Texas legal history is replete with young hot-shot trial lawyers leaving their big corporate firms to start their own operations — from David Beck, Paul Yetter and John Zavitsanos in Houston to Mike Lynn, Pete Marketos and Clayton Bailey of Dallas.
This week, John S. Adams hopes to join this elite group of highly successful trial lawyers-turned-business leaders who have their names on the front door.
Friday was Adams’ last day as a partner in the Dallas office of the elite global law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Today, he launched his own law litigation boutique, the John S. Adams Law Firm, where he is the only lawyer but plans to add lawyers quickly.
“I’m reengineering the litigation model for businesses that demand results and hate surprises,” Adams told The Texas Lawbook. “That means transparent pricing, performance-based billing and a commitment to speed and clarity. This is a new model based on concepts from business consulting, project management and other fields. This is timely, particularly as big firms continue to raise their rates.”
A 2015 graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law, Adams said now is an excellent time to start a new firm because “Texas is a rapidly evolving market.”
“Every day, we have new businesses moving to Texas with more sophisticated needs,” he said. “At the same time, the new Texas Business Court has gained traction and is growing, which is creating new opportunities and new challenges.”
Adams started his career as an associate at Carrington Coleman and Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann before joining Gibson Dunn in 2021, where he made partner earlier this year.
The Lawbook interviewed Adams about his path to becoming a lawyer, his legal career and his vision for the future.
Texas Lawbook: What led you to become a lawyer, or when did you first consider becoming a lawyer?
John Adams: When I was working at Dell computers after college, it quickly became clear that a corporate sales job wasn’t right for me. I had always thought about being a lawyer, but mostly because I grew up on reruns of Law & Order and had won a high school debate competition. When I decided to go to law school, I looked at it as an opportunity to do two things I loved: read and argue.
Lawbook: Tell me about your first jury trial. When was it, who was your client and what happened?
Adams: My first jury trial was under Michael Hurst’s wing in Mobile, Alabama. We represented an amazing Dallas-based company, Herff Jones, in a noncompete/trade secret case. I learned a lot, because even when some of us had doubts, Hurst had the confidence to take the case to trial, where we won punitive damages and attorneys’ fees, all of which were affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court. I also learned how fun and exciting trial can be with a great team.
Lawbook: What has been your biggest courtroom victory and what made it so important?
Adams: Several years ago, Trey and I parachuted into a case only a few weeks before trial and upended the entire strategy of the case — streamlining dozens of claims and parties into one coherent approach. We tested a novel theory of partnership law and achieved the biggest fraud verdict in Texas that year. Our client was an individual small business owner, so it was particularly gratifying to work closely with him and help vindicate his story.
Lawbook: How was the litigation practice different when you were at Lynn Pinker versus your time at Gibson Dunn?
Adams: Lynn Pinker excels at solving complex problems with creativity and dogged determination. It was hands on, fast paced, and always exciting. Gibson Dunn excels at solving the biggest legal problems with immense resources, including the best and brightest talent. Here, every decision is carefully calculated; it’s much more cerebral and deliberative.
I literally moved just across the street to do the same job, and yet it was a whole new world and an entirely different practice.
Lawbook: Why leave Gibson Dunn, and why is now the perfect time for you to start your own firm?
Adams: I’m leaving Gibson Dunn because I love to build and create. Gibson Dunn is a great firm, but I want to help break from a traditional model of legal services. Other professions are leaps and bounds ahead in terms of systematizing what they do for clients. I’m borrowing from those other fields, focused on improving inputs like client communication and processes/workflows that are tied to better outputs like risk management, cost efficiency and winning at trial. Now is the perfect time to do this because Texas has more need than ever for commercial litigators and trial lawyers, and I believe clients of all sizes will begin to demand this level of service.
Lawbook: What is your vision for your new firm and how do you see it different from other litigation boutiques?
Adams: The firm is built on three pillars: client relationship, delivery process and results. This is a deliberate and intentional framework to deliver more value to clients. For example, it is critical to me to improve trust and transparency with clients, so I’m intentionally working with clients to establish custom guidelines for communication that suit their needs at the outset of a case. Similarly, I think a lot of legal work can be improved by having playbooks, manuals and checklists to ensure consistency and quality. And results always matter to clients, but too often I think they get lost in the litigation process, so defined goals and corresponding fee structures are another important differentiator of this firm. There are a lot of good, smart lawyers in Dallas, but I’ve seen very few focus on improving the nuts and bolts of how we practice law.
Lawbook: What kind of cases do you plan to be your focus?
Adams: Contract disputes are my main focus, often in the context of an M&A deal, a business divorce or large purchase agreements.
Lawbook: What are two or three litigation matters that you are currently handling?
Adams: (1) A case involving an overhaul of a manufacturer’s enterprise software systems and alleged breaches of the service contract that led to delays and business disruptions; (2) A case where a competitor raided a client’s business and took two dozen employees with the help of inside executives, with alleged breaches of nonsolicitation, confidentiality and other contractual provisions; and (3) An oil and gas dispute between mineral owners and an operator on a huge ranch in West Texas involving alleged breaches of lease agreements.
Lawbook: What am I not asking that I should be asking?
Adams: This wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for great mentors along the way. I’ve been really lucky, and I’m thankful for the opportunities to work in the courtroom and learn from the people I look up to and consider among the great trial lawyers in Texas: Trey Cox, Jeremy Fielding, Mike Lynn, Eric Pinker and Michael Hurst.