Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP

A leading Texas firm, Kelly Hart is entrenched in the city of Fort Worth, both headquartered there and serving notable Fort Worth clientele like the entrepreneurial Bass family, Justin Brands, Anne W. Marion and the Burnett Companies, American Airlines, Pier 1, Hillwood, and BNSF Railway. As the firm has grown, so has its client list, which includes additional Fortune 500 companies, individuals, investor groups, and governmental entities from around Texas and the nation.

Triple Threat

In 1979, successful Fort Worth-based litigation and commercial lawyer Dee J. Kelly joined forces with well-known corporate and securities and real estate lawyers Mark L. Hart, Jr. and William P. Hallman, Jr. to found their joint namesake firm Kelly Hart & Hallman. Kelly Hart had no problem acquiring a talented roster of attorneys to expand its practice areas into banking, finance, energy, federal and state tax, and several others which comprise the more than 20 service offerings it has today. The firm’s attorneys have been recognized time and again by the likes of Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News Best Lawyers, and Chambers. And it is no surprise that the firm has racked up numerous accolades by Texas-focused publications and awards, like 360 West Magazine, Texas Super Lawyers, Austin Monthly, Fort Worth Business Press, and Fort Worth Inc. Magazine.

From Oil & Gas to High-Profile Deals

Kelly Hart lawyers practice across a broad array of practice areas, including appellate litigation, banking and finance, bankruptcy, corporate, environmental law, IP, labor and employment, litigation, and oil and gas. The firm has a particularly robust litigation practice, which covers everything from alternative dispute resolution to banking and financial services litigation to environmental litigation to products liability to securities and corporate litigation, and more. The firm is also known for its work in oil and gas—in fact, almost one fourth of the firm’s attorneys focus on this area. Clients include alternative energy providers, electric utilities, energy investment groups, mid-stream companies, and oil and gas exploration and development companies, among others.

Kelly Hart has a bustling corporate and securities group, which has helped negotiate some very high-profile M&A deals. Among its historical deals include representing construction materials and cowboy boot manufacturer Justin Industries in its 2000 acquisition by Warren Buffett's mammoth company Berkshire Hathaway and advising the buyer of the Plaza Hotel in New York City in its sale by Donald Trump. In February 2016, Kelly Hart represented the largest shareholder of the W.T. Waggoner Estate and made history with the closing sale of the largest ranch deal ever in the state of Texas. 

Thousands of Hours Toward Good

When not negotiating big-time sales, Kelly Hart attorneys serve the community. In 2020, Kelly Hart attorneys and paralegals devoted more than 2,400 hours to pro bono legal services. Attorneys are encouraged to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono work each year. Some of the organizations the firm's attorneys work for include Habitat for Humanity, Fort Worth Zoological Association, Austin Bar Association, University of Texas Domestic Violence Clinic, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, the Women's Shelter, The Gatehouse, The Pro Bono Project and Goodwill of Austin.