Profile
Cara Kelly focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on Real Estate Litigation. Her real estate litigation practice includes the representation of real estate developers, commercial landlords and tenants, investors, and related stakeholders in disputes concerning real estate development, investments, commercial lease matters, breach of contract issues, and related litigation. She has wide-ranging experience advising companies in the commercial real estate industry in all aspects of contract formation and negotiation in order to mitigate risk and avoid litigation in the first place. Cara represents clients in both the federal and state courts throughout Texas and New York, and has developed particular experience in pursuing and defending TRO applications and related applications for injunctive relief.
Cara is a strong advocate for her clients and she applies a variety of creative strategies and methods to find resolutions to business disputes when appropriate. Her clients appreciate her ability to handle their business issues creatively, efficiently, and in alignment with their overall business goals.
Concentrations
- Complex commercial litigation
- Real estate litigation, including landlord-tenant and property acquisition disputes, shopping center and retail disputes, and acquisition disputes
- Breach of contract
- Breach of fiduciary duty
Capabilities
Experience
- On behalf of a national retail grocery chain tenant, successfully obtained injunctive relief against a commercial landlord, preventing it from exercising rights under a purported lease termination.
- On behalf of a commercial real estate development company, successfully defended against injunctive relief sought by a national office coworking tenant.
- Successfully obtained injunctive relief against a commercial property landlord/seller, preventing a wrongful lease termination and enforcing the terms of client’s contractual purchase option exercise.
- On behalf of various commercial real estate developers and landlords, successfully pursued and resolved various lease disputes with defaulting tenants as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19
- Defendant a national financial institution tenant against commercial landlord’s breach of lease allegations resulting from COVID-19 occupancy restrictions
- On behalf of national mixed-use development company, successfully pursued various breach of lease, construction, and related contractual cases against tenants and third parties.
- Successfully defended a commercial real estate developer against breach of contract and fiduciary claims brought by investors.°
- Successfully defended national media company against breach of contract claims
- Defended a nationwide health care company in two cases in Austin, Texas. The cases involved alleged breaches of joint venture agreements with a physician group.°
- Represented a foreign company against an online app developer in connection with a breach of contract dispute.°
- Represented a French bank in obtaining summary judgment against a Brazilian guarantor, including successfully serving Brazilian guarantor through the International Convention on Letters Rogatory.°
- Represented a Canadian silver mining company that operates in Mexico in obtaining an ex parte writ of garnishment on a bank, in connection with work enforcing an $81 MM Canadian judgment in Texas and New York.°
- Represented a Cayman Island hedge fund as subordinated note-holder in fiduciary breach claims against the collateral manager concerning the liquidation of a $420 MM collateralized loan portfolio.°
- Initiated a putative class action on behalf of investors against foreign financial advisors and brokers relating to a $40 MM Ponzi scheme.°
- Defend national financial institution against wire fraud-related claims brought by non-customers.
- Represent debtor oil and gas company in bankruptcy adversary proceedings filed by investors holding more than $500 MM in overriding royalty and net profits interests in offshore leases.°
- Represented the conservator of a Texas credit union in pursuing breach of fiduciary duty claims against its former CEO.°
°The above representations were handled by Ms. Kelly prior to her joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Real Estate, 2025
- Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2023
- Team Member, U.S. News – Best Lawyers, "Law Firm of the Year: Litigation - Real Estate," 2022
- Listed, Austin Monthly Magazine, "Top Attorneys in Austin," 2020
- Listed, Texas Super Lawyers magazine, “Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars,” 2015
- Member, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network Austin
- Member, Urban Land Institute (ULI) Austin
- Member, Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA)
- Member, American Bar Association
- Real Estate, Condemnation and Trust Litigation Committee
- Member, Austin Bar Association
- Member, Travis County Women Lawyers' Association
- Member, State Bar of Texas
- Member, Mother Attorney Mentoring Association of Austin (MAMAs)
- Member, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
- Member, New York State Bar Association
- Shalom Austin
- Board Member
- Women’s Philanthropy Committee, Lion of Judah Steward
Credentials
-
J.D., Fordham University School of Law, 2004
- Member, Fordham International Law Journal
- B.A., Binghamton University, State University of New York, 2001
- Texas
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York