Andy Calder: The M&A King of 2016

© 2017 The Texas Lawbook. By Natalie Posgate (March 30) – Gibson Dunn managing partner Rob Walters in Dallas is a direct competitor of Andy Calder, the head of Kirkland & Ellis’s Houston office. They fight for the same talent, the same clients and the same billable hours. Both men are viewed as two of the most successful lawyers in their practice areas. Despite the fierce competition, Walters says it is time to recognize Calder’s extraordinary accomplishments. “Andy has taken Kirkland from zero to 100 in almost no time in Texas,” says Walters, who is the former general counsel at Energy Future Holdings. “Less than three years ago, Kirkland didn’t even have an office in Texas. Now, they are one of the premier corporate legal practices in Texas. “Quite simply, Andy has worked very hard and experienced amazing success,” he says. The 38-year-old Calder spent the past three years luring top corporate lawyers in Texas to leave the law firms who trained and raised them to join Kirkland’s Houston office. The three-year-old office now has over 100 lawyers and continues to aggressively recruit laterals. The most obvious gauge of success is the bottom line: Revenue per lawyer in Kirkland’s Houston…