As business law firms battle for talent with trial and courtroom experience at a time when the litigation practice is booming in Texas, Hicks Thomas made a move this weekend that instantly placed the Houston-based firm among the larger litigation boutiques in the state.
Calling it “a match made in heaven,” John Thomas told The Texas Lawbook that 14 lawyers — nine partners and five associates — from Hunton Andrews Kurth joined Hicks Thomas on Monday. This boosts the firm’s lawyer headcount 50 percent — from 28 to 42 — and means Hicks Thomas will add an additional 5,000 square feet of office space at TC Energy Center in downtown Houston.
Thomas said he and his partner, Paul Mitchell, have known John Shely and some of the Hunton AK group for decades when they started together as rookie lawyers at Andrews Kurth and even did federal clerkships together.
“These are lawyers who make a living in the courtroom trying cases,” Thomas said. “When you look at the array of talent in this group of 14 lawyers, we immediately establish a strong future for our law firm.”
The Hunton AK group — which includes five women partners — joining Hicks Thomas have tried two-dozen complex commercial cases to completion during the past few years.
The team’s litigation practices focus on healthcare, ERISA claims and energy.
“As the healthcare industry increasingly pivots to managed care, legal disputes and regulatory challenges related to managed care are on the rise and will continue increasing,” Thomas said. “We intend for Hicks Thomas to be a major player in this field. At the same time, their extensive trial experience in other commercial disputes adds tremendously to our already very deep bench.”
Shely said reuniting with Thomas and others is “a dream come true.”
“While our team focuses on managed care disputes and energy, we are trial lawyers and we spend a lot of time in jury trials and arbitration,” Shely told The Lawbook. “In many ways, this is a reunion for me. John and I were first-year Andrews Kurth attorneys in the class of 1986, and Taylor Hicks was my mentor.”
Shely said the move to Hicks Thomas means that “conflicts are no longer an issue” as they are with larger corporate firms with transactional practices. He said he expects all of the group’s clients to follow them to their new firm.
The eight partners moving with Shely include:
- M. Katherine Strahan, a seasoned managed care litigator who handles business and healthcare disputes, who is a 1999 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center;
- Jeffrey D. Migit, a veteran trial lawyer who focuses on complex commercial and business litigation and disputes in the energy industry, who graduated from the South Texas College of Law in 1995;
- Courtney B. Glaser, a 2007 alum of Vanderbilt University School of Law, who is a business litigator who focuses on managed care and complex commercial disputes;
- Brian Pidcock, who specializes in complex business disputes for companies in a wide range of industries, including energy and healthcare, and is a 2010 graduate of South Texas College of Law;
- Cameron Pope, a 2001 alum of the University of Houston Law Center, who specializes in appellate preparation by assisting in preservation of error at trial;
- Kelsey J. Hope, a trial lawyer who represents plaintiffs and defendants in disputes over medical benefits, reimbursement disputes, claim billing and payment and fraud, who graduated from the South Texas College of Law in 2014;
- Laura Trenaman, a 1997 alum of the University of Houston Law Center, who focuses on commercial litigation, health care litigation and compliance and managed care litigation; and
- Bridget Vick, a trial lawyer representing companies in contract disputes involving hospitals and provider groups, who is a 2009 graduate of South Texas College of Law.
Thomas said he expects the new group “will help us attract more top talent and will provide our clients with broader perspectives and a more inclusive law firm culture.”