Mike and Mary Jo McCurley love the movies. On Friday afternoons, they pick the next movie that’s about to start and go see it. It could be an independent art film, an explosion-fest, a documentary or a romantic comedy. It doesn’t matter what the movie is. If they can get there in time, they go see it.
“We’ve seen some terrible movies, but we’ve seen some great ones that we weren’t expecting,” says Mary Jo. “It pushes us outside our comfort zone, and spending that time together as a couple is important to us. More importantly, we believe it makes us better lawyers.”
A very satisfied client recently labeled the McCurleys, “The First Family of Family Law.” Their nationally prominent law firm, McCurley Orsinger McCurley Nelson & Downing, L.L.P., is one of the largest in Texas devoted exclusively to family law.
“Divorce is drama,” Mike says. “And we’ve found that Hollywood, as much as it goes for the dramatic, has got nothing on real life. Sure, Mary Jo and I go to movies because we enjoy them. But they also help us see our clients’ problems, their dramas, in a fresh light.”
That sensitivity, coupled with a commitment on the part of every lawyer at McCurley Orsinger McCurley Nelson & Downing, has helped Mike and Mary Jo earn perennial placement on D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas list.
In fact, the two movie fans are stars in their own right in the Texas legal community. Mike was named by Worth magazine as one of the Top 100 lawyers in the country, and both he and name partner Richard Orsinger have been named the best family lawyer in Texas (in different years 2002 and 2007) by Texas Lawyer newspaper. Mary Jo, a widely published author and frequent lecturer, has earned recognition on every Texas Super Lawyers listing (2003-2010), receiving special recognition among the Top 50 Female Lawyers in Texas for eight consecutive years (2003-2010).
They aren’t the only standouts at McCurley Orsinger. Every partner in the firm is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and two firm partners also hold additional certifications in civil trial law and civil appellate law. In addition, the firm’s appellate section, headed by Orsinger, provides appellate assistance to clients and to lawyers throughout the state.
The McCurleys’ decades of legal experience, combined with their passion for movies, has made them acute observers of the evolution of American culture.
“There was a time when a movie that implied anything other than a nuclear family--with a mom and a dad, two kids and a dog--would have been strictly taboo,” Mike says. “Now, though, the American family doesn’t fit any kind of mold. For better or worse, Hollywood has changed how we perceive marriage and family.”
One of the negatives, Mary Jo counters, is that cinematic romance is often unrealistic. When moviegoers see star-crossed lovers defeat the forces of evil and then live happily ever after, they need to remind themselves, Mary Jo says, that “real life and real marriage are rarely so neat.”
“Life isn’t always like the movies. Real relationships are what happens after the screen fades to black, and the sad truth is that not every marriage is going to be a happy one,” Mary Jo says. “But if our clients have made the decision to move on—or their spouse has made it for them—our goal is to help them get through the experience with as little drama as possible.”
