In 1995, the Atlanta firm King & Spalding was asked by one of its major clients to open a Texas office. Oil was trading at $17 per barrel and natural gas below $2 Mcf. Still, Houston was on the rise and so K&S took the plunge. More than two decades later, its quiet, steady success has become the template for other national firms looking for a piece of the Lone Star State. Claire Poole tells their story.
Seven Litigators Depart Winstead to Open Houston Office of Dallas Firm
The group leaving for Shackelford includes six partners led by Jay Brown, Stephen Wedemeyer and Bruce Wilkin.
Pittsburgh Firm Opens Houston Outpost
The 155-lawyer Babst Calland has entered one of the hottest legal markets in the country by acquiring an oil and gas law firm in Houston.
State Bar Discipline: Three Judges, 23 Lawyers, and a Few Felonies
The State Bar of Texas has released its May disciplinary report. Aside from standard infractions of case inattention and inappropriate political endorsements, breaches of the canons cited by the bar’s disciplinary panels this month also include money-laundering, wire fraud, theft, income tax evasion and fixing tickets for friends of a musician named Fruity Villareal. The Lawbook has the list and the details.
It’s Official: Reed Smith Opens in Dallas
Reed Smith officially opened its Dallas office with 16 lateral hires from three firms. The newest law firm in Dallas says more laterals are on the way. Natalie Posgate has the details.
Updated – Reed Smith Opening in Dallas; Bracewell’s Public Finance Group Stays Put
UPDATED 4:10PM – Eight lawyers from Perkins Coie and two from Bracewell are joining Reed Smith’s new Dallas office. Bracewell and Perkins Coie adamantly denied Texas Lawbook’s report that more lawyers are departing for Reed Smith. A senior lawyer at Bracewell told The Lawbook on Wednesday that the firm’s public finance group is not leaving Bracewell. This updated Texas Lawbook article has new details about Reed Smith’s plans for Dallas and statements from Bracewell and Perkins Coie that clarify and correct information from a prior version of our story.
State Bar Discipline: Seven Suspensions, Four Reprimands, One Resignation, One Judicial Suspension
The State Bar of Texas released its monthly list of disciplinary actions taken against Texas lawyers. Here are their actions and findings.
LeClairRyan Launches Dallas Office
The new Dallas office will be led by a Houston partner. It is the 215-lawyer firm’s second office in Texas and 23rd nationwide.
Litigation Finance’s Longford Opens in Dallas
Litigation finance firm Longford Capital announced Tuesday that it is opening an office in Dallas. The Chicago-based private investment company has hired John Garda, a commercial litigator who has been the managing partner of the Dallas office of K&L Gates, to lead its Texas operations. The Texas Lawbook has the insider details.
The Texas Lawbook Top 50: Corporate Lawyers Make $6 Billion, Elite Law Firms Biggest Beneficiary
Corporate lawyers operating in Texas made a record-smashing amount of money in 2018. Exclusive new research by The Texas Lawbook shows that the top 50 business law firms with offices in Dallas, Houston and Austin generated just a hair shy of $6 billion in revenues in 2018 – a 6% increase from 2017. Twenty-six corporate law firms worked more hours and collected more dollars last year than ever before. Several elite legal practices had huge financial gains last year. A few large Texas legacy law firms experienced significant economic declines in 2018. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
