© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(Feb. 7) –Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, a 1,200 lawyer global law firm, is expected to announced this week that it is expanding its presence in Texas by opening a branch operation in Houston.
Legal industry insiders told The Texas Lawbook late Monday that Gibson Dunn, which has a 55-lawyer office in Dallas, will officially launch into Houston by luring eight partners from Baker Botts and Latham & Watkins, plus one corporate general counsel who is rejoining the law firm world.
The eight partners, whose names have not been released, will focus on energy transactional work, including oil and gas mergers and acquisitions, master limited partnerships and energy tax law.
Officials at Gibson Dunn declined to comment for this article, but the firm’s Dallas administrative partner, Rob Walters, said in an interview with The Texas Lawbook in May 2016 that the firm was definitely interested in expanding to Houston.
“Houston is a tremendous business and legal market and we definitely want to have a presence there, but only if we can put together the right group of partners that we believe will make a difference,” Walters said in the interview.
“Latham and Kirkland & Ellis did it right. And we would want to do it right or we would not do it at all,” he said.
Baker Botts released a firm statement Tuesday morning that did not identify the partners leaving for Gibson Dunn.
“The movement of lawyers from one firm to another happens on a regular basis at firms around the world and is par for the course,” Baker Botts said in a statement. “We are sorry to see them leave and we wish them every success in the future and we will continue to focus on adding value for our clients.”
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