Paralegals

TJ Mitchell

TJ Mitchell has worked for partner John Van Ness since 2016. She has been a paralegal since 1985 working in family law and real estate law. She has extensive courtroom experience. She assists attorneys in client interviews, drafting, research, discovery, mediation, hearing, and trial preparation.

She joined the State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division in 1991, is a member of the Houston Paralegal Association and guest lecturer for the Rice University Paralegal Program. She is a former licensed title examiner and former planning and zoning commissioner. She received the Governor’s Excellence Award for her work on Tropical Storm Alison.

TJ resides with her husband in Deer Park, Texas. She is an avid cyclist and Houston Astros fan.

Betsy Gonzalez

Betsy Gonzalez joined Lilly & Van Ness, L.L.P. in June 2021. Betsy has been working in family law for over nineteen years. Additionally, Betsy has thirteen years of legal experience in the areas of real estate, criminal, immigration, bankruptcy, and simple estate planning. Such exposure to such vast subject matters has helped Betsy tremendously, as family law touches so many other areas of the law.

Betsy uses her considerable multitasking skills and customer service experience to help families in transition by providing detailed support to the attorneys and her clients. From complex litigation cases to simple uncontested divorces, she is involved from beginning to end. Betsy assists clients by providing regular contact and meaningful updates, managing the discovery process, drafting pleadings and correspondence, and is integral in preparing for mediations, depositions, hearings, and trials. Betsy enjoys working closely with people and gets the most joy from the feeling of helping clients through a challenging time in their lives.

As a native of Mexico, Betsy is fluent in Spanish. Betsy has been married for 20 years. Her husband is in the Oil and Gas industry and is an industrial firefighter. Together, Betsy and her husband have a son who just graduated High School and is now starting college.

Annette Lewis

Annette Lewis began working for John E. Van Ness in 2023. She has worked in the legal field for over 34 years, including civil litigation, personal injury, criminal, real estate transactions, and employees’ benefits. She has also served as Court Coordinator for Workers’ Compensation. However, for the past 19 years, she has dedicated herself to the area of family law and helping families. Her experience includes being the regular contact with the client and assisting attorneys in developing cases from beginning to final resolution, including extensive trial experience.

Annette is a native of Louisiana and moved to Texas in 1998. She is a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan! Annette is a mother of three and grandmother of four. During her leisure time, she enjoys traveling, sharpening her culinary skills, and being with her family and friends.

Alix Calderon

Alix Calderon began working for partner, John E. Van Ness in 2023. She has also worked for and continues to work for Glenn Lilly (Partner, Earle S. Lilly’s son) since 2014. In addition to joining the firm, she has also worked for and continues to work for Glenn Lilly (Partner, Earle S. Lilly’s son) since 2014.

Before her work as a paralegal, Alix worked as a receptionist and Teacher’s Aide at The Honor Roll Private School. Her legal field career began with Glenn Lilly where she learned the basics of family law and civil litigation until she was promoted to Glenn’s paralegal and office administrator in 2018. Alix fell in love with the law and wanted to learn as much as possible, so she furthered her legal knowledge by obtaining an ABA associate degree in paralegal studies. She graduated with honors and academic excellence from WCJC in 2023. Her legal experience includes all areas of family law and involvement in other civil cases. Alix is dedicated to assisting her clients and enjoys helping people through one of the most challenging times of their lives.

Alix is originally from Baja California, Mexico and speaks fluent Spanish. In her spare time, she enjoys playing soccer, working out, and spending time with her husky, Luna, family, and friends.

Jess Gonzalez

Jess Gonzalez, paralegal for partner, John Van Ness, is the newest addition to Lilly & Van Ness, L.L.P. She developed a deep passion for family law and became a paralegal in 2010. In 2021, she passed the Texas Board of Legal Specialization board certification exam in family law and joined a group of only about 200 paralegals in the State of Texas with this honor. Jess has also been a member of the State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division since 2019.

She assists attorneys from the initial consultation through final trial. She has extensive trial experience, and her passion is working with large, complex estates, as well as highly contested custody cases. Jess finds great reward in assisting her clients through one of life’s most significant and difficult transitions.

Jess is a fellow Houstonian with a bachelor’s degree in environmental geology from the University of Houston. She is a mother of three – one daughter and two sons. Most of her leisure time is spent at the baseball field for practices and tournaments with her youngest son. She is a Houston Astros fanatic and loves spending time with her Frenchie, Oliver!