Prior Judicial Experience

Jeff is a former Dallas County Family Court Judge. He was appointed in June 2002 by Governor Rick Perry. He was elected in November 2002 and served until December 2006. Prior to being a district judge, Jeff was a family court associate judge for 9 years in the Dallas Family Law Courts. While practicing law he was the municipal judge in Flower Mound 1982 to 1994. He speaks on family law topics to attorneys and mental health professionals and is often called on to teach other judges.

Innovation and Technology in the Courts

Since 1994, Jeff has worked to improve the performance of the Dallas County Family Law Courts. Early in his judicial tenure, he was designated to evaluate and draft revised forms for use by the family courts. This initiative resulted in uniform, concise and easy-to-use forms that remain in use today.

Jeff was the family courts representative on the court computer project which successfully converted all 1.6 million Dallas County cases into the new user friendly court management system. Working closely, week after week over several years, the committee was responsible for all aspects of evaluation, construction, training and implementation of the new system. Judge Coen’s court was the first to test the “paperless” concept allowing for all court documents to be accessed by computer. This work led to all the family courts being paperless today.

Jeff was also a member of the civil courthouse construction committee which designed and supervised the construction of the new George Allen Civil Courthouse. He worked closely with other judges and county commissioners in the construction process of the new building which opened in 2006 on time and on budget.

When the commissioners were looking to end the Dallas County Family Courts Services Department due to budget restraints, Jeff and another judge were responsible for re-writing the legislation allowing the department to be self funding. This gained the commissioners’ approval and ultimately the passage in the Legislature to keep the department operating.

Dallas Bar Association

Jeff Coen has been a member of the Dallas Bar Association for more than 25 years. During this time he has actively participated in eight of the standing committees. He has served as the co-chair of the Pro Bono Activities Committee and is currently co-chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Jeff has been a participating member of the ad hoc committee studying how to increase the participation of family law attorneys in bar activities, and was a member of the Special Task Force on Ethnic and Racial Bias and Prejudice in the Dallas Courts. This task force released a report containing recommendations which may be found at http://www.dallasbar.org/taskforce/.

Jeff has served in many capacities with the Dallas Bar Association – Family Law Section, including being the current secretary, a member of its board of directors and legal liaison to the board.

Community Involvement

Jeff has a long history of helping others. His current work includes serving on the board of the Dallas CASA which provides volunteers for children in child abuse and neglect cases.

He is also a long-term volunteer, board member and current secretary of the Hobbycrafter's Foundation. Since 1949, Hobbycrafters has made approximately 500,000 wooden toys for underprivileged children. These toys are distributed through local churches and civic organizations at Christmas. See the story here.

Since 2003, Jeff has been a board member of the Dallas Bar Association's Community Service Fund which oversees the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP). He also served for four years on the American Diabetes Association Dallas Board of Directors.

Pro Bono

Pro bono service is the voluntary personal contribution of time by attorneys to insure that all members of society, and particularly those who are unable to afford an attorney, are guaranteed equal access to justice.

During the time he has been a private attorney Jeff regularly volunteered to represent clients pro bono. He has also been active in the establishment of programs to assist litigants unable to afford legal representation in family court. As a former judge, Jeff focused his pro bono work on providing education, assistance and support for volunteer attorneys handling family law matters.

Jeff currently does pro bono mediations and is a frequent speaker at Dallas Bar Association outreach programs providing training and written materials to volunteers. He has spoken to state wide audiences on judicial participation in pro bono activities. He wrote the instructional manual available to unrepresented litigants seeking a simple divorce provided by the Dallas Bar Association - Family Law Section.

Jeff has been honored three times by the Dallas Bar Association for his efforts in pro bono matters. In 2004, he received the prestigious Equal Access to Justice Award from Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas for his many contributions to the pro bono cause. He remains committed to opening the courthouse doors to all parties seeking justice, including those who are least able to afford it as they are often the citizens whose need for justice is the greatest.