Lou Strubeck was 27 and a rookie bankruptcy lawyer when Fulbright & Jaworski hired him in 1984 as one of its first lawyers in its newly opened Dallas office.
Over the past 34 years, Strubeck has represented some of the largest energy companies and financial institutions in the U.S. that faced huge financial distress and needed restructuring. He represents Brazos Electric Power Coop, which filed for Chapter 11 protection on March 1 as a victim of the winter storm that hit Texas in February, and has played a significant role in the bankruptcies of the Boy Scouts, Gold’s Gym and California Resources.
Lou Strubeck
He became head of the global bankruptcy practice at the firm now known as Norton Rose Fulbright and is widely regarded as one of the deans of the bankruptcy bar in Texas.
But Monday evening at 5:01 p.m., Strubeck did the once unthinkable: He left his firm to join O’Melveny & Myers, which Tuesday officially announced that it is opening a new office in Dallas.
“I considered myself a lifer at Norton Rose Fulbright and I love the firm and thought I would finish my career there,” Strubeck told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview Tuesday. “But O’Melveny reached out and it was a fast-moving courtship and this is a really great opportunity for me at this point in my career.
“And I am making this move with three of my best friends,” he said.
Twenty-two days after O’Melveny & Myers opened its first Texas office in Austin, the Los Angeles-based firm announced Tuesday it is launching an office in Dallas with Strubeck and three partners from Norton Rose Fulbright.
“Today we’re reaffirming what we said last month: O’Melveny is committed to expanding our platform in Texas to better serve our clients’ needs,” O’Melveny Chair Bradley J. Butwin said in a written statement. “We’re delighted to launch in Dallas with four top-notch partners whose practices build on several of our existing practice and industry strengths.”
The other three former Norton Rose Fulbright partners joining O’Melveny are:
- Commercial trial lawyer Scott Paul Drake, who has prosecuted and defended claims in high-stakes commercial matters, bankruptcy disputes and class action lawsuits;
- H. Douglas Wabner, a products liability and class action defense trial lawyer who has been involved in scores of disputes involving medical and surgical devices and pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer products; and
- Bankruptcy partner Greg Wilkes, who represents corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditor groups and investors in distressed companies in complex business restructurings.
In an interview, Strubeck said that he and Butwin met for dinner a couple months ago at San Pietro Italian Restaurant in New York and they immediately clicked. Both were basketball players in high school and college and both attended the same basketball camp – Five Star Basketball in Pennsylvania.
“I’m not going to lie – it was a difficult decision to leave Norton Rose Fulbright, but it is exciting to once again be involved in opening an office in Dallas and this time with much more experience and knowledge and a little higher ranking within the firm,” Strubeck said.
“O’Melveny has a really strong restructuring practice on the East and West coasts, but this is an opportunity to do something special in Texas with a firm that is committed to growing in Texas,” he said.
O’Melveny has leased office space on the 17th floor at Saint Ann Court at 2501 North Harwood in Uptown Dallas. The law firm McDermott also has its Dallas offices in the same building.