What were the firm’s biggest or most important (non-client) achievements as a firm in 2020?
The firm achieved 2020 Mansfield Rule™ Certified Plus status with Diversity Lab’s program requiring that at least 30% of selected leadership position candidate pools are composed of women or minorities. We are continuing Mansfield certification for 2021.
We are proud to have been named “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ 2021” and received a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.
The firm challenged attorneys to achieve 100% participation in diversity and inclusion initiatives and pro bono projects. The firm met this goal, contributing 9,000 D&I hours and over 48,000 hours in pro bono. This also marked the twelfth consecutive year that the firm achieved 100% participation in pro bono projects.
Innovative projects such as our COVID-19 Complaint Tracker showcased the firm’s ability to rapidly deploy a technically complex solution to a dynamic set of circumstances. The tracker, which earned the firm recognition as a 2020 Legal Technology Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, currently holds data on nearly 10,000 state and federal lawsuits arising out of the pandemic and serves as a valuable resource for clients, the media and the public.
The firm’s mergers and acquisitions practice was once again ranked among the top 10 law firms in Refinitiv’s 2020 U.S. legal advisor league tables and in the top 25 of global rankings. The firm was ranked among the leading global legal advisors in IJGlobal’s infrastructure and project finance league tables and was named the top law firm in the Power Infrastructure Finance category.
As a firm, what were your biggest challenges and how did you address them?
The pandemic created logistical obstacles the firm successfully confronted and overcame, such as moving our entire workforce to a remote working environment; reconfiguring our summer associate and law school recruiting programs; and reimagining how to stay connected with clients and colleagues, in the absence of being able to host traditional law firm events. All of this was accomplished without interruption to our ability to deliver the outstanding service our clients expect and deserve.
The firm was fortunate to have made early investments in technology that enabled us to seamlessly pivot to a remote working environment. Those investments allowed us to continue to serve our clients, to stay connected with our clients and colleagues and to remotely manage the various administrative operations of our firm very effectively.
What were three of the most important successes your firm’s Texas lawyers achieved for clients last year?
Led by Houston partners Mike O’Leary and Taylor Landry, the firm represented the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Pure Acquisition Corp., an oil and gas exploration and production focused special purpose acquisition company, in connection with its initial business combination, announced in May 2020. The deal resulted in a newly formed and publicly-traded company, HighPeak Energy, Inc., with an estimated enterprise value of approximately $900 million.
A cross office team including Dallas partner Myles Reynolds represented Enbridge, Inc. in connection with the development and potential expansion of the Valley Crossing Pipeline, a 2.6 Bcf/d 165-mile pipeline from Texas to Mexico. Final regulatory approvals were received in February 2020 for the initial construction. The $1.6 billion pipeline is the largest pipeline exporting natural gas to Mexico as part of the country’s large-scale energy reforms.
Led by partner Tad Davidson, senior associate Ashley Harper and a team of lawyers, the firm represented Superior Energy Services, Inc. and 16 of its affiliates in their chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. The clients’ plan of reorganization was confirmed by the bankruptcy court on February 2, 2021 approximately 75 days after initially filing bankruptcy. The plan confirmation was contested by a number of creditors and was ultimately approved by the bankruptcy court resulting in the elimination of $1.3 billion in bond debt and other unliquidated claims.
Who are two Texas lawyers – one partner, one associate – who really shined in 2020 and why?
Tad Davidson, co-leader of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s bankruptcy and restructuring practice, was among the most in-demand bankruptcy attorneys in Houston last year, and led the firm’s Texas restructuring team on a number of significant matters in 2020, including:
- Hi-Crush Inc.’s Chapter 11, filed on July 12, 2020, listing approximately $600 million in debt.
- Lonestar Resources US Inc.’s Chapter 11, filed on September 30, 2020, listing $626 million in liabilities.
- Remora Petroleum, LP’s Chapter 11, filed on August 12, 2020, listing approximately $85 million in debt.
- Sable Permian Resources’ Chapter 11, filed on June 25, 2020, listing approximately $1.32 billion in debt.
- Superior Energy Services Inc.’s Chapter 11, filed on December 7, 2020, resulting in the successful implementation of a contested plan of reorganization that eliminated $1.3 billion in bond debt and other unliquidated claims.
