© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden – (October 1) – Weeks after lawyers at Godwin Lewis won one of the biggest environmental legal disputes ever, the Dallas-based law firm delivered bad news to 17 of the attorneys working on that case:
They have been laid off.
Godwin Lewis announced Wednesday that it ended the employment of three shareholders and 14 associates in its complex litigation practice.
The layoffs, according to firm founder Don Godwin, are a direct result of the team’s success in defending Houston-based Halliburton in the multibillion-dollar litigation involving the Macondo deepwater well explosion in April 2010. That litigation is likely winding down.
“I have practiced law for 40 years, and I have had some great successes and had some pretty bad days, but yesterday was probably the toughest day in my career,” says Godwin, who points out that the firm still has more than 45 lawyers specializing in complex litigation and family law in Texas.
“We didn’t like having to do it and we wish we didn’t have to do it, but we all knew this day would eventually come,” he says.
Godwin and a team of more than 30 lawyers represented Halliburton against civil lawsuits alleging that the world’s largest oil services company was at least partially responsible for the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 people and led to millions of gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.
Legal experts agree that Godwin scored a huge victory last month when U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that Halliburton was only three percent liable for the explosion and damage and that Halliburton’s construction agreement with BP meant that BP indemnified the Houston company for the damages.
“We won the largest environmental litigation in history, which was great for our client, but then we lost a lot of very good people,” Godwin says.
Godwin says he decided to beef up its ranks in May 2010 when Halliburton asked him to lead the company’s legal defenses in the Deepwater Horizon spill.
“I could see in the first days of litigation that we needed a lot more people than I had in the law firm,” he says.
Godwin says the firm initially considered hiring contract lawyers to help with the work, but he decided it wanted the full commitment of the lawyers. So, the firm added more than 30 lawyers as employees during the past four years.
“As employees, they were part of the bonus structure and received insurance benefits and we paid their bar dues,” he says. “Everybody we hired knew they were beefing up for this one case.”
The lawyers “performed exemplary,” he says, noting that they spent weeks in Washington, D.C., on Congressional hearings, weeks in London on depositions and then four years living in a hotel in New Orleans preparing for the trial.
On Sept. 4, Judge Barbier “completely exonerated” Halliburton, he says.
“We were hired to win and we won a 100 percent victory for our client,” he says.
Godwin says Halliburton officials told him that the firm will continue to lead the Houston company’s legal challenges in the BP spill going forward, including the certain appeals that are likely to be filed by BP.
“We decided, in consultation with the client, to pare down the legal team,” he says.
Three paralegals and three secretaries were also laid off, he says.
Godwin says the lawyers and staff received severance compensation, but he declined to provide details.
“Anything we can do to help them, including writing letters and making references, we will do it,” he says.
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