In Memoriam: James M. “Jim” Loveless

Webb Family Law mourns the loss of our partner, colleague, mentor and friend, James M. “Jim” Loveless, who passed away on August 11, 2026.

For more than five decades, Jim practiced family law in Texas. His career was extraordinary by any measure. He was Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, an Emeritus member of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, and a leader whose influence extended far beyond the clients he represented.

But a list of titles and accomplishments only begins to explain who Jim was.

To generations of Texas family lawyers, Jim was a teacher, mentor and standard-bearer for the profession. To those who had the privilege of practicing alongside him, he was a trusted colleague whose experience, preparation, integrity and unmistakable personality made an impression that lasted.

And to our partner Lon Loveless, Jim was something even more important.

He was Dad.

More Than Five Decades in Texas Family Law

Jim began practicing law in Texas in 1974 after graduating from South Texas College of Law. He returned to his hometown of Fort Worth and went on to build a career that would span more than half a century.

Family law was not simply Jim’s practice area. He helped shape the profession in Texas.

Jim served as Chair of the Family Law Council of the State Bar of Texas and as President of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, including service as President of its Texas Chapter and on its national Board of Governors, and he held leadership and teaching roles throughout the family-law community.

Over the course of his career, Jim also devoted an extraordinary amount of time to educating other lawyers. He wrote extensively, taught continuing legal education programs, directed courses and spoke on subjects ranging from complex property valuation and expert testimony to trial strategy, ethics and family-law procedure.

His influence therefore reached well beyond the cases bearing his name. Lawyers throughout Texas learned from him, practiced alongside him and, in many instances, became better lawyers because he was willing to teach them.

Excellence Recognized by His Peers

Jim’s peers recognized that contribution throughout his career.

He was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America beginning in 1987 and by Texas Super Lawyers beginning in 2003. His professional honors included the Judge Eva Barnes Award for Excellence in Family Law, the Dan R. Price Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Practice of Family Law, and the Judge Sam Emison Award for Integrity and Professionalism.

In June 2026, only two months before his passing, Jim received another particularly meaningful honor: the Dan Rugeley Price Memorial Award from the Texas Bar Foundation.

The award honors a Texas lawyer whose life reflects not only accomplishment in the practice of law, but extraordinary service to the profession, dedication to clients and commitment to the public.

For Jim, it was a fitting recognition of a lifetime spent doing exactly that.

A Father, Mentor and Partner

Jim’s legacy at Webb Family Law is also deeply personal.

Jim was the father of Webb Family Law partner Lon M. Loveless. Long before they became colleagues, Jim was Lon’s mentor and an example of what a family lawyer could be.

Their shared profession eventually gave father and son something relatively few families experience: the opportunity to practice law together.

Jim joined Webb Family Law as a partner in 2022, working from the firm’s Tarrant County office alongside Lon and the rest of our team. He brought with him decades of courtroom experience, professional relationships and institutional knowledge, but he also brought something that cannot be listed on a résumé—the perspective of someone who had spent a lifetime learning the practice of family law and was still willing to share what he knew.

For our firm, having Jim here was a privilege.

For Lon, practicing alongside his father became another chapter in a relationship that had already shaped his life and career.

The Man Beyond the Law

As accomplished as Jim was professionally, those achievements were only one part of his life.

He was a husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He loved adventure, travel and the outdoors. He was an enthusiastic storyteller, a lifelong Fort Worth resident with deep roots in his community, and a man whose curiosity and interests reached far beyond a courtroom.

Those who knew him knew the humor, competitiveness and larger-than-life personality behind the professional biography.

He and his wife, Kitty, traveled together extensively. He shared his love of the outdoors with his sons. He treasured time with his grandchildren. He raced sailboats, loved classic motorboats and motorcycles, followed TCU football with extraordinary enthusiasm, and collected the kinds of stories that could keep a room entertained for hours.

Those are the things that a résumé cannot capture, and they are among the things his family and friends will remember most.

A Career Like This Does Not Simply End

Jim practiced Texas family law for more than five decades.

He argued cases. He advised clients during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. He taught. He wrote. He led. He mentored younger lawyers. He served his profession. And he helped raise another generation that would carry some of those lessons forward.

That kind of career does not simply end when someone leaves us.

It continues in the lawyers Jim taught. It continues in the standards he helped establish. It continues in the clients and families he served. And, especially for us, it continues through Lon and through the many people who had the opportunity to work beside Jim and learn from him.

Jim did not simply practice Texas family law. He helped build it.

We are grateful that part of that remarkable career was spent with Webb Family Law.

Our hearts are with Kitty, Lon, Miles and the entire Loveless family. We will miss our partner and our friend, and we will remain grateful for the lasting mark Jim Loveless left on our firm, on Texas family law and on all of us who knew him.

James M. “Jim” Loveless
Texas Lawyer, 1974–2026
Partner. Mentor. Father. Friend.