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Judicial Profile - Judge Matthew Riek
JUDICIAL PROFILE
By Perry Cockerell, Perry Cockerell, P.C.
Judge Matthew Riek, 360th District Court
Judge Matthew Riek has been the Associate Judge of the 360th District Court in Tarrant County since January 2017. His appointment to the associate judge position followed the election of Judge Patricia Baca Bennett to the 360th District Court and caps an entire career devoted to family law and mediation. Judge Riek’s parents were Ronnie Riek and Edna Corbett Riek and he had a younger brother Bradley Riek. While growing up his family lived in many towns. His father was a small-town banker who moved the family frequently. “He was upwardly mobile trying to find the next better job. We had a lot of stops.” The family lived in Abilene, Dalhart, Amarillo, Fort Worth, Brownwood, and Oklahoma City. A graduate of Brownwood High School in Brownwood, Texas in 1986, Judge Riek received his B.B.A from Baylor University in 1990 and his J.D. from Texas Tech School of Law in 1993. After law school, he worked for two years for the firm of Earl Luna in Dallas handling school law. In 1995 he moved to Arlington to work with the Ball Law Firm. “Chester Ball was an excellent Tarrant County lawyer.” In 1997 he joined Bailey & Galyen and worked in their Bedford and Arlington offices. In 2006 he set up his own law firm in Arlington and practiced for ten years before being appointed to the associate judge bench in January 2017. During his years in private practice, he handled sixty percent family litigation and forty percent family law mediation.
Judge Riek advanced professionally in his career in family law. In 2004 he became Board Certified in Family Law. In 2007 he was named a Rising Star by the Texas Monthly Magazine and a Super Lawyer in 2011 and 2013 through 2016. From 2008 to 2016 he was named a Best Family Lawyer in Tarrant County in Fort Worth Magazine. He is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists. He also served as President of the Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association in 2011 following years of service as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Judge Riek has been a frequent speaker at courses by the State Bar of Texas and other legal organizations.
Tarrant County Recovery Court
Judge Riek is a member of the Texas Association of Specialty Courts. In addition to his duties as the Associate Judge of the 360th, Judge Riek oversees the Tarrant County Recovery Court. “I have a specialty drug recovery court that I've managed. These are cases where parents have had their children removed because of drug use and neglect. It’s a specialty court designed to assist people in getting back on their feet and recovering from drug addiction and being able to be reunited with their kids.”
The court works closely with a team of social workers, CPS or OCOK workers, and MHMR. The court requires regular drug testing, counseling, and careful monitoring. “It’s designed to help people find stable housing and stable employment and hopefully find full recovery and be reunited with the kids.”
“This program was founded by Judge Ellen Smith when she was an associate judge. She built the program for almost 10 years.”
Life in the 360th District Court
The court is located on the fourth floor of the Family Law Center at 200 E. Weatherford Street in downtown Fort Worth. Judge Patricia Bennett is the elected District Judge. Brittany Terry, the court coordinator, has been with the court for six months. Katherine Kramer is the court reporter and Deputy Vigil and Deputy Mills are the bailiffs.
During the COVID pandemic, the court continued in operation by zoom hearings. “We had attorneys email exhibits to our court before hearings. We've returned to in-person hearings at this point and have lawyers bring their exhibits to the hearing and make sure that they are bringing the local rule documents that they have so they are exchanged before the hearing.”
Presently the court is trying cases on a regular basis. “We’ve been back mostly in person for some months now. I hear general dockets of family law cases every morning and they're usually really busy. And they're tough days because they're usually the first time that a family has had to come to court on their family law case. Associate judges would generally hear the first appearance on a divorce and those hearings tend to sometimes be a little highly charged.”
“I normally hear special set hearings every afternoon. And so, if somebody needs more than an hour or so they're sometimes reset on a special set afternoon hearing so that we can devote a little bit more time for cases with complicated issues or lots of witnesses.”
The court can hear final trials in some cases. “They’re usually matters that can be tried in less than a half a day or less and that are heard by agreement of both parties and lawyers.”
