Chris Knight

Chris Knight is an appellate partner in Haynes Boone’s Fort Worth office who handles complex, high-stakes appeals and litigation in Texas state and federal courts. Chris advises and represents clients throughout the litigation process, from pre-suit analysis and strategy, to preserving issues at trial and shaping the jury charge, to seeking discretionary review in a court of last resort. His clients operate in various industries, including oil and gas, news media, power generation, insurance, and finance.

Clients trust Chris to craft and deliver persuasive and focused arguments, no matter the medium or forum. He has led successful appellate briefing on legal issues including the types of damages available in fraud cases, the interpretation and application of Texas’ anti-SLAPP statute, and the nature and scope of the First Amendment’s church-autonomy doctrine. He has presented oral argument before the Texas Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Texas courts of appeals.

Chris’s recent work includes:

• Successfully led appellate briefing, presented argument, and opposed Texas Supreme Court review in a novel case involving the intersection of free speech and anonymity.
• Led briefing and presented argument to the Texas Supreme Court in a certified-question appeal dealing with a novel statutory interpretation question.
• Successfully led briefing and presented argument to the Fifth Circuit in a pro bono appeal concerning sleep deprivation, ultimately resulting in a published opinion clarifying Eighth Amendment standards in the Fifth Circuit.
• Successfully led briefing, from the post-verdict stage to the Texas Supreme Court, in securing the affirmance of a multimillion-dollar judgment in an oil-and-gas insurance dispute.
• Successfully led briefing, in both the court of appeals and the Texas Supreme Court, in securing the complete reversal of a $100 million trial court verdict on behalf of a major bank.
• Successfully led appellate briefing and obtained complete dismissal of claims against church client in a matter involving the First Amendment’s church-autonomy doctrine.

Chris is also active in the bar and his community. He is Vice President of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Federalist Society and previously chaired the Tarrant County Bar Association’s Appellate Section. He also served as a Barrister in the Eldon Mahon Inn of Court. He serves on the Fort Worth board of a nonprofit that uses the civil justice system to combat urban blight and improve neighborhood safety, and regularly writes and speaks on Texas Supreme Court practice and other appellate topics.

Chris graduated first in his class from SMU Dedman School of Law and served as a judicial law clerk at the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He has been recognized in appellate litigation by Chambers USA and has received additional recognition from Texas Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Fort Worth, Texas magazine.