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Firm Management

Updated — ‘Very Emotional’ McKool Smith Co-Founder Leaves Firm After Three Decades

Legendary Dallas trial lawyer Mike McKool announced Thursday that he has left the 130-lawyer firm that he co-founded 32 years ago in order to take on an assignment that he sees as the final big case of his career.

McKool, who has tried more than 100 cases to juries resulting in verdicts exceeding $1 billion, told The Texas Lawbook that he has shed many tears today because he is leaving McKool Smith to take on a case for a client that presents a conflict with other clients at the law firm that bears his name.

Another Record for Texas Revenues in 2022

The top 50 firms in Texas corporate law continued to thrive in 2022, generating more than $8 billion for the first time. The Texas Lawbook 50 raked in a record $8.6 billion in 2022 — 7.6 percent more than the prior year.


Thirty-eight of the Lawbook 50 firms scored higher revenues in their Texas offices last year than in 2021. Thirty-five of them achieved record revenues in 2022. Texas corporate law roared to new heights because of strong demand across the board, with work generated by headline events like the Winter Storm Uri litigation, the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act, which spurred a considerable amount of transactional work in the energy industry and a steady flow of M&A activity, including a handful of mega-transactions. The Texas Lawbook has the exclusive data and analysis.

Texas Law Schools Make Jumps in 2024 U.S. News Rankings

U.S. News & World Report had to delay its release of the 2024 rankings after some institutions raised questions about the data. The new list shows the University of Texas at Austin School of Law still leads the state, but Texas A&M University School of Law is rising rapidly.

How to Thrive as a Summer Associate

Whether you are embarking on a summer associate position at a firm, a summer clerkship at the courthouse or an internship at a legal aid clinic, there are three universal truths that can make or break the summer.

From Boom with Little Hiring To Boom with a Lot More Hiring

From 2010 to 2018, the Texas economy boomed and dozens of national law firms opened offices in the state. But the total number of corporate lawyers working at the firms stayed flat. In 2019, that changed. The 50 largest corporate firms in Texas have grown lawyer count in record numbers the past four years, including in 2022. While Big Law has returned to pre-pandemic scrutiny of underperforming attorneys, most of the larger firms are still planning for record-sized summer associate classes and fall hiring of first-year lawyers.

In Texas, Firms Add Corporate Lawyers at Near-Record Pace

The 50 largest corporate law firms operating in Texas continued to add new lawyers at a near-record pace in 2022, according to the new Texas Lawbook 50 headcount rankings. The top 50 firms now employ nearly 8,000 lawyers in their Texas offices. The only year when the 50 law firms added more attorneys was 2021. More than two-thirds of law firms grew their lawyer headcount in 2022. The out-of-state firms expanded the most, especially firms founded in California. Three perennial top Lawbook 50 firms dropped off the list, replaced by firms growing faster. There are now only 20 Texas-based firms in the top 50.

The Big Three in Texas: Different Journeys, Different Results, Still Big


For half of a century, the Big Three dominated Big Law in Texas like GM, Ford and Chrysler ruled Detroit. Every Texas law school graduate wanted to work at Baker Botts, Fulbright & Jaworski or Vinson & Elkins. Rookie lawyers hired by the Big Three retired there. Two-dozen years ago, the Big Three had roughly the same number of lawyers and nearly identical revenues in their home state. Each faced monumental headwinds and threats to their very existence.

The Big Three survived, though they look a lot differently today than they did in 1998. Baker Botts, Norton Rose Fulbright and V&E remain among the Texas Lawbook 50’s top five largest law firms, though the gap between them in revenues and profits is widening.

Susman Godfrey Turns 40, ‘Far and Away Our Best Year Ever’

When trial lawyer Steve Susman died unexpectedly in 2020, legal industry insiders wondered what would become of the firm he founded four decades ago. The verdict is in.

“We had a record year in revenues and profits in 2022,” Susman Godfrey co-managing partner Vineet Bhatia told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview. “2022 was far and away our best year ever.”

Susman Godfrey does not release annual law firm financials. An analysis by The Texas Lawbook shows, however, that the firm has nearly 200 lawyers – 105 of them in Texas – and ranks in the top five in RPL and PEP. The Lawbook has the exclusive details.

Q&A on the Importance of Women Mentoring Women

As we commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, two women lawyers in the Austin office of Vinson & Elkins — Marisa Secco Giles and Michelle Arishita — agreed to discuss the importance of women mentoring women from the perspective of both the mentor and the mentee. They share what qualities they think are most important in a mentor, the best advice they have received and how strong mentoring relationships help with the retention of female lawyers.

Senior Exxon Mobil Counsel’s Move to Gibson Dunn is ‘Very Personal’

Exxon Mobil assistant general counsel David Woodcock has departed the energy giant to join the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as the firm’s SEC enforcement practice co-head. The move surprised many within the legal department at Exxon Mobil because Woodcock, who was a past regional director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth office, was viewed as a likely candidate to be the company’s next chief legal officer.

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