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. New Texas Lawbook data shows that 138 Texas partners at corporate law firms and litigation boutiques moved their legal practices to competitor law firms during the first six months of 2025 — a 16 percent drop from the same period in 2024. 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. Kate Cassidy, founding attorney at Lotus Legal Search, said that national and regional law firms operating in Texas “are strategically hiring partners based on practice area expertise and client synergies.”
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.
Recent Survey Reveals Work Modes of Attorneys, Offering Stability in Firm Real Estate Needs
Strategically investing in a thoughtfully designed space has many benefits, including increasing employee performance and attracting and retaining talent. Gensler’s recent U.S. Legal Workplace Survey asked 250 full-time lawyers at large firms in the U.S. how they allocate office time across five work modes: working alone, working with others in-person, working with others virtually, learning (professional development and coaching) and socializing. (Photo: Akin Gump breakroom in Houston office)
Former Texas Solicitor Aaron Nielson: ‘Kirkland is the Perfect Place for Me’
Aaron Nielson, who resigned last month as Texas solicitor general, is joining Kirkland & Ellis’ Austin office as a partner in the firm’s appellate practice. A 2007 graduate of Harvard Law School and a former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Nielson has argued six cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and a dozen cases at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Kirkland now has four former U.S. Supreme Court clerks in its Texas offices.
Gray Reed Hires Longtime Houston Exec to Lead Operations and Growth
Gray Reed has hired a veteran strategy officer with experience driving growth, the firm announced Wednesday in a news release.
Citi Law Firm Expert: ‘Fairly Optimistic Outlook for Rest of 2025’
Texas-based corporate law firms started 2025 strong, but they face multiple headwinds over the next several months. The largest law firms headquartered in Texas achieved 35 percent revenue increases during the first quarter of 2025 — triple the amount of their national competitors — even though legal demand grew less than one percent during the period, according to the nation’s leading legal industry financial analyst.
Lawbook 50: Four Texas Firms Growing East, West and Across the Seas
Baker Botts, Haynes Boone, Bracewell and Vinson & Elkins employed employed 2,360 lawyers and generated nearly $2.9 billion in firmwide revenues in 2024. All four Texas-headquartered corporate law firms reported record revenues and record profits in 2024, according to the Texas Lawbook 50. The data also shows another interesting trend: All four are growing more than twice as fast in their offices outside of Texas than they are in their home state operations.
Lawbook 50 — Texas Firms Reap Financial Benefits of a ‘Perfect Storm’
Corporate law firms in Texas had another blockbuster year in 2024. Record revenues. Record profits. The top business law firms operating in Texas in 2024 worked more hours for more corporate clients and charged those clients record-high rates — some now topping $2,600 an hour for premium services. The demand for high-dollar elite legal expertise and services in Texas came from companies and private equity firms involved in dealmaking for infrastructure and energy transition projects and businesses engaged in bet-the-company disputes, often battling other businesses or government agencies in court. The Texas Lawbook 50, which tracks the revenue generated by lawyers and law firms operating in Texas, found that 34 of the 50 largest corporate firms achieved record-high revenues in 2024, and an even higher percentage achieved record profits. Eight law firms grew revenue by 25 percent or more.
Lawbook 50 — The Texas Magnificent Seven
Seven corporate law firms operating in Texas witnessed extraordinary growth in 2024. The Texas version of the Magnificent Seven far outpaced their competitors by increasing Texas headcount by 24 percent in 2024 and Texas revenue by an astonishing 42 percent, according to The Texas Lawbook 50, which documents the annual Texas headcount and revenues of business law firms. Three of the Tex Mag Seven were founded in California, three in New York and one in Chicago. All seven firms achieved record-high revenues in 2024.
Defying Political Backlash, Susman Godfrey Expands Diversity Scholarship Amid Legal Battle with Trump Administration
Amid growing political pressure and legal threats from the Trump administration, Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey is expanding its diversity scholarship program for law students of color. The firm announced it will increase both the number of recipients and the award amount for its annual Susman Godfrey Prize, despite accusations from federal officials that its diversity efforts violate discrimination laws.