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Firm Management

Texas Law Firms Fight for Talent, Revenues and Survival

Despite record revenues and profits, the Texas legal market is in turmoil. Even as elite law firms experience phenomenal growth in revenues and profits, many large, full service Texas law firms struggle to tread water and could face major restructuring or even extinction.

There’s a fierce battle over talent. Law firms that pay the most get the best lawyers. The best talent gets the best clients. The best clients pay the highest rates, which leads to greater revenues and profits.

“The deck has been completely reshuffled in Texas,” said Kent Zimmerman with Zeughauser Group. “In a short amount of time, the leaderboard has changed significantly.”

The Texas Lawbook interviewed more than two-dozen legal industry insiders in an in-depth examination of the state’s business law marketplace.

Texas Legal Market Expands and Fragments as Rich Firms get Richer

Texas lawyers who representing businesses generated a record amount of revenues in 2014. A new survey by The Texas Lawbook shows that business lawyers saw their workload increase significantly for the first time in years.

The biggest revenue jumps were recorded by elite and specialty law firms, while upper middle market legal shops face stagnation and uncertainty. Legal experts say that the Texas legal market is increasingly becoming a world of the “haves” and the “have nots.”

Nearly 80 percent of Texas law firm leaders said they believe 2015 financials will be as good, or even better than 2014, despite obvious challenges in the oil patch. Read the extensive article for all the details.

Cox Smith Merges with Dykema

After a yearlong business romance, the law firms from San Antonio and Detroit announced Monday they are combining to become Dykema Cox Smith, a 450-lawyer firm that has 140 attorneys in Texas. “This merger was purely driven by the firms and our people, not by consultants,” Cox Smith Managing Counsel Deborah Williamson said.

The Texas Lawbook has full details about how merger talks started and progressed. Hint: Dallas partner Bill Finklestein played a key role.

Stay Small or Merge Big: My Law Firm’s Story

In 1984, I started my own commercial law firm with just a secretary. Over 30 years, it grew to 18 lawyers thanks to our model of being a haven for large-firm refugees with an entrepreneurial spirit. Suddenly, we were besieged by national law firms seeking a merger. How in the world did I find myself here? This is my law firm’s story.

10 Quick Tips to Keeping In-House Counsel Happy

McGill was in the corporate legal department at JC Penney and HMS Holdings, where she hired and managed outside counsel. In this article, she shares insights and experiences about the important relationship between in-house and outside counsel.

Joe Dilg Retires from V&E after 38 years

Dilg led many multi-billion-dollar oil and gas mergers and acquisitions, but he will be remember for successfully guiding V&E through the Enron scandal and into record revenues and profits. The general counsel and executives at Plains All American, Energy Trans Partners and Lazard talk about Dilg’s career and what made him a great lawyer.

Joe Dilg Retires from V&E after 38 years

Dilg led many multi-billion-dollar oil and gas mergers and acquisitions, but he will be remember for successfully guiding V&E through the Enron scandal and into record revenues and profits. The general counsel and executives at Plains All American, Energy Trans Partners and Lazard talk about Dilg’s career and what made him a great lawyer.

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