Hon. Steven Kirkland

Judge Steven Kirkland arrived in Houston from west Texas to attend Rice University. After graduating from Rice in 1982, sobered up, came out and landed a job as a paralegal at Texaco in order to put himself through the University of Houston Law School. In 1990 Judge Kirkland began his career as an attorney litigating environmental, bankruptcy and other complex cases for that company, which he continued for eight years until he left to represent citizens committed to cleaning up air quality in Houston. Judge Kirkland served as Assistant City Attorney in Houston working with Economic Development project and City Attorney in Nacogdoches, Texas handling all legal matters for the City.

Judge Kirkland served as a trial judge for 16 years. Eight years in the Harris County Civil District Courts and eight years in Houston Municipal Courts. During his Municipal Court tenure, he created the Houston Homeless Recovery Court, which works in conjunction with the Houston Coalition for the Homeless. In recognition of this achievement, Judge Kirkland was awarded the 2006 Government Friend of the Homeless by Coalition for the Homeless of Houston and Harris County. Judge Kirkland is active in affordable housing, historic preservation, Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender rights issues. He is a founding board member of Avenue Community Development Corporation which is a community based affordable housing provider in the Near Northside and Washington Avenue corridor of Houston. His real estate projects have been recognized with awards by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance and others.

He now enjoys hiking and biking in East Texas and anywhere he happens to find himself, gardening and traveling with his partner of 35 plus years. His cat does not enjoy any of that and thinks the Judge’s highest and best use is being a cat bed.