The five-partner team — highlighted by Whit Roberts and Jack Jacobsen, two Locke Lord lifers — includes three who have held firm or department-wide leadership roles. This latest move brings O’Melveny’s Texas partner total to 15, with more lateral poaching expected by the Los Angeles-headquartered firm.
McKool Smith Snags Noted Houston Patent Litigator
Ryan McBeth, lawyer, inventor and former IBM engineer, joins McKool Smith as a principal from Bracewell, where he specialized in patent, trade- secret and trademark disputes in the energy and tech sectors.
Longtime ERCOT Lawyer Joins Austin Office of Baker Botts
Juliana Morehead Sersen, who spent 12 years with the entity that manages the Texas electric grid, says she’s still sorting out what role, if any, she will play in Baker Bott’s cases stemming from last February’s deadly winter storm.
Kirkland Adds IP Litigator in Austin
Kat Li now is the seventh Texas-based lawyer in Kirkland’s growing intellectual property practice group. She joins from McKool Smith.
Arizona Firm Opens Dallas Office
Phoenix-based Snell & Wilmer is the latest new entrant — and the first of 2022 — in Texas.
Lynn Pinker Names Chris Schwegmann New Managing Partner
Schwegmann, who joined the firm in 2005, previously served as Lynn Pinker’s general counsel and succeeds Eric Pinker, who served as managing partner for 21 years.
Skadden’s Bayouth Moves to PE Firm
Frank Bayouth, a 30-year deal partner at Skadden in Houston, has joined a longtime client as general counsel.
SEC Asst. Director Jumps to Holland & Knight
Former SEC Assistant Regional Director for Enforcement Scott Mascianica, who was involved in cases against Nikola Motor Corporation, Akazoo and Breitling Energy, said he moved his practice to Holland & Knight because last year’s merger with Thompson & Knight gives its partners a larger national platform to represent clients and because the firm is growing its white-collar defense and international investigations practice.
Susman Godfrey Names Vineet Bhatia New Co-Managing Partner
Susman Godfrey’s newly elected co-managing partner, Vineet Bhatia, said Tuesday that 2021 was the most profitable year in the 42-year history of the Houston-based litigation powerhouse and that the law firm needs to hire more lawyers to keep up with client demand. Susman Godfrey announced Tuesday that long-time managing partner Neal Manne is stepping down as co-leader of the law firm Jan. 15 and that Houston partner Bhatia is his successor, along with current co-managing partner Kalpana Srinivasan in Los Angeles.
Former Dallas Appellate Justice Joins Thompson Coburn
With the move, Douglas Lang will co-chair the St. Louis-based firm’s national appellate practice.