Katherine Hopkins

KATHERINE is a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP and specializes in a wide range of legal areas, including asset acquisitions, divestitures, financings and restructurings, with a primary focus on bankruptcy and business reorganizations. Within her firm’s Business Reorganization and Bankruptcy group, she represents a diverse clientele that includes creditors, debtors, chapter 11 trustees, liquidating trustees, equity stakeholders and other interested parties. She has significant litigation experience, handling cases in both federal and state courts, particularly in disputes involving creditor/debtor conflicts, financial services and commercial litigation. Her expertise in restructuring spans various sectors, including retail, restaurant, manufacturing, banking, real estate, aviation, construction, and energy production in the oil and gas industry. Previously, she clerked for Hon. Ronald B. King, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.

In 2016, Katherine was honored with the prestigious Romina L. Mulloy-Bossio Achievement Award, which recognized her outstanding contributions as a young bankruptcy lawyer. In polls conducted by Fort Worth Magazine and 360 West, she was voted one of the city’s best bankruptcy attorneys. She also was named the Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in 2020, and is a 2022 Fort Worth Business Press 40 Under 40 award recipient. She currently serves as the vice president of Programming for the John C. Ford American Inn of Court Executive Board, and she recently concluded her term as chair of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation’s DFW Network. Her leadership extends to the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers, where she previously held the board presidency. She also is a Fellow of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation, and she has served as a director of the Tarrant County Bar Association. In addition, she is a former president of the Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association.

Katherine is a member of the Steering Committee for the Women’s Council for Tarrant County CASA (court-appointed special advocates) and has served as the finance chair the Trinity Collaborative, Inc., a nonprofit. In 2019, she was selected to participate in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Next Generation Program. Dedicated to pro bono work and mentorship opportunities, she co-chairs the Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans and Texas Volunteer Assistance Services (TVAS) Family Law and Wills Clinics, through which her pro bono legal assistance has positively impacted disadvantaged individuals and veterans facing various legal challenges. As a mentor, she actively supports and guides young attorneys, and she chairs the TCYLA Mentorship Program, which involves mentoring law school students and coordinating legal and community events.