Port Lavaca, TX

Sandra Witte

Sandra Witte was born in Port Lavaca, Texas, and graduated from Calhoun High School in 1987. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in 1991 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law in 1995. She was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1995 and the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas in 1996. Sandra has been practicing law in Calhoun County and is currently a partner at Odefey, Witte, Wall & Villafranca, LLP. Her legal practice focuses on Real Estate, Governmental Law, and General Civil Litigation. She represents real estate developers across Texas, handling all aspects of development from land acquisition to sales. She is also involved in corporate formation, drafting deed restrictions, collections, and litigation for owners’ associations. She is a part owner in Gulf Coast Title Company. Sandra is recognized by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization as a Board Certified attorney in Property Owners Association Law. Her civil litigation experience includes jury trials, State Office of Administration Hearings, and trials to the court. She is an active member of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and the Texas Aggie Bar Association. She is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and serves as president of the Calhoun County Bar Association. She has also served as a Director on the Board of Directors of the Cal-Com Federal Credit Union and as both Director and Chair of the State of Texas District 11B Grievance Committee.

Anne Marie Odefey

Anne Marie Odefey was born and raised in Port Lavaca, Texas, and graduated from Calhoun High School and The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Government. She graduated from South Texas College of Law in 1994 and moved back to Port Lavaca to practice with the firm of Garner, Roberts & Roberts. In 2004, she became a partner in the firm that has evolved to the name it is today. Her practice focuses on the representation of governmental entities, including the City of Port Lavaca, City of Bay City, City of Palacios, Calhoun County (special counsel for economic development), the City of Point Comfort, Memorial Medical Center, Drainage Districts 8, 10 and 11, Calhoun County Water & Control District No. 1, the City of La Ward and Refugio County Drainage District No. 1. She represents several business entities and individuals in real estate and corporate transactions, and prepare estate planning documents that do not require tax planning, including Medicaid planning, and handles probate matters. She is one of the owners of Gulf Coast Title Company in Port Lavaca. In her representation of governmental entities, she has dealt with a variety of issues involving open government (open meetings/public information), contract negotiations and disputes, personnel issues (internal [training, interpretation, compliance], workforce commission, and EEOC), economic development negotiations and agreements (tax abatement/380 agreements/enterprise zone projects/public-private partnerships), land use issues (annexation/zoning/code enforcement/land use planning), committee interactions with the entity (port commission/ planning and zoning commission/ economic development/ chamber of commerce/YMCA), infrastructure planning and negotiating with large corporate entities regarding structuring and servicing balanced municipal and corporate needs. She is involved in the Victoria Economic Development Corporation and is a past president of the Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture. She is involved in the Calhoun County Bar Association, the Our Lady of the Gulf Altar Society, and is a Life Member of the Texas Exes. On a personal note, she is married to Jamie Odefey, has two children, Alexis and Justin (and wife Tiffany), and is a “Gigi” to granddaughter Daisy. She attends Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church. She is the daughter of the late Charles Zirkelback and Maria Zirkelback of Port Lavaca. She enjoys watching all sports, especially the Texas Longhorns.

Carly W. Wall

Carly Wall grew up outside of Philadelphia in Oley, Pennsylvania. She graduated magna cum laude from La Salle University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice in 2004. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence, graduating cum laude, with a concentration in litigation from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2007. During law school, she was actively involved with the Moot Court Board and the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. She interned with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and Thorp Reed & Armstrong. Carly practiced family law, estate planning, and estate administration in Reading, Pennsylvania before joining the firm in Texas in 2010. She is an active member of the State Bar of Texas, Victoria County Bar Association, Calhoun County Bar Association, and Texas Bar Foundation. She serves as a Panel Member on the State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee, District 11, and is on the Board of Directors for St. Joseph High School. She previously served as President of the Victoria County Bar Association, Vice-President of Habitat for Humanity of Calhoun County, and on the Board of Directors for United Way of Calhoun County and the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Golden Crescent. Carly practices all areas of family law and has extensive experience assisting clients from drafting agreed court orders to advocating at trial. Carly is licensed to practice law in the State Courts of Texas and Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She has achieved Board Certification in Family Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Jordan G. Fries

Jordan G. Fries grew up in Victoria, Texas, and attended the University of Iowa, graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2013. He received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago in 2016. During his studies, he interned with the Cook County Public Defender and the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Illinois. He also served as a staff writer and editor of Loyola’s Public Interest Law Reporter. Since 2016, Jordan has primarily worked as a criminal trial lawyer, practicing as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor. He maintained a successful private criminal defense practice from 2016-2018 and was employed as a felony prosecutor for Victoria County from 2019-2022 and 2023-2025, serving as the First Assistant Criminal District Attorney for Victoria County from 2023-2025. He has extensive experience in criminal law and jury trials. Jordan also worked in general civil practice from 2022-2023. He is an active member of the State Bar of Texas and serves on the Victoria County Bar Association Board. He coaches youth basketball and teaches mock trial. Jordan is licensed to practice law in the State Courts of Texas and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

John T. Villafranca

John Villafranca grew up in Victoria, Texas. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science in 2014. He received his Juris Doctorate Cum Laude from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2017. During his studies, he interned with the Victoria District Court judges and with the law firm of Roberts, Roberts, Odefey & Witte, LLP. He has been a junior partner in his family’s ranch and cattle operation since 2012 and helps operate the Club Westerner Dancehall in Victoria, Texas. He is the son of Glenn and Kathy (Burns) Villafranca of Victoria. Effective January 1, 2025, John T. Villafranca will become a partner with the firm.

Dennis Arriaga

Dennis Arriaga is an innovative and driven counselor with a strong background in litigation and child welfare law. He was board-certified in Child Welfare Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has extensive experience in managing legal teams. Prior to joining Roberts, Odefey, Witte & Wall, Dennis served as the Managing Attorney for Region 8 of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He also served as an Assistant County Attorney at the Atascosa County Attorney’s Office and a City Attorney/City Prosecutor with the City of Somerset, Texas. He holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The University of Texas at San Antonio. As an associate attorney with Odefey, Witte, Wall & Villafranca, Dennis is primarily engaged in the practice of real estate law, property owners’ association law, and probate law.