By Janet Elliott
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
Kenneth L. Stewart, a transactional partner named this week as Fulbright & Jaworski’s new chairman, believes client service is the best way to navigate a rocky legal marketplace.
“I think, like all law firms in the United States, we’re looking at a flat, if not declining demand for legal services,” he said, noting the number of great lawyers and firms, as well as new lawyers, continues to grow.
“Our mantra is all about client service,” Stewart said. “We want to be a trusted adviser to our clients and spend a lot of effort to make sure we understand their business and the challenges they face. As their adviser, we want to not just react but to be proactive to help accomplish their goals.”
The 871-lawyer firm announced late Wednesday that its partners had elected Stewart to oversee Fulbright’s “daily operations and set its strategic vision,” beginning January 1, 2013.
Fulbright’s decision means that the three largest Texas law firms have chosen new leadership and that each selected lawyers from their Texas offices. Three months ago, Baker Botts named Dallas transactional partner Andrew Baker to be its new managing partner. In January, Vinson & Elkins replaced its leadership with Mark Kelly and Scott Wulfe, both Houston transactional partners, to lead its operations.
Stewart thinks it is a coincidence that the three firms have turned to Texas-based transactional lawyers.
“Each of the firms selects the leader they think they need given the market environment,” he said. “It’s the particular skills of the individual and what’s going on in the profession and marketplace and what the collective group of partners thinks is needed to move forward in these times.”
Stewart started in 1979 at Fulbright’s Houston headquarters and worked there for a decade before moving to the Dallas office. He has been the partner in charge there for eight years.
He will be the seventh chairman in Fulbright’s 93-year history and will maintain offices in both Dallas and Houston.
Stewart declined to discuss whether Fulbright is looking to merge with another major national law firm. The Texas Lawbook reported earlier this year that Fulbright was in talks with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
He said the firm is looking at international markets for expansion because “that’s where our clients largely are looking for expansion.” Over the past decade, Fulbright has opened offices in Beijing, Dubai and Riyadh.
“We try to be very strategic and not just put pins in the map for the sake of putting pins on a map,” he said.
Stewart succeeds outgoing Chair Steven B. Pfeiffer, who has served in the role since Jan. 1, 2003. Pfeiffer came to the position from the Washington D.C. and London offices and head of Fulbright’s International Department.
Stewart did his undergraduate studies at the University of Arkansas and received his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1979. He is a certified public accountant.
In its annual firm finance report published in April, Texas Lawyer reported that Fulbright’s 2011 net income was down 9.4 percent and profits per partner dropped 8.4 percent.
Stewart said the downturn followed a record year in 2010, and he is “bullish” on the firm’s long-term success both professionally and financially.
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