Jeanine Alice Novosad
Jeanine Novosad was adopted in San Antonio and raised in Houston and Sugar Land. Her own adoption inspired her to be a family lawyer. She started working for family law firms in Houston in high school and continued through college and law school. She graduated from Baylor University with a B.A. from the University Scholars Program, in which she wrote her thesis on the history and sociology of divorce in America, titled “Gender Inequities in American Divorce.” She received her J.D. from Baylor Law and was licensed in 2011.
Jeanine has practiced family law in Texas for fourteen years. Jeanine is an associate attorney at Carter Morris, LLP, where she works with an outstanding team that exclusively practices family law in Houston, Fort Bend County and the Greater Houston area. Jeanine’s experience includes complex property disputes involving characterization, tracing, and valuation of businesses, real property, and other significant assets. She has experience in custody and child support matters, including cases involving psychological evaluations and custody evaluations. Jeanine is also trained in family law mediations.
Jeanine is honored to be the 2024 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year. She credits her Baylor Law family with changing her life for the better. Baylor Law taught Jeanine to be a dedicated litigator and advocate for her clients, and a Servant Leader. She had the pleasure to serve on the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors for three consecutive bar years, from 2020 to 2023, with Baylor Lawyers Judge Lauren Renee Sepulveda and Rebecca Patterson Linehan, with whom she started Baylor Law, completed Practice Court, and graduated. During this time, TYLA began with 25,000 members, grew to 35,164 members, and three of the eight members of the TYLA Board of Directors were Baylor Lawyers. She has enjoyed serving Baylor Law School judging and witnessing for competitions, serving on panels in both Texas and Scotland, and mentoring students whenever possible.
In 2020, Jeanine was nominated for President-Elect of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. She won the election and served three years on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors and TYLA Board of Directors. Jeanine served as TYLA President from June 2021 to June 2022 and focused on Civility and helping Texas lawyers continue to adapt and serve their clients and the profession. For Jeanine’s presidential year, TYLA was honored with the American Bar Association Comprehensive Award of Achievement State Division A, and the American Bar Association Award of Achievement State Division A for the Civility Hub and Civility for All.
Jeanine has enjoyed being a member of and involved in the Family Law Section of the Houston Bar Association, the Texas Bar Foundation, the Texas Bar College, the Junior League of Houston, the State Bar of Texas Professionalism Committee, the Texas Board of Law Examiners Standard Setting Study, the Texas Bar Journal Board of Editors, the State Bar of Texas Local Bar Services Committee, the American Bar Association, the American Bar Foundation, the TYLA Texas Courts for Texas Veterans Project Committee, the LeadershipSBOT 2016-2017 class, the Judge Abner V. McCall American Inn of Court, the Burta Rhodes Raborn Family Law American Inn of Court, LeadershipPlenty Waco, the Fort Bend County Bar Association, the McLennan County Young Lawyers Association, and the Junior League of Waco. Jeanine was honored to be President of the McLennan County Young Lawyers Association, Secretary of the Junior League of Waco, and Advisory Planning Vice-Chair of the Junior League of Waco. Jeanine has served on the Nominations Committees for the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the State Bar of Texas, the McLennan County Young Lawyers Association, the McLennan County Bar Association, and the Junior League of Waco.
How Can We Help You?
"*" indicates required fields
Bar Admission
- State Bar of Texas: November 2011
Education
Baylor Law School Graduation: April 2011
- Juris Doctor
- 2024 Young Baylor Lawyer of the Year
Baylor University Graduation: May 2008
- Bachelor of Arts, University Scholars; Honors Scholar with Distinction
- Areas of Emphasis: Political Science, Sociology, Gender Studies, and Honors Program
- Thesis: “Gender Inequities in American Divorce”
- Marks of Distinction on University Scholar Exit Interview
Bar Involvement
- Texas Bar College – Fellow 2024
- State Bar of Texas Professionalism Committee – 2023 to present
- Texas Bar Foundation – Strategic Communications Committee 2023-2024
- Texas Board of Law Examiners Standard Setting Study – November and December 2023
- State Bar of Texas Board of Directors – TYLA Immediate Past President 2022-2023, TYLA President 2021-2022, TYLA President-elect 2020-2021
- Texas Young Lawyers Association – Immediate Past President 2022-2023, President 2021-2022, President-elect 2020-2021, District 9 Director 2019-2021
- ABA Award State Division A, Project: Civility HUB
- ABA Award State Division A, Project: Civility for All
- ABA Award State Division A, Comprehensive
- Texas Bar Journal Board of Editors – 2020-2022
- Texas Bar Foundation – TYLA Liaison 2021-2022, Member 2017 to present
- State Bar of Texas Local Bar Services Committee – 2017-2021 Member
