Frederick J. Biel Headshot

Frederick J. Biel

Partner

Practice Areas

  • Fred’s Biography

    Frederick J. (“Fred”) Biel, a partner since 1989, has more than 47 years as a real estate practitioner, representing individuals, local, regional, state, and national business organizations, state and national banks, and governmental entities on commercial, farm, and ranch and residential real property transactions, financing and banking transactions, and business organization transactions as sellers, buyers, lenders, borrowers, developers, investors, title companies, brokers, property managers, contractors, landlords, and tenants.

    Fred, a member of the American College of Real Estate Attorneys, also holds specializations in Commercial Real Estate Law, Farm, and Ranch Real Estate Law and Residential Real Estate Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and he is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

    A Central Texas native, Fred earned his Bachelor of Business Administration and his Juris Doctorate degrees in 1973 from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, and he was admitted to practice law that same year by the Texas Supreme Court. Prior to joining the firm, Fred held the position of General Counsel to the Commissioner and Board of the Texas Department of Human Resources. He also served as County Attorney for Bee County, Texas, and as Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Beeville, Texas.

    Fred is active in TexasBarCLE real estate law programming, having served as Course Director for the Advanced Real Estate Strategies Course, Advanced Real Estate Law Course, and the Real Estate Law Drafting Course, and he has served as a planning committee member, speaker and/or author at real estate related CLE courses. Fred is a former member of the State Bar of Texas Real Estate Forms Committee responsible within the State Bar of Texas for developing real estate forms and summaries of state and federal laws affecting real estate for use by Texas attorneys in their real estate practices. The current four-volume set of the Texas Real Estate Forms Manual (3rd Edition) published by the State Bar of Texas through its TexasBarBooks Department, contains more than 400 real estate-related forms and 300 summaries of state and federal laws affecting real estate. Fred also contributes to the work of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization by serving on advisory committees responsible to the board for screening and testing attorney and legal assistant applicants for the real estate specializations available in the State of Texas.

    Fred also serves his community. He is a director of C.A.M.P. University, Inc., a Texas non-profit corporation that provides opportunities for special needs young adults to continue developing life and social skills after high school and provides a respite for their families. The organization is based on the belief that special education graduates can and should continue staying active socially, mentally, and physically in order to reach their own maximum potential (Can Achieve Maximum Potential). In addition, he is a former director of the South Texas Symphony Association, Inc., a Texas non-profit corporation, whose mission is the support of excellence in the presentation of live symphonic orchestra performances in the Texas Rio Grande Valley through education and fundraising.

  • Experience

    • Acquisition & Disposition | Real Estate
    • Office | Real Estate
    • Retail and Mixed Use | Real Estate
    • Multi-Family and Residential | Real Estate
    • Single Family Residential | Real Estate
    • Farm and Ranch | Real Estate
    • Commercial and Residential Construction | Real Estate
    • Commercial and Residential Development | Real Estate
    • Leasing and Property Management | Real Estate
    • Real Estate Secured Financing
    • Personal Property Secured Financing
    • Real and Personal Property Foreclosures and Dispositions
    • Restructurings and Workouts
    • Entity Governance
    • Entity Acquisitions and Dispositions
    • Asset Acquisitions and Dispositions
    • Entity Mergers
    • Litigation Support for Real Estate, Banking, Finance and Business Entities Practice Areas
  • Bar Admissions

    • Texas, 1973
    • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1983
    • U.S. Supreme Court, 1982
  • Education

    • Baylor University, Waco, Texas, Bachelor of Business Administration, 1973
    • Baylor University School of Law, Waco, Texas, Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1973
  • Legal Specializations

    Texas Board of Legal Specialization:

    • Commercial Real Estate Law
    • Farm and Ranch Real Estate Law
    • Residential Real Estate Law
  • Honors and Awards

    • 2003 – present Named a Texas Super Lawyer as awarded by Thompson Reuters and published in Super Lawyers/Texas Monthly magazine
    • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Rating
    • Jerry Charles Saegert Award presented by the TexasBarCLE for the Best CLE Paper – 2017 Advanced Real Estate Law Course – “Enforcing Security Interests Under Article 9 . . . Using the Internet”
    • 2009 Commendation – Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Council – For work as the 2008 – 2009 Chair of the Title Insurance Committee
    • 1999 – 2000 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Presented by the Hidalgo County Bar Association Pro Bono Project
  • Professional Associations

    • American College of Real Estate Attorneys, Member
    • State Bar of Texas, Member
    • Texas Board of Legal Specialization:
      • Real Estate Law Applicant Screening Advisory Commission, Member (Former Chair)
      • Real Estate Law Examination Advisory Commission (Former Chair and Former Member)
      • Real Estate Law Legal Assistants Applications/Examination Advisory Commission (Former Chair and Former Member)
    • State Bar of Texas Real Estate Forms Committee (Former Vice Chair and Former Member)
    • The College of the State Bar of Texas, Member
    • Course Director, TexasBarCLE:
      • 10th Annual Advanced Real Estate Strategies Course (December 1 – 2, 2016)
      • 32nd Annual Advanced Real Estate Law Course (July 8 – 10, 2010)
      • 20th Annual Real Estate Law Drafting Course (March 5 – March 6, 2009)
    • Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
    • State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section, Member
      • REPTL Council (Former Member)
      • Title Insurance Committee of REPTL Council (Former Chair)
    • Hidalgo, County, Texas Bar Association, Member
      • Real Estate Section, Member (Former Co-Chair)
    • American Bar Association, Member
    • American Bar Foundation, Fellow
    • South Texas College Advisory Committee on Legal Assistants, Member
  • Community Involvement

    • C.A.M.P. University, Inc., Board Member
    • South Texas Symphony Association, Inc., Former Board Member (Former Vice Chair and Former Secretary)
    • Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Council 12040 and Assembly 2851, Member (Former Financial Secretary for Council 12040)
    • Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, McAllen, Texas, Member:
      • Finance Council, Board Member
      • Pastoral Council (Former President and Former Board Member)
      • Adult and Youth Religious Education Program (Former Teacher)
    • City of McAllen, Texas Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals (Former Chair and Former Board Member)
    • Leadership McAllen Class 13, Graduate
    • South Texas College (Former Real Estate Law Adjunct Professor – Legal Assistant Program)
    • Sandi Jo Funk Hospice (Former Volunteer – Inter-Disciplinary Patient Care Team)
    • Rio Grande Valley Habitat for Humanity, Inc. (Former Board Member)