Houston-based associate Mike Hoffman also had an impressive year as a member of the firm’s capital markets team, handling the following matters, among others:
- The initial purchasers in a $1.0 billion senior notes offering by a pipeline company.
- The initial purchasers in a $500 million senior notes offering by a pipeline company.
- The underwriters in a $28 million senior notes offering by Scorpio Tankers Inc.
- The underwriters in a $1.25 billion senior notes offering by Kinder Morgan, Inc.
- The underwriters in $500 million and $300 million senior notes offerings by Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.
What was the firm’s biggest pro bono/public service success in Texas of 2020?
Last year, the firm teamed up with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program to launch the organization’s first virtual legal aid intake clinic and restore access to vital pro bono services for area residents.
DVAP, a collaborative between the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, was forced to shutter all 14 of its monthly legal aid clinics in early March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Seeking a pathway forward to serve those in need of pro bono legal services, DVAP reached out to Hunton Andrews Kurth. Dallas associate Fawaz A. Bham led the firm’s effort to quickly assemble a multi-disciplinary project team to virtually replicate the legal aid application, intake and interview process conducted at traditional on-site clinics.
The solution involved designing and implementing a user-friendly online intake tool with a Spanish language alternative for applicants and establishing primary and backup video conferencing and client document upload systems to enable volunteer attorneys to effectively conduct interviews. In addition, the Hunton Andrews Kurth team created automated systems for communicating upcoming clinic call-windows, transmitting applications, assigning and distributing applicants to volunteer attorneys and submitting interview summaries.
On April 16, 2020, a team of 18 attorneys from Hunton Andrews Kurth conducted DVAP’s first fully-online legal aid intake clinic, “meeting” with 38 applicants and processing summaries back to DVAP seamlessly.
Moving forward, DVAP hopes to leverage the convenience and efficiency of virtual clinics to enhance and transform the accessibility and delivery of pro bono legal services in the Dallas community.
What was the firm’s most significant move forward in addressing diversity and inclusion in 2020?
At Hunton Andrews Kurth, our mission is to build and leverage a diverse and inclusive professional community that promotes a culture of collaboration, respect, involvement and empowerment. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce optimizes the delivery of outstanding client service and creates an innovative, productive community of lawyers and professional staff. The firm’s commitment to D&I is a long-term investment that has included electing partners from diverse backgrounds to leadership positions at the highest levels, including managing partner and the executive committee.
- Our partnership class this year was composed of 60% minority and women lawyers. This summer, we again kick off (virtually) our 1L diversity clerkship program partnering with clients to provide summer opportunities to diverse 1Ls in different markets, and we will continue to look for ways to expand this program. Our goal is to see this program continue to grow with increased firm/client support and participation.
- The D&I Committee announced a new program titled the “Office Diversity & Inclusion Initiative” or ODI. ODI was created to enhance the firm’s D&I programs by moving them a step closer to all employees by moving D&I into each individual office. ODI Leaders have stepped up in each office to increase the D&I presence for everyone. ODI Leaders will coordinate with offices, other ODI Leaders and the D&I Committee, thereby enhancing our support of the firm’s D&I mission.
- Racial Equality and Social Justice Resource Center – The RESJRC is a thoughtfully curated collection of suggested reading, volunteer opportunities and activist activities, including pro bono work, and mental health resources, related to the exploration and eradication of racial inequality and social injustice.
What is your No. 1 goal as a law firm for 2021?
Moving forward through 2021, Hunton Andrews Kurth remains focused on its clients and the health and safety of its employees. The pandemic has forced law firms to rethink some of the traditional notions regarding the need for office space and the delivery of legal services.
Furthermore, without the ability to hold live events, firms have had to become more vigilant and creative about maintaining relationships with clients and colleagues. How to evolve going forward as the pandemic eases is still an open question the firm is continuing to evaluate.
As of now, lawyers and staff in our Texas offices have permission to come into the office voluntarily and on an as-needed basis. For the most part, our employees continue to work from home. It is clear that some people prefer the office over working remotely, however, today’s generation of young lawyers also wants greater flexibility and has proven what they can accomplish without a physical centralized office.