Kristi L. Kautz

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Kristi L. Kautz Partner

  • Dallas
  • 214.379.4479
  • .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Kristi L. Kautz brings extensive litigation and insurance coverage experience to Mayer LLP.  Since beginning her career in 2007, she has represented insurance companies, policyholders, and large and small businesses in cases ranging from small car accidents to commercial disputes to catastrophic claims, including large-scale construction defect allegations, commercial vehicle accidents, and significant worksite injuries.  Her coverage practice has included evaluation of both first-party and third-party coverage issues including appraisal claims, duties to defend and indemnify including Stowers claims, and coverage obligations between primary and excess carriers. She has tried cases to juries in both state and federal courts, represented clients in arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association, and extends her practice to appellate representation of her clients, including oral arguments in the Tyler and Dallas Courts of Appeals and briefing to multiple state courts of appeals, the Texas Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  In 2023, Kristi became one of the first attorneys in Texas to obtain Board Certification in Insurance Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In addition to her active representation of her clients, Kristi also represents her clients’ interests through membership and service on the board of directors for the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, an organization which advocates for fairness, integrity and accessibility of our civil justice system.

Services

  • Litigation

Education

  • Baylor University School of Law, J.D., 2007
  • University of Texas at Austin, B.A., Government and History, with Honors, 2004

Admissions

  • State Bar of Texas,
  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

Distinctions & Certifications

  • Board Certified- Insurance Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
  • Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star, Insurance Coverage and Civil Litigation: Defense, 2016-2017

Representative Experience

  • In 2025, Kristi successfully obtained and upheld a complete dismissal with prejudice of product defect and negligence claims against her client, a commercial air conditioning and heating company and its employees.  After successfully arguing to the trial court that the claims were subject to dismissal with prejudice on both procedural and substantive grounds, Kristi also handled the appeal filed by the unsuccessful plaintiff and presented oral argument to the Dallas Court of Appeals urging that the trial court’s order of dismissal with prejudice be affirmed. The Court of Appeals agreed and affirmed the trial court’s order, in an opinion which closely tracked Kristi’s argument and briefing.  After further briefing to the Texas Supreme Court prompted by the opposing party’s petition for review, the Supreme Court denied review, resulting in a final judgment in favor of Kristi’s client and an award of costs.
  • In 2024, Kristi was lead counsel for the defendant in a serious case alleging traumatic brain injury from an auto-pedestrian accident.  During the trial, Kristi challenged Plaintiff’s lost earning capacity claim as well as the existence and extent of any traumatic brain injury.  Plaintiff ultimately dropped the lost earning capacity claim in its entirety before the case was submitted to the jury but still asked the jury for over $1 million in damages including over $700,000 in future medical expenses alone. Kristi obtained a favorable verdict awarding less than $10,000 in past medical expenses and past pain and suffering only.

Professional Activities

  • Texas Association of Defense Counsel- Administrative Vice President
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • Dallas Bar Association WE Lead
  • Dallas Women Lawyers Association
  • State Bar of Texas- Insurance and Litigation Sections

Publications & Speeches

  • Effective Pre-Trial Motions, Texas Association of Defense Counsel Motions Bootcamp, August 2026
  • Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Spring Meeting Program Co-Chair, April 2026
  • Evidentiary Burdens and Objections Trial Lawyers Need to Know, Texas Association of Defense Counsel Winter Meeting, February 2026
  • Uninsured & Under-Insured Motorists, State Bar of Texas Advanced Personal Injury Law Course, July 2025
  • Expert Battles: Retaining, Designating, Challenging and Defending; Texas Association of Defense Counsel Spring Meeting, April 2025
  • From Defects to Delays: Your Blueprint to Insurance Coverage Issues in Construction Claims, National Business Institute, November 2024
  • Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Deposition Bootcamp Program Co-Chair, October 2024
  • Deposing the Plaintiff, Texas Association of Defense Counsel Deposition Bootcamp, October 2024
  • Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Annual Meeting Program Co-Chair, September 2024