Terry Bentley Hill ’08 has been selected to receive the Texas Bar Foundation’s 2021 Terry Lee Grantham Memorial Award at the event’s annual awards dinner this summer. The award was endowed through the Texas Bar Foundation in 2014 by Grantham family and friends.
As an enduring tribute to Terry Grantham's life and work in the practice of law, this award is made annually to an outstanding Texas lawyer. The award celebrates Grantham's life as a gifted and committed man and lawyer who devoted himself completely to every task he undertook. Each recipient of this award must exemplify the qualities of an accomplished, talented and dedicated practitioner, a servant of the profession and an ardent advocate, demonstrating dedication and service with the same passion that defined Grantham's life and work.
Attorney Terry Bentley Hill is the founder and owner of the Law Office of Terry Bentley Hill in Dallas. A top-rated and award-winning trial lawyer, Bentley Hill focuses her practice exclusively on criminal defense, and she has achieved notable success representing the rights and liberties of those who stand accused or are under investigation for virtually any type of felony or misdemeanor offense.
A staunch advocate for the rights of others, particularly those suffering from mental illness, Bentley Hill devotes a lot of her time and resources to raising awareness for mental health conditions and treatment. She understands that incarceration is typically not the best situation for those struggling with mental disorders and substance abuse, and she works hard to help find alternative solutions for those similarly affected who have been charged with criminal offenses.
She has earned numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including the State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation, several Best Lawyers designations by D Magazine as well as a Top 100 Trial Lawyers rating by The National Trial Lawyers.
A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Bentley Hill attended Texas A&M University School of Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctor degree in 2008. The State Bar of Texas admitted her to practice the following year, and she also practices before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.
Highly active in her legal community, Bentley Hill is a member of several local, state and national bar associations. Recognized as a leader in her field, she serves on the adjunct legal faculty and the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law, and she has written extensively and conducted lectures and seminars across her region on a variety of topics related to criminal defense and mental health awareness.
Bentley Hill is a fellow with the Texas Bar Foundation and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and she is a graduate of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association's Trial College. She also gives back to her local community through her involvement with various civic and charitable organizations, and she serves as board vice president of the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas.