Klayton S. Hiland

BIOGRAPHY

Klayton Hiland is an associate in the Fort Worth office’s Litigation section.  Mr. Hiland has experience representing corporate and individual clients in state and federal actions involving commercial disputes, breach of contract claims, oil and gas issues, and business torts.

Prior to joining Kelly Hart, Mr. Hiland was a litigation associate at K&L Gates LLP in Fort Worth, representing clients in oil and gas disputes.  While in law school, Mr. Hiland worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge Fitzwater in the Northern District of Texas.  Mr. Hiland was also honored to receive the Justice James A. Baker Memorial Clerkship and spent a summer clerking for Chief Justice Hecht of the Supreme Court of Texas.

Mr. Hiland earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and received his J.D. from SMU Dedman School of Law.

EXPERIENCE AND HIGHLIGHTS

• Represented oil and gas producers in royalty disputes in state and federal courts in numerous states
• Drafted successful Temporary Restraining Order response in Delaware Chancery Court
• Successfully argued hearings on motions for new trial and discovery motions
• Obtained summary judgment in professional malpractice dispute and summary dismissal of attorney disciplinary proceeding
• Managed e-discovery process and systems for numerous high volume oil and gas disputes
• Drafted numerous summary judgment motions, responses, and reply briefs
• Handled a range of commercial litigation, oil and gas, copyright infringement, legal malpractice, insurance coverage, healthcare litigation, and insurance defense cases

AFFILIATIONS

• Tarrant County Bar Association
• Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association

HONORS

• Top Attorney, 360 West magazine, 2023-2024
  • Commercial Litigation

EDUCATION

• SMU Dedman School of Law, J.D., cum laude, May 2019
  • Order of the Coif
  • SMU Law Review, Texas Survey Associate Managing Editor, Staff Editor
  • Dean’s List
  • State Bar of Texas Oil, Gas, and Energy Resource Law Section Award Winner, 2017
  • State Bar of Texas Pro Bono College, 2017
  • Best Brief Nominee and Best Advocate, Jackson Walker Moot Court Competition, 2017
• University of Texas, B.B.A., May 2013

ADMISSIONS

State Bar of Texas, 2019

SPEECHES & PUBLICATIONS

• Author, War And (Labor) Peace: How LAX And The Ninth Circuit Changed The Rules Of Engagement For Airline Service Providers And Organized Labor, 83 J. Air L. & Com. 145 (2018)
• Author, Make Airlines Great Again: Why Bankruptcy Went From A Dirty Word To A Strategy, And A Proposal To Bring It Back, 83 J. Air L. & Com. 643 (2018)
• Author, COVID-19 and Workers Compensation: Coverage and Considerations, Cooper & Scully, P.C. (2020)
• Co-Author, The Uniform Electronic Transaction Act: Risk of Binding Oil and Gas Industry Contracts, 1 J. of the Energy law Practitioner 1, Texas Tech University School of Law (2022)
• Co-Author, Western District of Texas Courts Holding That Discovery Permitted by North Cypress Medical Center Does Not Apply in Personal Injury Cases, Cooper & Scully, P.C. (2020)
• Speaker, Does Workers Compensation Cover COVID-19?, COVID-19: The Highs & Lows for the Insurance Industry, Cooper & Scully, P.C. (2020)