Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Commercial Litigation

Partner

With over two decades of courtroom experience, Kelly is known for her adept handling of complex, high-stakes litigation. She approaches every case with intense focus and a keen understanding of her clients’ goals. Clients highly value Kelly’s deep knowledge of courtroom procedure, talent at distilling nuanced facts and legal arguments, and penchant for developing creative litigation strategies.

Kelly’s cases often involve cutting-edge issues of first impression in Texas and garner media attention, including coverage in the Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. She is especially well-known for her experience with internet liability, cybertorts, first amendment rights, the scope of governmental powers, and state and federal constitutional issues. In addition to her courtroom work, Kelly frequently counsels clients on crisis management and assists with local and state legislative matters as a registered lobbyist in Texas.

Kelly serves as a co-chair of Hunton’s Women Lawyers Subcommittee and has been recognized for her pro bono work to support the rights of same-sex couples. An involved member of the Houston community, she supports numerous local initiatives and philanthropic causes and is married to Judge R.K. Sandill, who served 16 years on Texas’s 127th Civil District Court in Houston.

Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation American Bar Association Houston Bar Association Co-Chair, Bench Bar Conference Committee, Houston Bar Association, 2023-2024 Co-Chair, Gender Fairness Resources Subcommittee, Houston Bar Association, 2022-2023 Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit National Association of Women Lawyers Houston Association of Women Attorneys Human Rights Foundation—Federal Club United Way of Greater Houston, Alexis De Tocqueville Society Center for Houston’s Future, Spring 2015 Business/Civic Leadership Forum Commissioner, Harris County Appraisal District 2014 Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2013

JD, University of Houston Law Center, cum laude, Houston Law Review, Administrative Editor, 2001

Mickey Leland Public Interest Internship, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 1999

BA, Political Science, Mercer University, 1998