Each year, as the weather turns (somewhat) colder in Texas, partnership season starts to reshape the legal landscape. Between October and February, law firms decide which experienced associates and seasoned counsel will make the leap to equity and nonequity partner, transforming years of late nights and high-stakes deals and trials into a career milestone, most of them announced this month.
For many of these lawyers, the move to partner occurs after their eighth or ninth year of legal practice, when they have built a body of work, nurtured client relationships and learned how to steer clients through complex deals and disputes.
So far this year, 25 law firms have announced the names of Texas lawyers that they are each promoting to their partnerships in the 2025-2026 cycle:
- Akerman
- Bell Nunnally
- Bracewell
- Fisher Phillips
- Gibbs & Bruns
- Gibson Dunn
- Haynes Boone
- Husch Blackwell
- Katten
- Kilpatrick
- King & Spalding
- Latham & Watkins
- McDermott
- McGuireWoods
- Morgan Lewis
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Perkins Coie
- Sidley
- Simpson Thacher
- Susman Godfrey
- Thompson Coburn
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil
- White & Case
- Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Overall, 70 lawyers have been added to the partnerships at the 25 firms through Dec. 19, according to Texas Lawbook research.
Thirty-two of the new partners are in Dallas, 25 are in Houston, 10 are in Austin and three are in San Antonio. Thirty-eight of the 69 have corporate transactional practices and 32 are in litigation.
Norton Rose Fulbright, Haynes Boone, Gibson Dunn and Vinson & Elkins have promoted the most Texas partners so far, accounting for 41 percent in this cycle. Bell Nunnally, Bracewell, McDermott and Willkie each added four new Texas partners apiece.
Of the 70 new partners, 38 are men, where the majority (22) practice in corporate transactional. Of the 32 women who are new partners, it’s split between corporate (16) and litigation (16).
Here are the names of the newly minted partners so far this year, along with their specific practice areas and their home office (in alphabetical order):
Akerman (2)
Kelly Almeter, Litigation, Dallas
R. Adam Swick, Bankruptcy, Austin
Bell Nunnally (4)
Nathan Cox, Litigation, Dallas
Christian J. Cowart, Litigation, Dallas
Joshua D. Fuller, Litigation, Dallas
Joshua T. Smith, Corporate, Dallas
Bracewell (4)
Shannon McKay, Corporate, Houston
Levi Stoneking, Corporate, San Antonio
Sarah Tahir, Corporate, Dallas
Kenni Wilkinson, Corporate, Houston
Fisher Phillips (1)
Lindsay Reimer, Litigation, Houston
Gibbs & Bruns (1)
Caitlin Halpern, Litigation, Houston
Gibson Dunn (5)
Andy Chen, Corporate, Houston
Tyler R. Cox, Corporate, Houston
Brian Richman, Litigation, Dallas
Rachel W. Robertson, Litigation, Dallas
Prerak Shah, Litigation, Houston
Haynes Boone (8)
Heather Barger, Litigation, Dallas
Calmann Clements, Litigation, Dallas
Cody Cravens, Corporate, Dallas
Danielle Marr, Corporate, Dallas
Rachel O’Donnell, Corporate, Dallas
Ryan Pitts, Litigation, Austin
Laura Shapiro, Corporate, Dallas
Mei Zhang, Corporate, Dallas
Husch Blackwell (3)
Sean Farrell, Litigation, San Antonio
Brooke Ginsburg Guerrero, Corporate, Dallas
Adam Royal, Corporate, Austin
Katten (1)
Fabiola Fox, Corporate, Dallas
Kilpatrick (1)
Maeghan Whitehead, Litigation, Dallas
King & Spalding (3)
Zach Burnett, Litigation, Austin
Mandie Cash, Litigation, Houston
Matt Vandenberg, Litigation, Austin
Latham & Watkins (2)
Clayton Heery, Corporate, Houston
Alice Parker, Corporate, Houston
McDermott (4)
Rosalyn Broad, Corporate, Austin
Raja Chatterjee, Corporate, Dallas
James Grossman, Litigation, Dallas
Jack Haake, Corporate, Dallas
McGuireWoods (2)
Paul Chappell, Litigation, Dallas
Alexis Reynolds, Corporate, Houston
Morgan Lewis (2)
Catherine North Hounfodji, Litigation, Houston
Casey Weaver, Litigation, Houston
Norton Rose Fulbright (10)
Will Betts, Corporate, Dallas
Ellen Blanchard, Litigation, Dallas
Chris Cooke, Litigation, San Antonio
Alex Cummings, Litigation, Houston
Ellie Norris, Litigation, Dallas
Stephanie Schmidt, Litigation, Austin
Caleb Segrest, Corporate, Dallas
Jeremy Tripp, Corporate, Houston
Kristina Williams, Litigation, Dallas
Emily Wolf, Litigation, Austin
Perkins Coie (2)
Briana Loughlin Johnson, Litigation, Austin
Alex Pratt, Litigation, Dallas
Sidley (1)
Jeri Leigh Miller, Bankruptcy, Dallas
Simpson Thacher (1)
Matt Hart, Corporate, Houston
Susman Godfrey (1)
Ryan Weiss, Litigation, Houston
Thompson Coburn (1)
Justin Allen, Litigation, Dallas
Vinson & Elkins (5)
Zach Banks, Corporate, Houston
Jordan Fossee, Corporate, Houston
David Lassetter, Corporate, Houston
Sang Lee, Corporate, Dallas
Austin White, Corporate, Austin
Weil (1)
Lauren Gorsche, Corporate, Dallas
White & Case (1)
Luisa Muskus, Corporate, Houston
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (4)
Erin Kaufman, Corporate, Houston
Joe Laurel, Corporate, Houston
Omar Shariff, Corporate, Houston
Christian Truman, Corporate, Houston
The Lawbook will continue to update this story and its searchable premium database as new promotions are announced. Premium subscribers can find promotions from previous cycles here:
2025-2026 PARTNER PROMOTIONS
An updated list of firm partner promotions for the 2025-2026 cycle.
