John H. Cayce, Jr.

John H. Cayce was Chief Justice of the Second Court of Appeals from 1995 to 2009. While on the court of appeals, he authored more than 2000 legal opinions and led the court in making reforms that established it as one of the most efficient and respected intermediate appellate courts in the state. In addition to his service on the court of appeals, Chief Justice Cayce was commissioned by the Governor of Texas on two separate occasions to serve as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Following his distinguished judicial service, the members of the faculty of St. Mary’s University School of Law selected Chief Justice Cayce as a recipient of the Rosewood Gavel Award, which has been presented each year since 1958 to “an outstanding judge or justice in recognition of his or her contribution to our system of constitutional democracy.”

Upon returning to private practice, Mr. Cayce joined Kelly Hart & Hallman as a partner and co-chair of the firm’s appellate section. He was twice named one of the Top 100 lawyers in Texas and Dallas/Fort Worth by Thomson Reuters, which is published in Texas Monthly magazine. And he has been chosen as a Texas Super Lawyer every year since 2011. U.S. News and World Reports has included Mr. Cayce on The Best Lawyers in America® ranking every year since 2014. Mr. Cayce was also voted by his peers as among the city’s best appellate attorneys in polls conducted by Fort Worth Magazine and 360 West magazine. Even prior to his election to the court of appeals, Mr. Cayce had risen to prominence as one of the state’s top appellate attorneys having successfully argued many significant cases in both state and federal courts. A board-certified specialist in appellate law and former Supreme Court of Texas briefing attorney, his writings on appellate procedure had often been cited with approval by Texas courts and used as course material in law schools.