History
Kemp Smith is the second oldest law firm in Texas. It was founded in 1866 in Bryan, Texas, when Major Bennett Hillsman Davis and Captain Thomas Jeremiah Beall formed the law firm of Davis & Beall.
Major Davis came to Texas from Tennessee in 1854 and served in the Confederate Army with Terrys Texas Rangers, winning his battlefield commission at Shiloh. He was a friend of Sam Houston, a member of the first Texas Democratic Convention in 1857, and served on the Texas Constitutional Commission in 1875.
Captain Beall moved to Texas from Georgia in 1850. He joined the Confederate Army in 1861, organized the Marshall Confederate Company and served under General Robert E. Lee.
Judge Wyndham Kemp came to Texas from Virginia in 1870 and in 1874 joined Davis and Beall. The firm name was changed to Davis, Beall & Kemp.
Major Davis and Captain Beall moved to El Paso from Bryan, TX in 1881 to represent Southern Pacific Company which began operations in El Paso that year. The firm represented Southern Pacific for more than 100 years. Major Davis died in 1897. Captain Beall practiced until his retirement in 1914.
One interesting historical sidebar is that Judge Wyndham Kemp defended Constable John Selman when he shot and killed the outlaw John Wesley Hardin in the Acme Saloon in El Paso on August 19, 1895. The coroner's report on Hardin's body reportedly says, "Had he been shot from in front I would call it excellent marksmanship. As he was shot in the back I call it excellent judgment."
Maury Kemp, son of Judge Kemp who died in 1909, joined the firm in 1902, practicing until his death in 1954. Eugene R. Smith, from La Grange, Georgia, joined the firm in 1924, and the firm name was changed to Kemp, Nagle & Smith in 1933. Wyndham Kemp White, grandson of Judge Kemp and nephew of Maury Kemp, joined the firm in 1935, practicing until his retirement in the mid 1970s. Tad Smith, son of Eugene, joined the firm in 1951 and practiced until his retirement in 1999. Members of the Kemp and Smith families were in the firm for over 125 years. In 1996, Kemp Smith opened offices in Austin to address regional needs in environmental and water law, and in legislative and regulatory advocacy. Today Kemp Smith is the largest law firm in El Paso, with the Austin offices just steps from the State Capitol.
Kemp Smith attorneys carry on the tradition of ensuring the prompt delivery of world class service and advice.
