Longtime local attorney Phillip McCrury has joined Kelly Hart & Hallman, adding a veteran business and tax lawyer to Fort Worth’s largest law firm.
“We are very pleased that Phil McCrury is joining our firm. He is a true professional and respected by all in the legal community,” said Dee J. Kelly Jr., managing partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman. “Phil’s extensive experience will be a real asset to our clients.”
McCrury, who joined Kelly Hart in October, has a broad range of experience as a business and tax lawyer and has been involved in business transactions including acquisitions, recapitalizations, mergers, franchising, and the formation of joint ventures, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and professional associations. His clients range from mature, multi-state manufacturing facilities to start-ups, which he advises in on on-going basis in contractual and legal matters.
McCrury is well known to many lawyers and judges across Texas for a niche specialty of his practice, which is providing tax and trust advice regarding personal injury settlements, and assisting with preparation of special needs trusts, qualified settlement funds, structured settlement annuities and other arrangements to hold and protect settlements.
Earlier this year, the Tarrant County Bar Association presented McCrury with the Professionalism Award, given to a member of the bar who has displayed outstanding professional conduct.
McCrury began his career as an assistant district attorney in Corpus Christi before joining a local firm there. “I spent some time standing in front of juries,” he said, but noted that he was “fascinated by the tax finance sides of the law.”
He was then hired by Phillips Petroleum Co. to work on financing and legal affairs for North Sea and North Slope oil developments. He then became a partner of the national law firm Kutak Rock, working on public offerings of corporate debt, collateralized securities and tax-exempt bonds.
He returned to Texas in 1988 to join Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller. He was there for about three decades before joining Kelly Hart and says he remains grateful for all the opportunities and knowledge he gained while working at Shannon Gracey. “I benefited from all of their wisdom and experience,” he said.
Moving to Kelly Hart & Hallman is a change for someone who was with his previous law firm about 30 years. “This is a unique opportunity and a challenge and maybe in the last 20 years of a career you need a new challenge and so here I am,” he said.
McCrury is licensed to practice law in Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. McCrury is a member of the State Bar of Texas, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Fort Worth Business and Estate Council and a Fellow of both the Texas Bar Foundation and Tarrant County Bar Foundation. – Robert Francis
