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.
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.
TLB Exclusive: Dozens of Texas Law Firms Experience Cyber Incidents/Data Breaches
At least 42 corporate law firms operating in Texas have experienced a “cyber incident” or an actual data breach during the past two years, according to an exclusive new Texas Lawbook survey. But 90% of law firms report that one of the vendors they use has been the victim of a cyber attack. GCs, including those at Match Group and Halliburton, say they are concerned about the safety of client information and law firms, according to the survey, are finally paying attention to cyber threats.
More Corporate Law Firms, Fewer Texas Lawyers in 2018
The number of out-of-state law firms that opened new offices in Texas grew significantly in 2018, but the actual number of lawyers working at big corporate firms operating in the state declined last year. The result is that nearly half of all corporate lawyers in Texas are employed at out-of-state law firms. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive numbers and analysis.
Dallas Trial Lawyer Mark Werbner Joins Winston & Strawn
Mark Werbner, the trial lawyer who engineered a historic billion-dollar jury victory against a Middle Eastern bank accused of aiding terrorists, has joined the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn. The Texas Lawbook has an exclusive interview.
State Bar of Texas Disciplinary Actions
In their monthly account of disciplinary actions, the State Bar of Texas reports discipline taken against three judges: a Waco judge who appointed a police detective as foreman of a controversial grand jury, a Parker County judge who hired and promoted an assistant with whom he was having a sexual relationship, and a judge in New Braunfels who interrupted jury deliberations in a criminal trial by announcing that God had informed him a conviction would be a miscarriage of justice. In other actions, one lawyer resigned his license, eight lawyers were suspended from practice and three received public reprimands.
Winstead Hires First Chief Business Development Officer
Todd Arritola previously worked in KPMG’s Deal Advisory group for five years.