The Judge’s advice to the new lawyer is, “number one,
not to be afraid to come in and talk to the judge and ask for advice or direction. Obviously not on their particular case, but just on procedures and questions about how to practice. Second and probably more important is to find a mentor in the bar association or somebody that's done lots of family law, because most of the experienced family lawyers in Tarrant County are very willing to mentor young lawyers. I'm always glad to sit down with a new lawyer or a young lawyer to talk about family law.”
Judge Riek has been married for twenty-one years to his wife René and they have two daughters. René is the Director of Special Education at Hurst Euless Bedford ISD. Their oldest child, Jordan is a freshman music education major at Texas Christian University. “She’s a singer which is kind of fun. We go to lots of concerts and recitals at TCU.” Their youngest daughter, Avery is a varsity cheerleader at L.D. Bell High School and an accomplished gymnast. Quite different than how Judge Riek was raised, his family has lived in Bedford for almost fifteen years. “Neither one of us were from there. We went there for her job, but we've established really good roots and really good neighbors and that's our home now.” g
WANT TO EXPAND YOUR CLIENT BASE?
Join TCBA’s Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS)
This Service is certified as a lawyer referral service as required by the State of Texas under Chapter 952, Occupations Code.
For first-timers, TCBA is offering 50% off an LRIS membership for the 2021–2022 bar year. LRIS receives thousands of calls and emails a year from people in the community seeking to hire an attorney, and is a great way to connect you with the public. Please note that additional requirements apply to the following practice areas.
➢Bankruptcy Law ➢ Malpractice ➢Criminal Law ➢ Personal Injury ➢Family Law ➢ Probate/Guardianship ➢Labor & Employment
The LRIS application and more information can be found at www.tarrantbar.org/LRISdocuments. Offer expires March 31, 2022.
Accepting
The Law Day Professionalism Award Selection Committee is accepting nominations for the Law Day Professionalism Award. Anyone in the legal community, attorney or non-attorney, may nominate a TCBA member who best exemplifies, by conduct and character, professional traits that others in the bar should try to emulate.
Nominations Deadline: March 25, 2022 by 5 p.m.
Download nomination form at www.tarrantbar. org/2022NominationForm
TARRANT COUNTY BAR FOUNDATION
By Dee J. Kelly, Jr., Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
Message from Dee J. Kelly, Jr.
2021 Tarrant County Bar Foundation Chair
As 2021 Chair of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation, it is my pleasure to report on the work of the Bar Foundation and our legal community over the past year. Like in 2020, our efforts were once again frustrated by the impact of the pandemic, but I’m very proud of our staff and all of the members of our team who pulled together to manage through this challenge. Of course, another unexpected twist in 2021 was the loss of our executive director. As we wished Megan well in her new position with Texas Wesleyan, the Bar took on a diligent search to find her successor, which culminated in the hiring of Kayla Dailey. We are all thrilled to have Kayla on board for 2022.
There is good news to report on the progress of your Bar Foundation. Through the hard work of volunteers and TCBA’s Pro Bono Program Director, the Bar answered the call (literally) by many who faced hardship and needed legal advice. LegalLine, the free call-in legal service, quickly transformed to a virtual model which allowed volunteer attorneys to answer legal questions from hundreds of Tarrant County residents over the year. Similarly, members of our legal profession generously donated their time and talents to veterans and low-income residents by offering free legal advice and representation.
The Bar Foundation’s successes could not happen without its steadfast supporters – the Fellows. Thanks to all of you for your commitment and contributions during a difficult year to this important task.
The Bar Foundation and the Tarrant County Bar Association work together to fulfill the Bar Foundation’s primary mission of encouraging the furtherance of justice and legal education, while supporting legal aid services for the indigent and working poor. Your Bar assisted over 1900 people this year with its pro bono programs. Throughout this Annual Report, you will see examples of how the work of volunteers in the legal community furthered this goal in 2021 through a variety of programs. The Bar Foundation also continued to financially support several organizations in 2021 – including the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, Methodist Justice Ministry, and CASA of Tarrant County.
There is no doubt that more work remains this year, but I am optimistic about the Foundation’s ability to address our challenges with the steadfast support of its volunteers and staff. This is important work that cannot be accomplished without your assistance – whether as a leader, donor, or volunteer – and we look forward to working together with you in the upcoming year. g
