Richard W. Rodriguez
Daniel Hernandez, with a portrait of his father Francisco Hernandez Sr.
The Hernandez Law Center’s roots are in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Daniel Hernandez’s mother, Mary, traveled to San Miguel de Allende to study art.
She did that — very well, by all appearances — and fell in love with Francisco Hernandez, an attorney who studied law at the University of Guanajuato. He became licensed in 1969. His childhood friends nicknamed him “Perico,” the parrot — a talker, a debater, a licenciado.
The couple moved their family to Fort Worth in the late 1970s. His father sacrificed his career in law to give their children better opportunities in the U.S. Francisco and Mary both eventually became notaries public. Francisco did many other things while trying to learn English.
“They just basically helped people become citizens and residents in the United States from our house,” Daniel Hernandez says. “So here I am, little kid … 10 or 11, and we basically got a line around the corner — people sitting on our porch, people sitting in our living room on Saturday mornings even. And I'm sitting there like a doofus watching cartoons with all these people lining up to see my dad.”
Richard W. Rodriguez
Daniel Hernandez with attorneys Bailey Michell, Mark Thorne-Thomsen, and Brianda Payan Curry.
Two sons — both graduates of Paschal High School — became lawyers. Hernandez’s older brother, Francisco Hernandez Jr., is also an attorney. The brothers practiced together for years.
When Francisco Jr. retired this year, Daniel Hernandez rebranded the firm Hernandez Law Center.
“To this day, I still have families that will come in and say, ‘Your dad helped me become a citizen,’” Hernandez says. “So, I'm like, well, I don't need to ride the Daniel surfboard. I need to ride the Hernandez surfboard.”
The rebrand introduced a new brand identity, a bilingual website, and a renewed outlook on legal practice. The firm has expertise in family law, criminal law, and immigration.
Daniel Hernandez previously practiced alongside his father and brother, building a trusted reputation among Fort Worth’s Hispanic community. Following his father’s passing and his brother’s retirement, Hernandez is now carrying forward the family’s work that began in the 1980s.
Richard W. Rodriguez
Daniel Hernandez brought his childhood toys to the office. They are a topic of conversation for visitors.
Hernandez has an undergraduate degree from TCU. He studied law at Texas Wesleyan, now Texas A&M School of Law. After graduating from TCU, he went to work at TCU as a recruiter, followed by a stint raising money at United Way, and finally as director of admissions at All Saints’ Episcopal School.
“I went to All Saints’ because I could go to law school at night,” he says. “My real dream was I thought I wanted to be the chancellor of TCU. Now, I'm thankful I'm not because the chancellor of TCU doesn't have a life. But when your big brother says, ‘come play,’ you go play.”
Francisco Jr. wanted his younger brother to join his practice.
“If he's including me, I'm going to go do it. Until he retired … until he ditched me,” he says jokingly. “It’s what all big brothers do to their little brothers.”
While in law school, he was an interpreter in the courts.
“Basically, stealing my dad's work is what I was doing,” Hernandez says. “And so, I became an interpreter [in the office] and in the federal courts, got my law license, kept working with my brother.”
His mother’s art dots the walls of the office, making this still very much a Hernandez family enterprise.