Chris Knight
Biography
Chris Knight started his legal career as a judicial law clerk, first at the Texas Supreme Court and then at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Now an advocate, Chris draws on that experience to advance his clients’ interests throughout the trial and appellate process. Chris has argued and briefed appeals dealing with a variety of cutting-edge legal issues—from the types of damages available in fraud cases, to the application of Texas’ anti-SLAPP statute, to whether sovereign immunity protects private entities.
Chris is active in his community and local bar. He serves as the Chair of the Tarrant County Bar Association’s Appellate Section, is the Secretary of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Federalist Society, and is a Barrister in the Eldon Mahon Inn of Court. He also serves on the advisory board for a local nonprofit that helps ex-offenders to reenter and excel in society. Outside the law, Chris is active in his congregation and enjoys playing tennis as well as spending time with his wife and three daughters.
Chris graduated first in his class from SMU Dedman School of Law, where he served as lead articles editor on the SMU Law Review and as an officer in the Christian Legal Society.
Chris Knight started his legal career as a judicial law clerk, first at the Texas Supreme Court and then at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Now an advocate, Chris draws on that experience to advance his clients’ interests throughout the trial and appellate process. Chris has argued and briefed appeals dealing with a variety of cutting-edge legal issues—from the types of damages available in fraud cases, to the application of Texas’ anti-SLAPP statute, to whether sovereign immunity protects private entities.
Chris is active in his community and local bar. He serves as the Chair of the Tarrant County Bar Association’s Appellate Section, is the Secretary of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Federalist Society, and is a Barrister in the Eldon Mahon Inn of Court. He also serves on the advisory board for a local nonprofit that helps ex-offenders to reenter and excel in society. Outside the law, Chris is active in his congregation and enjoys playing tennis as well as spending time with his wife and three daughters.
Chris graduated first in his class from SMU Dedman School of Law, where he served as lead articles editor on the SMU Law Review and as an officer in the Christian Legal Society.
- Included in Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars directory, Thomson Reuters, 2023-2024
- Included in the "Ones to Watch" category of Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., 2021-2025
- Chosen as a Top Attorney in Fort Worth, Texas magazine, Panther City Media Group, LP, 2021
- “Getting from a Damages Verdict to Judgment,” co-author, State Bar of Texas Litigation Section’s “The Advocate,” Fall 2024 edition, and speaker, Houston Bar Association Appellate Section Monthly Lunch CLE, July 11, 2024.
- Second Court of Appeals Panel, moderator, DCBA/TCBA Appellate Section Joint Seminar, September 22, 2023.
- Fort Worth Judicial Panel, moderator, Tarrant County Bar Association Brown Bag: Appellate Law, January 27, 2023.
- “Practice Before the Supreme Court of Texas,” speaker, State Bar of Texas: Civil Appellate Practice 101, December 1, 2021.
- "Justice Paul Green’s Legacy on the Texas Supreme Court," co-author, The Texas Lawbook, July 24, 2020.
- Judicial Profile: Judge Mark T. Pittman, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, author, The Texas Lawbook, June 17, 2020.
- “Texas Supreme Court 2018-19 Term Review” and “Brave New World: Changes to the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA) and Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a,” speaker, ACU Alumni Bar Association CLE, October 2019.
- “State and Federal Appellate Procedure,” speaker, State Bar of Texas Appellate Section: Appellate Diversity Committee CLE, April 2019.
- "Rule 91a Dismissals and Appeals,” co-author, The University of Texas School of Law State and Federal Appeals CLE, June 2018.
- “Texas Supreme Court Update,” co-author, State Bar of Texas Appellate Section Appellate Advocate, quarterly, beginning in 2018.
- “International Human Rights Litigation After Bauman: the Viability of Veil Piercing to Hale Foreign Parent Corporations into U.S. Courts,” author, 41 U. Dayton L. Rev. 213, 2016.
- “Post-Kiobel Procedure: Subject Matter or Prescriptive Jurisdiction?” co-author, 19 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 49, 2015.
Education
J.D., Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 2015, valedictorian; summa cum laude; Order of the Coif; lead articles editor, SMU Law Review
B.B.A., Abilene Christian University, 2012
Clerkships
Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Leslie H. Southwick, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2016-2017
Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Jeff Brown, Texas Supreme Court, 2015-2016
Admissions
Texas
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Trachtenberg and Knight in The Advocate on Getting from a Damages Verdict to Judgment
September 30, 2024
Haynes Boone Secures Victory that Revives Prisoner’s 8th Amendment Sleep-Deprivation Case
March 25, 2024