Franklin Bynum
Attorney · Former Judge
713 Law Firm, Houston, Texas
- Phone
- (713) 529-3476
- Office
- Houston, Texas 77019
Overview
Franklin Bynum has represented people charged with crimes in Harris County since he began practicing in 2008. He has been a private defense lawyer, one of the first lawyers at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office, and the judge of a Harris County misdemeanor court, where he implemented sweeping reforms to reduce incarceration. He has never been a prosecutor.
He grew up in Montrose and went to Houston public schools: Poe, Lanier, and Lamar. His father, Gordon Bynum, founded this firm in 1978 to represent injured people. Today Franklin leads it as 713 Law Firm.
Experience
Attorney, 713 Law Firm
Present
Criminal defense and personal injury, in the firm his father founded in 1978.
Judge, Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 8
2019–2022
Elected in 2018 to the misdemeanor court where he had once been a mental-health public defender. Implemented sweeping reforms to reduce incarceration.
Adjunct Professor, University of Houston Law Center
Taught Advanced Legal Writing.
Assistant Public Defender, Harris County Public Defender’s Office
2011–2014
One of the office’s first lawyers. Created its program giving immigration advice to poor defendants, served as a mental-health public defender in the county criminal courts, and handled serious cases at trial and on appeal.
Defense attorney, private practice, Houston
2008–2011, 2014–2018
Investigator, New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board
2003–2005
Investigated complaints against police officers, before law school.
Recognition
“Bynum’s courtroom could become a model for the rest of the county — if not the nation.”
- President’s Award, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association2012
- Member of the Year, Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association2010