Austin Managing Partners Have a Safe Space to Talk Shop

Fifteen Austin law firm leaders met in a 21st floor conference room to to share frustrations and concerns about cybersecurity. It was the third meeting of the Austin Managing Partners Forum, an effort to provide a safe space for all-sized firms to talk shop. “There are a ton of issues that we share in common... law firm succession to mergers and law firm buyouts, IT issues, maintaining client confidences and protecting work product in an era of hacking and invasive Internet practices,” says Mike Slack.

July 19, 2016 Mark Curriden

HayBoo Expands to Europe in Merger Deal with London-based Curtis Davis Garrard

With the addition of CDG, Haynes and Boone significantly expands its international presence and enhances its capabilities in the vital midstream energy sector.

June 30, 2016 Mark Curriden

Updated – More Law Firms Hike Associate Salaries

Baker Botts announced Saturday that it is joining a handful of other legal operations in Texas in raising the annual base salaries of the hundreds of associate-level lawyers at the law firm. Baker Botts joins McKool Smith, V&E, Yetter Coleman and seven national law firms operating in Texas to raise compensation for first-year associates to $180,000.

June 9, 2016 Mark Curriden

At 35, Porter Hedges is often asked to ‘Dance’

T. William Porter and the firm he created are celebrating 35 years in business. Porter Hedges now has 104 lawyers, $71.5 million in revenues and an enviable list of premium clients. This article chronicles the firm's early challenges, the weekend it nearly failed, details of extraordinary successes and why it is now the most sought after corporate law firm in the U.S.

June 6, 2016 Mark Curriden

Updated: Texas Law Firm Report Card: Firms, Finances and Points of View

Norton Rose Fulbright has regained the title of largest law firm in Texas. Vinson & Elkins generated the most revenues. Baker Botts generated the most profits. McDermott, Sidley, Morgan Lewis, Fish & Richardson, Kirkland, Alston & Bird and Polsinelli witnessed the most revenue growth.

May 20, 2016 Mark Curriden

Updated: Texas Lawbook Exclusive: Financial Data shows Seismic Shift Continues in Texas Legal Market

Nearly half of the 35 largest revenue-generating law firms operating in Texas are based outside the state. National law firms earned more than $1 billion in revenues from their Texas operations in 2015 - a double digit increase from 2014. Revenues for Texas-based firms increased by less than one-tenth of one percent last year. Texas Lawbook data shows that elite, wealthy corporate law firms - those based in Texas and beyond - are achieving enormous financial success by stealing the best lawyers and the highest paying business clients away from indigenous Texas firms. The bottom line: the Texas legal market is turmoil and witnessing a shift that is radically changing the practice of corporate law in the state forever.

May 19, 2016 Mark Curriden

Texas Law Firm Used in International Cyberattack

Thousands of individuals and businesses across the globe received an email from Texas lawyer James T. Shelton with information about a subpoena for information. No one from the law firm sent the email. Even worse, the email contained a virus with a malware payload that allows cybercriminals to “steal banking credentials and other personal information on a user’s system, ultimately allowing them to gain access to the financial records” of that user. This article has full details.

April 26, 2016 John Ansbach

Texas Law Grads Struggle to Land Lawyer Jobs

Despite paying as much as $200,000 for their legal education, nearly one-fourth of the 2,072 Texas law school graduates of 2015 are unemployed or underemployed, according to new data compiled by The Texas Lawbook. More than 13 percent of newly-minted Texas lawyers are unemployed, which is actually worse than the nine percent of 2010 Texas law school graduates who could not find a job after graduation – the year the Great Recession impacted the Texas legal industry the most. This article has all the details.

April 21, 2016 Mark Curriden