John Michael Frick

John has been representing businesses and business people in the North Texas area for more than thirty years. He has tried numerous cases at various levels of the judicial system, including federal district court and state district court. He has presented appeals to the Supreme Court of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and ten of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeal in Texas. He has arbitrated cases before the American Arbitration Association and JAMS, Inc. In addition to his trial practice, John is a trained mediator and summary jury trial judge. As a result of displaying a high degree of skill, competence, and professionalism, he has earned an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

John received his law degree from SMU School of Law in 1988, where he served as an Associate Editor for the Southwestern Law Journal. While still in law school, he successfully presented an appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas through the school’s civil clinic program, resulting in a published opinion reversing the lower court. He also completed his first jury trial through the school’s clinic program.

After graduating from law school, John served a judicial clerkship as briefing attorney for the Honorable Gordon H. Rowe, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas. There, John had the pleasure of working with future Supreme Court of Texas Justices Nathan Hecht, Craig Enoch, and James Baker.

As a seasoned trial lawyer, John continues to maintain a high level of practice. He has represented clients in cases reported in the Wall Street Journal and Dallas Morning News, as well as ones featured on local news broadcasts and the national news program, Nightline. His civil trial practice includes representation in both state and federal court and encompasses a wide range of areas.

• Civil Litigation
• Contract Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Real Estate Litigation
• Professional Liability

• Credit Cards Accepted
  Visa & Mastercard Only
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Provides 90-minute initial consultation for a flat fee of $500. Does not typically work on a contingency fee. Usually requires a retainer.

Texas

State Bar of Texas

ID Number: 07455200

Since 1988

5th Circuit

Since 1992

Partner

Reid, Dennis & Frick, PC

2022 - Current

Member

Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC

2021 - 2021

Partner

Bennett, Weston LaJone & Turner, P.C.

2017 - 2021

Senior Attorney

Reid & Dennis, PC

2010 - 2017

Solo Practitioner

Law Offices of John M. Frick

2001 - 2010

Partner

Mills, Presby & Associates, L.L.P.

1995 - 2001

Associate

Godwin & Carlton, P.C.

1989 - 1995

Briefing Attorney

Court of Appeals, Fifth District of Texas at Dallas

1988 - 1989

SMU Dedman School of Law

Doctor of Jurisprudence/Juris Doctor (J.D.)

1988

Southern Methodist University

B.S. (1985) | Political Science

1981 - 1985

Honors: Summa Cum Laude

Southern Methodist University

B.A. (1985) | Psychology

1981 - 1985

Honors: Summa Cum Laude

AV-Preeminent

Martindale-Hubbell

2004

For over 100 years, the Bar Register has been a unique guide to the legal community's most eminent professionals. It includes only those select law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field. The 2022 Bar Register contains over 14,000 member listings out of more than 1.3 million attorneys in the United States.

Texas State Bar  # 07455200

Member

1988 - Current

Board-Certified, Civil Trial Law

Texas Board of Legal Specialization

2010

Q. If I went to corporate about my boss and she wrote me up for it is that retaliation?

August 14, 2025

A: The facts you describe do not satisfy the elements of a legal cause of action for retaliation. In the employment context, it is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you only for engaging in certain protected activity defined by statute. For example, making a workers' compensation claim for an on-the-job injury is protected activity and your employer may not take adverse employment action against you, like demoting or firing you, because you filed a workers' compensation claim.

Complaining to "corporate" about your boss being mean to you is not protected activity defined by a statute.

Q. How do I regain legal documents and money my parents are withholding from me in Texas?

August 14, 2025

A: So you're 36 or 37 at this time. You can file a lawsuit in replevin against your parents in small claims court seeking the return of your passport and immigration documents of these items of tangible personal property that belong to you. You should make a formal demand upon your parents to turn over those documents to you before filing a lawsuit.

You also can apply for a new passport and obtain replacement copies of your immigration documents directly from the US dept of immigration services.

You are under no legal obligation to give your money to your parents simply because they are your parents. Just keep and deposit your money in your own bank account and do not authorize your parents to have access to it. ... Read More

Q. Can I challenge the $53,000 child support payout from husband's estate?

August 14, 2025

A: Yes, the OAG can legally enforce a claim for unpaid child support. The OAG is legally charged with the obligation to enforce unpaid child support obligations. There most likely is a court order requiring your late husband to pay the child support on a monthly basis which your late husband disobeyed. Enforcing a judgment for child support is not "time-barred." Limitations (what you call a time bar) only applies to the time before a claim is asserted by filing a petition. In cases involving child support, that would be BEFORE a child support order was first requested for the child.

The child support obligation would be a Class 4 claim under the Estates Code. Only a handful of items like the funeral expenses and any legal fees and out-of-pockets expenditures by the executor in administering the estate would have a higher priority. In any event, any claim you might have to any portion of your husband's estate would be subordinate to the child support lien and obligation.

With respect to the denial of a family allowance because you were not the decedent's spouse, it sounds like there is a fact dispute as to whether you and your "husband" were ever in fact married. Your properly signed marriage certificate or a declaration of informal marriage filed with the county clerk would be the best evidence of the existence of your marriage and ought to be sufficient as long as 1) your "husband" was not already married to someone else, which would invalidate your marriage, or 2) you were divorced before he died. Within thirty days of the determination by the court that you were not actually his spouse, you have the right to appeal that factual determination. As long as you offered your marriage certificate into evidence and there was no evidence of either of the two things mentioned above, you should prevail on an appeal.

Sometimes an allegation of informal marriage comes up in probate cases even when the spouses did not properly file a declaration of informal marriage with the county clerk. This is usually very difficult to prove after one spouse dies absent very clear undisputed documentary evidence. If the evidence is unclear or disputed, an appeal is unlikely to be successful. ... Read More