Kelly Hart Names New Partners

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Kelly Hart began the new year with an announcement of five new partners, saying in a statement that Whitney Beckworth, Meredith Knudsen, Taylor Spalla, Lizzy Thomas, and Hannah Watkins are emerging leaders from a broad cross-section of the firm’s practice groups, including Appellate Law, Civil and Commercial Litigation, Oil & Gas/Energy, and Real Estate and Finance.

Below are biographies from Kelly Hart’s website.

Whitney Beckworth focuses her practice on representing corporate and individual clients in a wide variety of complex civil litigation in state and federal courts involving commercial disputes, breach of contract actions, business torts, indemnity and insurance coverage disputes, and other matters. Beckworth has participated in civil trials in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and appeals. She also has experience representing clients in government investigations and enforcement actions.

Before joining Kelly Hart, Beckworth was an assistant attorney general for the state of Texas. In that role, she represented various state agencies and entities, including the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Department of Public Safety, in election law matters and defended the State of Texas at a two-week-long trial in federal court. 

Beckworth studied political science at Stanford before graduating the University of Texas Law School.

Meredith W. Knudsen is a partner in the firm's Litigation section. Knudsen works on a range of litigation disputes across a variety of industries, with a particular focus on the energy sector.

Before joining Kelly Hart, Knudsen was an associate at Reed Smith LLP in Washington, D.C., and Houston. She has significant experience representing banks, oil and gas companies, product manufacturers, and healthcare providers. She is licensed in Texas and in the District of Columbia and has handled lawsuits in numerous other jurisdictions, including California, Louisiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, and Utah. Knudsen manages discovery in both large and small disputes and has experience deposing key witnesses. Her practice includes seeking and defending summary judgments and applying the standards for the admissibility of expert testimony in state and federal courts.

Knudsen graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s in public relations. She graduated with honors from George Washington University Law School in 2013.

Taylor Spalla is a partner in the Oil and Gas practice group. He focuses on oil and gas transactional matters, and he also frequently assists on public policy matters and commercial litigation matters.

Spalla graduated magna cum laude from Texas Tech School of Law and earned an MBA from Texas Tech Rawls College of Business. While in law school, he served as an editor-in-chief of the Texas Tech Administrative Law Journal.

Before attending law school, Spalla worked as a staffer in a Texas gubernatorial campaign and traveled domestically and internationally providing volunteer advance work for the White House.

Spalla graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown with a double major in business and political science.

Elizabeth C. Thomas is a partner in the Fort Worth office's Litigation section. Thomas represents corporate and individual clients in state and federal courts involving complex commercial disputes, business torts, fraud, Deceptive Trade Practice claims, antitrust, and employment matters. Thomas has extensive experience with all stages of litigation, from pleading through discovery, motion practice, trial, and appeal. 

Prior to joining Kelly Hart, Thomas was a litigation associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in its Dallas and New York offices, where she gained valuable experience representing clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to asylum seekers and federal inmates.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Thomas served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jane J. Boyle of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. While in law school, Thomas interned with the Honorable José Linares of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey as well as for the Honorable Anthony J. Scirica of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Before going to law school, Thomas worked as an investment banking analyst for Bank of America, focusing on consumer and retail companies. Thomas also worked as a litigation paralegal for Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.

Thomas graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s government. While at Dartmouth, Thomas earned All-Ivy, All-America, and Division I Defensive Player of the Year honors for the women’s lacrosse team, which she served as co-captain. Thomas was also inducted into the Wearers of the Green, Dartmouth’s athletic hall of fame.

Thomas graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a teaching assistant for the 1L legal writing program.

Hannah Watkins’ legal experience includes all aspects of real estate, with an emphasis on financing and commercial leasing transactions, property management, and the acquisition, disposition, and development of various commercial assets including mixed-use, multi-family, office, retail, and industrial properties. She represents various publicly traded and privately held corporate clients, real estate funds, and individuals in all types of complex real estate matters. Watkins also has experience with the acquisition and disposition of farm and ranch property in Texas.

Watkins is a graduate of UT Law School.