Kelly Ann Gier

As a board-certified specialist in criminal law, Kelly Gier will use her more than 12 years of legal experience to help you navigate the criminal justice system. She became interested in criminal law during an investigative journalism class in college. The class gave her the chance to help investigate a death penalty case of a wrongfully convicted man. Ms. Gier traveled across the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois to track down witnesses who corroborated the man’s innocence. Years later, with the assistance of Northwestern Law students, this man was exonerated.

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​The experience inspired Ms. Gier to apply for law school at the University of Texas in Austin. In her studies, she focused on criminal law and interned at the Texas Defender Service. Here, she investigated other death penalty cases and looked for information that would support clemency petitions and habeas corpus writs. Ms. Gier also worked with the University of Texas capital punishment clinic for more than a year investigating another case of a man on death row.

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In addition, Ms. Gier worked with the University of Texas juvenile justice clinic. During her time in juvenile court, she represented clients and handled their pleas and dispositions. She also prepared cases for trial.

From 2007 to 2010, Ms. Gier worked at the Travis County Attorney’s Office, and from 2010 to 2016, she worked at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. During her time as a prosecutor, Ms. Gier tried dozens of cases in front of both judges and juries. As a misdemeanor prosecutor, she handled primarily assault family violence and DWI cases. As a felony prosecutor, she handled offenses ranging from aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery, and intoxication manslaughter to burglaries, thefts, and drug cases. Ms. Gier also conducted numerous bond hearings, probation revocation hearings, and suppression hearings.

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In the juvenile division of the DA’s office, Ms. Gier conducted multiple certification hearings and disposition hearings for determinate sentence cases. In addition, she handled transfer and sex offender registration hearings.

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Ms. Gier wrapped up her time at the District Attorney’s Office in the Public Integrity Division where she investigated and indicted cases of corruption and complex financial crimes.

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In 2017, Ms. Gier began working at the State Commission on Judicial Conduct where she investigated complaints of judicial misconduct and handled pre-suspension and appellate proceedings in those cases, including a hearing in the Texas Supreme Court.