Kent Hofmeister, a founding partner of Brown & Hofmeister, has a state and federal litigation practice with an emphasis in state and local government law. His experience, which is reflected by the publication of several dozen reported judicial opinions, extends to cases involving business and contract disputes, constitutional law, civil rights, election law, employment discrimination, fair housing, and zoning and land use.
Before joining the firm, Kent was an assistant city attorney with the Dallas City Attorney’s office, where for five years he supervised the Federal Litigation Section. A past national president of the Federal Bar Association (2002-03), he was the 2017 recipient of that organization’s Earl W. Kintner Award for Distinguished Service, presented as a lifetime contribution award to an FBA member who has displayed long-term outstanding achievement, distinguished leadership, and participation in the activities of the association’s chapters, sections, and divisions throughout the nation over a career of service. He has maintained an AV® preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest rating it awards attorneys based on legal ability and ethical standards, for more than 30 years. Kent has also been recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Texas Super Lawyer® each year since 2003 and named among D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas of 2015. He is proficient in Spanish.
Areas of Practice:
- State and Federal Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- State and Local Government Law
- Employment Law
- Civil Rights
- Election Law
- School Law
- Land Use and Zoning
Bar Admission
- Texas
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- Southern Methodist University School of Law :
- Doctor of Jurisprudence
- Southern Methodist University :
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Journalism)
- SMU-in-Spain, Madrid(spring semester)
Published Work
Dews v. Town of Sunnyvale, Texas – A Case Study of Litigation under the Fair Housing Act, Institute on Planning, Zoning and Eminent Domain, 35 ed., Chapter Six (Matthew Bender & Co.)
How to Litigate a Land Use Case – Strategies and Trial Tactics, Chapter 8, Trying the Case (co-author), American Bar Association
Section 1983 Litigation: Forms (contributing author), Panel Publishers, 1995-present
The Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence – The Official Report of the Federal Bar Association, Federal Bar News & Journal, Volume 39, No. 6
Praprotnik : Municipal Policy and Policymakers: The Supreme Court’s Constriction of Municipal Liability (co-author), 13 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 857
Professional Associations and Memberships
Federal Bar Association
2017 Recipient, Earl W. Kintner Award for Distinguished Service “for lifetime contribution”
National President,
National Executive Committee/Board of Directors,
Chair, Federal Litigation Section,
President, Dallas Chapter,
Foundation Life Fellow
American Board of Trial Advocates (“ABOTA”)
Associate
W.M. “Mac” Taylor, Jr. American Inn of Court
Master
Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
Member
American Bar Association
Member
State Bar of Texas
Member
Texas Bar Foundation
Fellow
Dallas Bar Association
Co-Chair, 2010 Bench Bar Conference
Bar None, Assistant Director/Cast Member, 1989-present
Dallas Bar Foundation
Life Fellow
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Foundation
Life Fellow
Community Service and Activities
Southern Methodist University Alumni Board 2013-16 Term
Dallas Summer Musicals
Member, Board of Directors, 1992-present
Richardson Symphony Orchestra
Member, Board of Directors
Languages
Spanish