| Full | Firm | Office | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly E. Almeter | Akerman | Dallas | Litigation |
| R. Adam Swick | Akerman | Austin | Bankruptcy and Reorganization |
| Nathan Cox | Bell Nunnally | Dallas | Litigation |
| Christian J. Cowart | Bell Nunnally | Dallas | Litigation, IP |
| Joshua D. Fuller | Bell Nunnally | Dallas | Litigation |
| Joshua T. Smith | Bell Nunnally | Dallas | Corporate |
| Shannon R. McKay | Bracewell | Houston | Projects |
| Levi Stoneking | Bracewell | San Antonio | Public Finance |
| Sarah Tahir | Bracewell | Dallas | Public Finance |
| Kenni C. Wilkinson | Bracewell | Houston | Finance |
| Lindsay Reimer | Fisher Phillips | Houston | Litigation |
| Caitlin Halpern | Gibbs & Bruns | Houston | Litigation |
| Andy Chen | Gibson Dunn | Houston | Finance |
| Tyler R. Cox | Gibson Dunn | Houston | Private Equity |
| Brian Richman | Gibson Dunn | Dallas | Appellate and Consititutional Law |
| Rachel W. Robertson | Gibson Dunn | Dallas | Litigation |
| Prerak Shah | Gibson Dunn | Houston | Litigation |
| Heather Barger | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Litigation |
| Calmann Clements | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Litigation |
| Cody Cravens | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Corporate |
| Danielle Marr | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Corporate |
| Rachel O’Donnell | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Corporate |
| Ryan Pitts | Haynes Boone | Austin | Litigation |
| Laura Shapiro | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Corporate |
| Mei Zhang | Haynes Boone | Dallas | Corporate |
| Adam L. Royal | Husch Blackwell | Austin | Healthcare, Corporate & Regulatory |
| Brooke Ginsburg Guerrero | Husch Blackwell | Dallas | Trust, Estate, & Fiduciary Litigation |
| Sean Farrell | Husch Blackwell | San Antonio | Energy |
| Fabiola Fox | Katten | Dallas | Capital Markets |
| Maeghan Whitehead | Kilpatrick | Dallas | Complex Commercial Litigation |
| Zach Burnett | King & Spalding | Austin | Trial and Global Disputes |
| Mandie Cash | King & Spalding | Houston | Trial and Global Disputes |
| Matt Vandenberg | King & Spalding | Austin | Trial and Global Disputes |
| Alice Parker | Latham & Watkins | Houston | M&A and Private Equity Practice |
| Clayton Heery | Latham & Watkins | Houston | M&A and Private Equity Practice |
| Jack Haake | McDermott | Dallas | Transactions |
| James Grossman | McDermott | Dallas | Litigation |
| Raja Chatterjee | McDermott | Dallas | Transactions |
| Rosalyn Broad | McDermott | Austin | Health & Life Sciences |
| Alexis Reynolds | McGuireWoods | Houston | Healthcare, Corporate & Regulatory |
| Paul Chappell | McGuireWoods | Dallas | Labor & Employment |
| Casey Weaver | Morgan Lewis | Houston | Litigation |
| Catherine North Hounfodji | Morgan Lewis | Houston | Litigation |
| Alex Cummings | Norton Rose Fulbright | Houston | Antitrust and Competition |
| Caleb Segrest | Norton Rose Fulbright | Dallas | Corporate, M&A and Securities |
| Will Betts | Norton Rose Fulbright | Dallas | Corporate, M&A and Securities |
| Ellen Blanchard | Norton Rose Fulbright | Dallas | Cybersecurity and Data Privacy |
| Stephanie Schmidt | Norton Rose Fulbright | Austin | Intellectual Property |
| Chris Cooke | Norton Rose Fulbright | San Antonio | Litigation and Disputes |
| Ellie Norris | Norton Rose Fulbright | Dallas | Litigation and Disputes |
| Emily Wolf | Norton Rose Fulbright | Austin | Litigation and Disputes |
| Kristina Williams | Norton Rose Fulbright | Dallas | Litigation and Disputes |
| Jeremy Tripp | Norton Rose Fulbright | Houston | Projects |
| Briana Loughlin Johnson | Perkins Coie | Austin | Private Client Services |
| Michael (Alex) Alexander Pratt | Perkins Coie | Dallas | Labor & Employment |
| Jeri Leigh Miller | Sidley | Dallas | Resturcturing |
| Matt Hart | Simpson Thacher | Houston | Capital Markets |
| Ryan Weiss | Susman Godfrey | Houston | Litigation |
| Justin W. Allen | Thompson Coburn | Dallas | Business Litigation |
| Austin White | Vinson & Elkins | Austin | Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity |
| David Lassetter | Vinson & Elkins | Houston | Corporate |
| Jordan Fossee | Vinson & Elkins | Houston | Corporate |
| Sang Lee | Vinson & Elkins | Dallas | Corporate |
| Zach Banks | Vinson & Elkins | Houston | Finance |
| Lauren Gorsche | Weil | Dallas | Tax |
| Luisa Muskus | White & Case | Houston | Mergers & Acquisitions |
| Christian A. Truman | Willkie | Houston | Corporate & Financial Services |
| Erin Kaufman | Willkie | Houston | Corporate & Financial Services |
| Joe Laurel | Willkie | Houston | Corporate & Financial Services |
| Omar Shariff | Willkie | Houston | Corporate & Financial Services |