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The combination will create a firm of more than 1,600 lawyers in 35 offices which last year reported more than $1.5 billion in revenues, placing it in the top 30 of the Am Law 100 rankings.
Kent Zimmermann, a strategic adviser and principal with the Zeughauser Group, introduced the two firms and describes the combination as “the most appealing in recent history.”
The Dallas-based firm is building on its real estate group focus with the new five-lawyer office, which is its third outside of Texas. Winstead Chairman and CEO Jeff Matthews said it is “just the beginning of our strategic growth in Nashville.”
On the eve of the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Bracewell announced it has recruited an 11-lawyer energy and infrastructure team from Norton Rose Fulbright to open its third international office.
The lateral partner market in Texas hit a fevered pitch during the first six months of 2024 — especially in Houston and among litigation practices, according to exclusive Texas Lawbook data. Some big-name lawyers changed locations during H1 2024. Dozens of the lateral partner moves are the result of a few law firms opening new offices in Texas. Four law firms took their first plunge into the Texas legal market by hiring lateral partners. Lawbook database manager Christi Trammell and reporter Mark Curriden provide the inside numbers and Lotus Legal Search Founder Kate Cassidy offers the analysis.
Eleven corporate law firms operating in Texas reached elite financial status in 2023.
Texas Lawbook 50 data shows that three Texas-based law firms and eight national law firms reported at least $3 million in profits per partner and $1.4 million or more in revenue per lawyer in their Texas operations last year.
Citing an extraordinary first six months of success, Bell Nunnally has awarded its two-dozen associates midyear bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.
“We are having a fantastic year with revenues up seven to nine percent year-over-year,” Chris Trowbridge, managing partner of the Dallas-based law firm, told The Texas Lawbook. “We did not want to wait until the end of the year to reward our associates for their great work.”
Berg, a former partner at King & Spalding in Houston, advises owners and developers in the construction of large-scale energy construction projects, whether on-shore, off-shore or renewable.
Litigation boutique McKool Smith kicked off the 2024 summer battle for talent this week by announcing four- and five-digit bonuses to its lawyers who have worked the most time on client matters.
In January, FBFK Law Firm announced its expansion into California by merging with Orange County litigation firm Stephens Friedland, aiming to address the needs of a robust entrepreneurial region. The integration has already increased FBFK’s headcount by more than 30 percent, as the firm announced the addition of 12 new attorneys across various practice areas last week.
CEO Kyle Ferguson chatted with The Texas Lawbook about how the merger is going, what lies ahead and why he’s positioning FBFK as a complement to Big Law rather than a competitor.
The 800 partners of the newly merged firm A&O Shearman recently conducted their first partner retreat in Denmark but a big part of their focus was 5,180 miles away on their practices in Houston, Dallas and Austin. The 3,900-lawyer corporate firm, the result of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling combining, has 64 attorneys in Texas, but its leaders tell The Texas Lawbook major additions are planned.
“We are less than two months into this new firm, but the growth opportunities we see now are significantly larger than the opportunities for growth we saw before,” said Bill Nelson, managing partner of the Texas region for A&O Shearman and a capital markets partner in the firm’s Houston office.
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