Jonathan Barbee

I’m a native Texan, born and raised. I grew up in Corpus Christi, where I spent my youth falling in love with everything the Gulf Coast has to offer. There’s a lot more to the coast than most people realize, but for me nothing beats being on the water, whether I’m fishing, surfing, or just hanging out on the beach. To this day, I’m still most at home with salt air around me, waves breaking at my feet, and gulls calling overhead.

From an early age, I’ve had a competitive streak. Whether I went head-to-head at my local chess club or spent countless weekends on the baseball diamond, I’ve always thrived in the middle of a good competition. In high school, that spirit carried me onto the wrestling mat, back to the baseball field, and into the classroom as captain of our Academic Decathlon team – earning varsity letters in all three.

I went on to attend Texas A&M University, where I became the first person in my family to earn a college degree. At A&M, I joined Aggies Selflessly Serving in Leading Tomorrow, and there I learned the true strength of service-based leadership. I also spent four years on the Texas A&M Men’s Rugby team, squaring off against some of the top programs in the country in what was then the College Premier League. I proudly graduated from the Mays Business School with a degree in Finance, walking the stage on my Mom’s birthday.

After college, I began my career in banking and spent eleven years as a residential mortgage lender. I started out as a preferred lender for large homebuilders and later worked exclusively with a trusted network of real estate agents. That chapter taught me two things that now drive my legal career: I love working with clients, face-to-face whenever possible, and I feel a relentless drive to develop pragmatic solutions to the problems they bring to my door.

With those principles in mind, I enrolled at South Texas College of Law, where I graduated with honors. During law school, I clerked for two summers at a commercial litigation firm and spent over a year at a solo debt defense and bankruptcy practice, where I wore every hat the firm asked of me.

I am thrilled to be a part of Romano & Sumner and the level of service they provide matches my desire to interact with clients. I have a genuine passion for the practice of law, and I’m ready to pour every bit of that energy into your case. I’d be honored to go to work for you.