Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Andrew Robbins, a maritime litigation partner, has joined Schouest, Bamdas, Soshea & BenMaier in Houston from Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani. Robbins will focus his practice on maritime law, including complex litigation involving vessel collisions, cargo disputes, wrongful deaths, environmental incidents and aviation matters.
Matthew Grunert, an employee benefits and executive compensation partner, has rejoined Norton Rose Fulbright in Houston from Bracewell. Grunert advises public and private companies, private equity sponsors and boards of directors on the benefits and executive compensation aspects of corporate transactions.
Clarissa Howley Mills, an environmental regulatory partner, has joined Holland & Knight in Dallas from Haynes Boone. She will focus her practice on environmental regulatory counseling, enforcement defense, permitting, litigation, due diligence and transactional matters.
Sam Megally and Will LeDoux, state and local tax partners, and Cindy Ohlenforst, senior counsel, have joined Holland & Knight in Dallas from K&L Gates. The three joined the firm's tax, executive compensation and benefits practice group and will focus their practices on Texas and multistate tax matters.
Carson Young, a commercial litigation partner, has joined Latham & Watkins in Houston from Kirkland & Ellis. He will focus his practice on complex commercial disputes and high-stakes litigation matters.
Blank Rome announced this week that veteran bankruptcy attorney Buffey Klein is joining their Dallas office. Klein leaves Husch Blackwell after 23 years, the last three as the firm’s Dallas managing partner.
Jason Cross and Preston Enoch, commercial litigation partners, have joined BakerHostetler in Dallas from Spencer Fane. The pair joined the firm’s litigation practice group and commercial litigation team and will focus their practices on complex commercial disputes, trials and arbitration matters. The Texas Lawbook caught up with them about trends they are seeing in their practice areas and more.
Jason Loden, an executive compensation and employee benefits partner, has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Dallas from Baker Botts. He will focus his practice on advising companies, private equity funds and nonprofit entities on executive compensation, employee benefits and tax matters.
Richard Potomac, a financial services of counsel, has joined Squire Patton Boggs in Dallas from JPMorgan Chase. He will focus his practice on advising financial institutions and fintech companies on regulatory, transactional and compliance matters, including payments law and technology transactions.
The Texas Lawbook launched the Texas Lawbook 50 and the Corporate Deal Tracker in 2015 — two exclusive databases that calculate the law firm headcounts and revenue in Texas. The CDT documented those law firms’ M&A and capital markets transactions. Simpson Thacher didn’t make the leaderboard of either database in 2015.
A decade later, however, and the elite Wall Street corporate law firm is vaulting up both rankings by increasing its 2025 Texas headcount by 26 percent, its Texas revenue by 34 percent and leaping into the upper echelons of Texas dealmakers.
Eleven of the dozen Texas-based corporate law firms in the Texas Lawbook 50 experienced record revenue and profit in 2025, and the 12th firm did pretty damn well, too.
Citing heavy demand in legal services for real estate, tax, corporate transactions, fundings, commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes, the Texas-based lawyers for the Texas 12 generated $3.58 billion in 2025 — 10.56 percent more than the year before, according to the Lawbook 50.
Lisa Staler Gallerano is returning to private practice after nearly a decade in-house, joining BakerHostetler’s Dallas office as of counsel in the firm’s litigation practice group. Gallerano also will be a member of the firm’s commercial litigation team.
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