Second Court of Appeals

Justice Place 3

Elizabeth Kerr (2017 to Present)

Elizabeth Kerr was born in 1956 and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.  She earned her B.A. in English and Art History from Rice University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1982.

Following law school, she spent two years as a briefing attorney for the late Judge Lucius D. Bunton III of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Midland Division.  She entered private practice in 1984, joining the Fort Worth firm of Law, Snakard & Gambill.  From 1990 to 2006, she worked as an independent contractor and for smaller firms.  During this time, in addition to maintaining her legal practice, Kerr worked on numerous projects with lexicographer and author Bryan A. Garner, including as a contributing editor of the seventh edition of Black’s Law Dictionary.  In 1995, she began teaching legal writing and research at the DFW School of Law, which is now the Texas A&M University School of Law.  In 2006, she became of counsel to the Friedman, Suder & Cooke law firm.

In 2016, Kerr successfully ran for a seat on the Second Court of Appeals.  She was reelected in 2022 and continues to serve on the court.

Justice Kerr is very involved as a Fellow of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation, Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and member of the Fort Worth Chapter of the St. Thomas More Society.  She was a member of the planning committee of the Tarrant County Bar Association’s appellate section and served as the section’s chair from 2010 to 2011.  She was the 2022–2023 president of the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, and she was the past director of the Texas Center for the Judiciary.  She also serves on the advisory board of the Federalist Society’s Fort Worth Lawyers Chapter.