Big corporate law firms operating in Texas dramatically slowed their hiring in 2024, adding the fewest new lawyers since the pandemic year of 2020. The 50 largest law firms doing business in Texas grew, on average, by only two attorneys last year — down from an average of four in 2023, according to new data compiled as part of the Texas Lawbook 50 annual firm business review. And that number is skewed due to the significant headcount growth of four law firms — Jackson Walker, Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Hastings and Sheppard Mullin. Remove those four firms and the average firm in Texas witnessed a lawyer headcount decline in 2024.
Susman Godfrey: President Trump ‘is Abusing the Powers of His Office … in Retaliation Against Organizations and People He Dislikes’
Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey filed a federal lawsuit late Friday accusing President Donald Trump of issuing unconstitutional executive orders against it and other law firms and claiming the president’s actions are “a grave threat to this foundational premise of our Republic.”
Four Law Firms in Texas Cut Deal with White House
Faced with the threat by President Donald Trump of potentially ruinous executive orders, five of the largest and most profitable corporate law firms in the U.S. — including four that have large operations in Texas — reached settlement agreements Friday with the White House that require them to allow an independent outside counsel to monitor their recruiting and hiring practices for possible discriminatory efforts.
Should Law Firms Settle or Fight Trump’s EOs? Readers Respond in a Texas Lawbook Online Forum: Sally Helppie, Attorney (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Large corporate law firms have faced unprecedented actions, including presidential executive orders targeting them and more. The Texas Lawbook established an open forum for lawyers, general counsel, law professors and judges to provide substantive responses to seven questions in an online survey. We’re publishing the individual responses from our readers.
Updated — Susman Godfrey Vows to Fight Trump Executive Order, Simultaneously Scores Win in Billion-Dollar 2020 Presidential Election Defamation Case
The Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey said Thursday morning that it will fight President Donald Trump’s executive order signed Wednesday that accuses the Houston-based law firm of “egregious conduct and conflicts of interest” and representing “clients that engage in conduct undermining critical American interests and priorities.” The president’s EO came the same day that a Delaware judge gave lawyers for Susman Godfrey and their client, Dominion Voting Systems, a huge court victory against Newsmax Media in a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit related to the 2020 presidential election. Last week, Susman Godfrey joined an amicus brief that accuses President Trump of illegally using executive orders to punish law firms who represent clients or causes that he opposes.
In a First, Texas A&M School of Law Cracks U.S. News Top 25
The school’s No. 22 ranking, four spots up from a year ago, places it behind only the University of Texas at Austin School of Law among the state’s law schools. Chancellor John Sharp of the Texas A&M University System says the school is headed for the top 10.
Nine Texas Litigation Firms Sign Amicus Brief in Opposition to Presidential EOs
Stating that their “abiding commitment to preserving the integrity of the American legal system leaves us no choice,” 504 law firms across the U.S. signed an amicus brief Friday supporting the corporate law firm Perkins Coie in its battle for survival against the Trump administration. Of those 504 law firms supporting Perkins Coie, only nine are based in Texas and not a single law firm with a corporate transactional practice signed the brief. The firms include Yetter Coleman, Susman Godfrey, Graves Dougherty, Nachawati Law Group, Aldous Law, Crain Brogdon and Waters Kraus.
Texas Law Professors Join Amicus Brief in Support of Perkins Coie Challenge to Trump Executive Order
More than a dozen professors from Texas law schools joined an amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie’s challenge to President Donald Trump’s March 6 executive order targeting the firm. The president’s executive order is unconstitutional and poses a grave threat to the rule of law, the professors argue.