© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Kerry Curry — Dallas — Vinson & Elkins’ Dallas office dined among the dinosaurs at its firm’s holiday party this year, held at the Perot Museum of Nature and Center.
The V&E event has become an institution in the Dallas legal market and the same could be said for the Susman Godfrey party in Houston, which is always held at the firm’s offices.
While many law firms have added family-friendly holiday events to the calendar, many still retain a more traditional party that offers plenty of alcohol and food. Some have added a twist here or there. Sidley Austin gave its Dallas guests kazoos at its party, held at Cloud Nine at Reunion Tower, and had them hum “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“We get a great turnout from a ton of clients who come every year; it’s a good event for us,” he said. Nearly 1,100 people RSVP’d this year, and the firm had the run of the museum. Food stations were rolled opened at different times, beginning on the top floor to encourage partiers to begin the event at the top and work their way down through the other floors during the evening.
V&E has an open bar during the event and said bartenders are trained not to over-serve, and said the firm watches carefully for that.
“In the years that we’ve had this party we’ve never had a problem with people drinking to excess, and there’s a lot of food. If you are going to serve alcohol, have food. We have a lot of food at this party.”
Susman Godfrey is also known for its big holiday bashes, which it holds in its firm offices in Houston, New York and Los Angeles.
The firm’s Dec. 3 Houston party attracted 650 guests, said founding partner Stephen Susman. About 450 attended its Dec. 9 party in New York City and about 300 guests were at the Dec. 4 LA party.
“We were greeting guests at the New York party and one of my New York partners said, ‘Why are we doing this party in the office? Most firms have a party outside their office.’ My response was I wanted people to see that we had nice offices and to see the lawyers in their working environment,” he said. “And it is a hell of a way to get your offices cleaned up once a year. About 2 or 3 p.m. in the afternoon, the Gestapo, which is me, walks the floor and makes sure the offices are clean.”
Like V&E’s Dallas office, Susman’s Houston office picks the first available night after the Thanksgiving holiday to hold its party.
At Susman, a different senior partner is in charge of the party every year and determines the menu and caterer, although Susman says the one consistency is cold, boiled shrimp, a personal favorite that he said is always provided in his honor.
People gather on three different floors and this year, instead of putting the shrimp at the entrance it was placed on another floor and a “Burma Shave” sign directed guests to find it.
The party has always been a big hit, he said.
“It’s just wonderful to see old friends,” Susman said, “and it’s a great opportunity for me, now splitting my life between New York and Houston, to see Houstonians I don’t see that much anymore.”
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