Darrell A. Apffel was born on April 16, 1963 in Galveston, Texas to Ervin A. Apffel, Jr. and Christine Matthews Apffel. He was raised in Galveston County with his siblings, Ervin A. “Trey” Apffel, III., Jeannie Apffel Guarino, Pam Apffel Del Papa, Pat Apffel Whittington, and Christi Apffel Landry.

Darrell graduated from O’Connell Catholic High School in 1981 and Texas A&M University in 1986 with a degree in Building Construction. He then married his high school sweetheart, Pam Holland, and began his studies at South Texas College of Law. Upon graduation and passing the Texas Bar in 1989, he began practicing law as a solo practitioner in Alvin. In 1997, he formed Bettison, Doyle, Apffel & Guarino, P.C. and has been working alongside the same partners ever since. Darrell has successfully fought and tried many cases on behalf of his clients for over two decades.

Darrell is one of many successful attorneys in his family including his Father, Uncle R.A. Apffel, Brother, three Brothers-in-Law - former Galveston County District Attorney Mike Guarino, Former 212th District Court Judge Miles Whittington and Andy Landry - as well as his son Blake.

After graduation from college, he and his wife moved to South Shore Harbour and lived there for ten years. They then moved to Texas City where they lived for 17 years and raised their children, Blake, Kaleb and Allie.

Darrell served the legal community as a member of the State Bar of Texas for 29 years, the Texas Bar Foundation, as Former District 5c Grievance Committee for the State Bar, and as Past President and 29 year member of the Galveston County Bar Association. He also had the honor of serving as a former member of the Board of Directors for Texan Bank.

Outside of the office, Darrell has served on the Texas City High School Football, Baseball and Soccer Booster Clubs, Texas City Project Graduation and coached Little League. He also actively and tirelessly works with children’s organizations in Galveston County and other charitable organizations when called upon.

Darrell was the Honorable Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 from October, 2003 to December, 2014. Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 has since consolidated with Precinct 7 to form Precinct 1. The new Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 very closely resembles County Commissioner Precinct 1. During his tenure, Darrell worked closely with the Galveston County Commissioners in trying to resolve the much-opposed re-districting/consolidation. During his 10 years on the bench, Darrell handled approximately 8,594 civil cases, 34,703 criminal cases, 2,406 juvenile cases, and 831 driver’s license cases generating a total revenue of over $6,000,000. Darrell served as a mentor to many of the community children, leading them through high school into young adulthood.

While Justice of the Peace, Darrell managed a multi-office law practice and a busy case docket, along with several real estate investment projects. The consummate multitasker, Darrell still balances his ventures with community and philanthropic activities across the county. Today, Darrell and Pam live in South Shore Harbour with their three dogs and daughter Allie.