The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Firm Management

Susman Godfrey EO Litigation Timeline

President Donald Trump has issued executive orders targeting a half-dozen law firms, including Houston-based Susman Godfrey, accusing them of "spearheading efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrading the quality of American elections" and "undermining the effectiveness of the United States military.” The EOs also accuse the firms of racially discriminatory practices via their diversity and inclusion programs. Here is a timeline of events tied to the EOs.

Mark Curriden

15 Firms in Texas Achieve Lawbook 50 Elite Status

Despite ever-higher standards, more corporate law firms in Texas achieved Texas Lawbook 50 elite financial status last year than ever before. Eighteen business law firms reported revenue per lawyer for their Texas offices of $1.5 million in 2024. Eighteen firms also scored profits per partner of $3 million or more — though not the same 18. Thanks to scores of senior corporate lawyers now billing at hourly rates exceeding $2,000, 15 law firms operating in Texas achieved both of those criteria — up from 11 in 2023.

Mark Curriden

Big D and Big Ben: London Partner Discusses Haynes Boone’s Rising Global Reach

Haynes Boone's lateral partner activity in 2025 has been a case in point that no corporate law firm headquartered in Texas is expanding faster outside the state. One-fourth of the firm's 20 lateral partner additions this year have been in London. The Lawbook met in person with office co-leader Nick Davis, one of those 2025 recruits, earlier this summer. "The epicenter of the world seems to be heading towards Texas right now," he said in the interview.

Brooks Igo

Nat’l Firm Joins Bell Nunnally and Vartabedian in Summer Associate Bonuses

The number of business-focused law firms offering summer bonuses to associates is growing. New York-based corporate law firm Milbank became the largest firm to announce that it is offering summer bonuses for its associates. Two DFW boutique law firms, Bell Nunnally and Vartabedian, Hester & Haynes, announced during the past week that their partners were paying their associates summer bonuses in excess of $5,000. The managing partners at Vartabedian and Bell Nunnally said they are simply rewarding everyone's hard work and to share some of the fruits of a successful first half of the year.

Mark Curriden

Five Firms Lead Pack on H1 Lateral Hiring

Despite seven business-focused law firms in Texas boosting their ranks significantly through new hires, new data shows that lateral partner movement slowed during the first six months of 2025 — though the decline looks steeper than it really was because the first half of 2024 was a record-setting year for partner moves. The Texas offices of three law firms — Dykema, Greenberg Traurig and Jackson Walker — led the pack by each hiring nine partners from competitors during H1 2025.

Mark Curriden & Christi Trammell

Dorsey & Whitney’s New Managing Partner Has Texas Ties and Big Plans

Earlier this month, Peter Nelson began his three-year term as Managing Partner of Minneapolis-based Dorsey & Whitney. With 17 years at the firm, Nelson played a key role in expanding Dorsey’s presence, helping to integrate new market locations such as Dallas, which launched in early 2017 with attorneys — including Larry Makel, Gina Betts and Jamie Whatley — from what was then the Dallas office of Schiff Hardin. The Texas Lawbook recently talked to Nelson about Texas being a critical market for the firm’s current and future growth.

Jeff Schnick

© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.