gay, same-sex marriage ban that was chiseled into the constitution in 2005.

Sep 16, 2013 – By James Aldridge Web Editor- San Antonio Business Journal – San Antonio divorce attorney Deanna L. Whitley has launched a new law firm in the Alamo City that will handle divorces, child custody, adoption and other family law-related issues, but will also address legal services faced by the city’s lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

(PRWEB) September 17, 2013 – Prominent and distinguished San Antonio divorce attorney establishes new law firm that will focus on serving the LGBT community in the greater San Antonio area. The Whitley Law Firm, P.C. will also offer family law legal services such as divorce, child custody, adoption, and more.