- American Bar Association – TYLA Delegate 2020 to present, Member 2020 to present
- American Bar Foundation – Member 2021 to present
- LeadershipSBOT – State Bar of Texas 2016-2017 Class
- Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas – Member 2011 to present
- McLennan County Young Lawyers Association – 2020 Outstanding Young Lawyer; Immediate Past President 2021-2022; President 2020-2021; President-elect 2019-2020; Vice President 2018-2019; Secretary 2017-2018; Member 2015-2024
- Judge Abner V. McCall American Inn of Court – Mentor 2017-present; Member 2016-2024
- McLennan County Bar Association – Board Member 2020-2021; Nominations Committee Member 2019-2021; Member 2015 to present
- Family Law Section of the Houston Bar Association – Family Law Adoption Day Bear Drive Organizer 2014-2015; Member 2011-2016
- Burta Rhodes Raborn Family Law Inns of Court – Awards Committee 2015; Member 2012-2015
- Association of Women Attorneys Houston, Texas – 2014 to 2015
- Fort Bend County Bar Association – 2014 to 2015
- Houston Bar Association – Member 2011 to 2016
Panels, Classes, Seminars, Publications and Projects
- TYLA Publications and Websites: Civility Hub, Civility in the Classroom, Celebrating Adoption Day, Nonprofit Toolkit, Legal Careers in Government Service, Federal Evidence Guide, and more at www.TYLA.org
- TYLA Civility From the Bench, Moderator, November 2021 – Panelists: Justice Debra Lehrmann, Justice Jeffrey S. Boyd, Justice Jane Bland, and Judge Lora Livingston of the 261st District Court, Travis County
- TYLA Civility Day Panel, Moderator, September 2021 – Panelists: Practice Court Professor Liz Fraley, Heather Kanny, State Bar President Sylvia Borunda-Firth, TYLA Past President and Brownsville City Attorney Victor Flores
- Texas Bar Journal TYLA President’s Page – June 2021 to May 2022
- Texas Bar Journal “Practicing Civility, TYLA President Jeanine Novosad Rispoli on treating people with respect” – June 2021
- Baylor Pre-Law and Public Service Internship Program – Family Law Presentation 2022 to present; Adjunct Professor Spring 2021 to Spring 2022; Mentor Spring 2020; Student Intern Fall 2006
- Pro Bono Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and Lone Star Legal Aid, Family Law Essentials Waco: Giving Back to Your Community, Drug and Alcohol Testing in Family Law, Co-presenter with Lauren Waddell – June 4, 2021
- Baylor Law Women’s Legal Society and LEAD Counsel, Ruth Bader Ginsburg RBG Documentary and Panel, Panelist – 2020
- TYLA Texas Courts for Texas Veterans, Project Lead and Editing Director. In partnership with Baylor Law School, the Texas Access to Justice Commission, and Chief Justice Nathan Hecht https://tyla.org/resource/texas-courts-for-texas-veterans/
- Baylor Law People’s Law School, Texas Marital Property Law, Speaker – 2019 to present
- Baylor Law School Ladies Who Launch, Panelist – Waco 2018, 2021; St. Andrews Academy of the Advocate 2019, 2022, 2023
- American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Presentation on Access to Justice, Panelist – 2016
- Baylor Law School Time Management Presentation, Moderator and Panelist – 2016
- Texas Minority Attorney Program, Co-Author – “Emerging Topics in Family Law” – 2015
Community Involvement
- Leadership Plenty Waco Class of 2019-2020
- Junior League of Waco: Nominating Committee 2020-2022; Board Secretary 2018-2020; Advisory Planning Vice-Chair 2017-2018; Public Relations Committee 2016-2017; Organizational Development Institute Fall 2017; Focus Group Moderator Provisional Class Project 2015-2016; Member 2015 to present
- Baylor Law School – Top Gun judge, witness; Mad Dog judge; Client Counseling judge
Trainings
- State Bar of Texas Board of Directors – Dr. Reeves Implicit Bias Training – February 2021
- Baylor University Continuing Education – Strategic Planning for Nonprofits – October 2019
- Worklife Institute Houston, Texas – 30 Hour Family Mediation Course – March 2019
- Baylor Law School & McLennan County Dispute Resolution Center – 40 Hour Mediation Training – February 2019
- Association of Junior Leagues International – Organizational Development Institute – Fall 2017
Experience
Pakis, Giotes, Page, & Burleson, P.C.
Associate Attorney
March 15, 2022 – present
Family Law
Waco, TX
Rispoli Law Firm, P.L.L.C.
Solo Practitioner
October 2018 – May 2021
Family Law
February 1, 2022 – March 15, 2022
Waco, TX
Rispoli & Altman Law, P.L.L.C.
Founding Partner
Family Law
May 2021 – February 1, 2022
Waco, TX
Naman Howell Smith & Lee, P.L.L.C.
Associate Attorney
Family Law
September 2015 – October 2018
Waco, TX
The Waddell Law Firm, P.C.
Associate Attorney
Family Law
May 2014 – July 2015
Houston, TX
The Haston Law Firm, P.C.
Associate Attorney
Family Law
April 2012 – May 2014
Houston, TX
Law Office of Nancy Boler
Associate Attorney
Family Law
August 2011 – March 2012
Houston, TX
Short Carter Morris, L.L.P.
Intern
Family Law
May – August 2009, May – August 2010
Houston, TX
The Law Office of Warren Cole
Assistant/Intern
Family Law
June – August 2008, August 2009
Houston, TX
Nichols Law, P.L.L.C.
Assistant/Intern
Family Law
June 2006, June – August 2007
Houston, TX
Davis & Davis Attorneys at Law
Assistant/Intern
PI & Medical Malpractice
May – August 2005, May – June 2006, June 2007
Houston, TX
Law Offices of Rod Goble
Internship with Hon. Vikram Deivanayagam
Criminal & Juvenile Defense
Fall 2006
Waco, TX