The chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison — a global corporate law firm that has been working to open an office in Houston — said in a memo to its lawyers Sunday that he tried to get other large law firms to join together to fight against the Trump administration’s attacks on his firm and other law firms, but none did. “Disappointingly, far from support, we learned that certain other firms were seeking to exploit our vulnerabilities by aggressively soliciting our clients and recruiting our attorneys,” Brad Karp wrote in a 1,620-word letter, which was first obtained and published by The American Lawyer. The firm counts Texas energy giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Noble Corp. as major clients. The firm is currently the lead legal advisor for Party City in its bankruptcy case in Houston.
EEOC Targets 13 Law Firms Operating in Texas for DEI Initiatives
The new acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sent a 10-page letter to 20 different corporate law firms — 13 of them with operations in Texas, though no Texas-based law firms — demanding detailed information about their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and decision making. The letters, which are addressed to the leaders of each of the law firms, demand that they “fully identify all clients that have diversity preferences or any demographic-related requirements for matters, including but not limited to race or sex requirements for the employees staffed on their matters.”
Planning for Growth in a Contracting Economy
Without a doubt, all law firms will eventually be tested on their ability to survive a contracting economy. Not all firms will pass the test.
Texas Legal Market Free Agency Continues with $5M to $13M Annual Comp Offers
The number of Texas law partners who moved their practice to a new firm during 2024 hit record highs and the trend seems to be continuing in 2025. And for a growing percentage of the lateral moves, this was their second or third jump in recent years. Texas Lawbook data shows that 20 percent more partners at business and litigation practices in Texas jumped to a competitor last year. Three law firms added 10 or more lateral partners in 2024. Twenty-two firms hired five or more lateral partners. Three law firms lost 10 or more partners to competitors in 2024. The Lawbook examines the data and the individual specific lateral moves for trends.
Relocate, Reincorporate, Relax: Haynes Boone’s New Practice Group Specializes in Texas Moves
Haynes Boone has officially established a Texas Corporate Governance Practice Group to assist companies with the legal and operational challenges of relocating or reincorporating in the Lone Star State. The Dallas-based firm aims to leverage its experience and connections, especially as the Texas Stock Exchange gains traction and the NYSE plans to follow suit. The new group, led by veteran partners, will guide businesses considering a move to Texas on compliance, governance, taxes, economic development and more.
New Leadership for Weil Gotshal in Dallas
The elite Wall Street law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced leadership changes in its Dallas offices on Wednesday.
Kane Russell Coleman Logan Expands Its Practice to Austin
Kane Russell Coleman Logan announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its presence in Texas by establishing a new office in Austin.
SBSB Eastham Expands Admiralty and Maritime Practice with New Galveston Office
In the last six months, Schouest, Bamdas, Soshea, BenMaier & Eastham has opened offices in two Texas port cities, Corpus Christi and now Galveston.
Latham’s Gamechanging 15 Years in Texas: How The Firm’s Houston Office Wrote the Playbook for National Firms to Storm the State
The Houston office of Latham & Watkins had not been open for a year when Ryan Maierson experienced a significant realization. The office opened in February 2010, and as the year progressed, he and the other partners at Baker Botts began to marvel at how easily this “non-native” firm from Los Angeles integrated itself into Texas’s established transactional law environment.
Other national firms had previously entered the Texas market. However, with Latham — the second most profitable law firm in the world — something felt different. In less than a year, Latham had achieved what no other national firm had managed to do: it instilled a sense of fear in the long-established Texas firms that had previously dominated corporate law in the Lone Star State.
Fifteen years later, this is the story of how Latham changed the game in Texas.
Citi — Big Law in Texas Had Strong 2024, and 2025 Looks Even Better
The bad news for Texas-based corporate law firms is that revenues, profits per partner and demand for legal services significantly trailed their out-of-state competitors during 2024, according to new Citi Law Firm Group data provided Monday to The Texas Lawbook. But the good news is that those outside national law firms — including Kirkland & Ellis, Gibson Dunn, Latham & Watkins and Sidley — growing faster and richer now make up about 60 percent of the Texas corporate legal market, according to the Texas Lawbook 50 report for 2024.