Kelly Hollingsworth
Senior Associate Attorney
“I got into family law the very first time when a former business litigation client came to me saying he was dissatisfied with the selection of family lawyers he had been interviewing.
I learned then that there was a place in the Dallas/Fort Worth family law market for lawyers with ‘big firm’ skills and credentials. I stayed in family law – and have now dedicated my practice to it exclusively – for the very same reason I went to law school; I wanted to make a difference in peoples’ lives when they were facing adversity.”
Kelly received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1990, where he earned distinction in the study of finance, and was a faculty appointee to the Student Leadership Council, all while working full time throughout. Kelly earned his law degree in 1995 from Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey, during which he won outstanding brief in advanced moot court, was on the Dean’s List, and earned top honors in the study of advanced labor law. Following law school, Kelly clerked for United States Magistrate Judge William F. Sanderson, Jr., in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas. Prior to joining the Beal Law Firm, Kelly was a partner at Godwin Gruber, LLP and Glast, Phillips & Murray, LLP., both in Dallas, and founded and operated his own firm. Just following his clerkship, Kelly was an associate with Haynes & Boone, LLP, and a Senior Associate at the Dallas office of Bickel & Brewer, a national litigation boutique.
Kelly is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is licensed to practice in all the federal and state courts in Texas. He is also licensed to practice before Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
Twenty-three years of trial practice across the State of Texas (from Marshall to Muleshoe and Laredo to Lipscomb, in addition to years in the Dallas/Fort Worth area) have convinced Kelly that the fundamentals are critical, no matter the population of the venue or the size of your case: know the facts of your case and know every conceivable legal standard that could control those facts.
EDUCATION
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
Degree: Juris Doctor – May, 1995
Honors and Activities:
Top Paper – Advance Labor Law Seminar
Dean’s Scholar and Dean’s List
Outstanding Oralist – 1993 Moot Court
Top Ten Briefs – 1994 Moot Court
Wagner Labor Law Moot Court Team
Business Counseling Clinic
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Degree: Bachelor of Science, 1990
Major: Political Science
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Laney & Bollinger, L.L.P. – Plainview, Texas, 2014-2018 - Partner
Family, criminal defense, personal injury, and business litigation practice
K. Hollingsworth & Assoc., P.C. – Dallas, Texas, 2003-2004; 2011-2014
Diverse litigation and appellate practice in business, personal injury, and family law
Glast Phillips & Murray, P.C. – Dallas, 2004-2010 - Member
Numerous business and family law jury and bench trials and appellate work
Godwin Gruber, L.L.P. – Dallas, 2000-2003 - Partner
Commercial litigation and family law
Bickel & Brewer – Dallas, Texas, 1998-2000 - Senior Associate
Commercial litigation: class action defense, and multi-jurisdiction litigation
Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. – Dallas, Texas, 1996-1997 – Associate
Business Litigation
Honorable William F. Sanderson, Jr. - 1995-1996 - Law Clerk
Law Clerk to United States Magistrate Judge in Northern District of Texas
MEMBERSHIPS
Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas
State Bar of Texas
South Plains Trial Lawyers Association
PUBLICATIONS
Uber Unfair Competition in the Taxi Industry, Global Competition Review, May 20, 2014
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Guest Lecturer in Business Law – Wayland Baptist University
REPORTED CASES
Exchequer Financial Group, Inc. v. Stratum Development, Inc., 239 S.W.3d 899 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2007, no pet.)
In Re: Adolfo Giovanni Tieri, 283 S.W.3d 889 (Tex.App.—Tyler 2008, orig. proceeding)
Dallas/Fort Worth Int’l Airport Bd. v. Ass’n of Taxicab Operators, USA, 335 S.W.3d 361 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2010, no petition)
Dallas/Fort Worth Int’l Airport Bd. v. Ass’n of Taxicab Operators, USA, Cause No. 05-12-00777-CV
Ass’n of Taxicab Operators, USA v. City of Dallas, 720 F.3d 534 (5th Cir. 2013)
Leighton v. Rebeles, 343 S.W.3d 270 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2011, no petition)
Leighton v. Rebeles, 399 S.W.3d 721 (Tex.App.—Dallas 2013, no petition)
COMMUNITY
Director – Crisis Center for the Plains
Director – Amherst Christian Retreat Center