Citi Report: Texas Law Firms Hit Double-Digit Revenue, Profit Increases in 2025

Despite weak demand, a decline in productivity and lower hourly rate increases than the national average, corporate law firms based in Texas experienced major increases in revenue and profits per partner in 2025, according to a new report by Citibank’s Global Wealth Law Firm Group. Citi’s Michael McKenney said 2025 started slow for the business law community with fears about a federal government shutdown and other macro concerns but ended the year in record fashion.

March 10, 2026 Mark Curriden

After the Claude Crash — What Agentic Tools Mean for Legal Research Vendors and Texas Lawyers

On Feb. 3, a lot of legal and data folks discovered they suddenly cared about stock tickers. Anthropic announced legal plug-ins for its agentic platform, Claude Cowork, and within 48 hours investors shaved tens of billions off the market caps of Thomson Reuters (Westlaw/CoCounsel), RELX (LexisNexis) and Wolters Kluwer. Headlines framed it as AI killing legal software. Social channels called it the “Claude Crash” and the “SaaSpocalypse.” If you work in a Texas law firm or legal department, it felt like watching a tornado touch down a few miles over — not on your roof yet, but close enough to change your weekend plans.

Let’s separate the market drama from the operating reality.

February 12, 2026 Greg Lambert

Big Law’s Transfer Portal: Elite Firms Raid Texas Talent with Record Pay Packages

The Texas corporate legal market has started 2026 with a frenzy of activity that includes several high-profile lateral partner moves, new office openings, new hourly rates nearing $3,000 and record-shattering compensation agreements with some lawyers being offered guaranteed multi-year compensation packages exceeding $20 million.

February 6, 2026 Mark Curriden

Melsheimer, Stodghill Lead Nine-Partner Litigation Team to King & Spalding

Prominent Dallas trial lawyer Tom Melsheimer, long-time law partner Steven Stodghill and seven other litigation partners from Winston & Strawn started their new positions as partners at King & Spalding in Dallas today. “I was on top of the mountain with Winston,” Melsheimer told The Texas Lawbook. “But then I saw another mountain. King & Spalding made an offer that I could not say no to, so I didn’t. King & Spalding understands that this is a war for the best talent because the best talent attracts the best clients. King & Spalding is in it to win this war.”

February 3, 2026 Mark Curriden

Brown Fox Jumps Over to The Quad, Nearly Doubles Footprint

Russ Brown, cofounder and managing partner of Brown Fox, said the full-service business boutique wanted to be in the “nerve center of the top economic center in the country.” It is the latest instance of Uptown landing a law firm’s Dallas digs.

January 28, 2026 Brooks Igo

To Launch New Dallas Office, Dechert Snags McDermott Duo Behind Tesla’s $1 Trillion Contract

Veteran corporate lawyers and dealmakers Wilson Chu and Joanna Lin have left McDermott to launch Dechert’s new Dallas office, following their high-profile work advising Tesla on Elon Musk’s $1 trillion employment contract. Their move was quietly noted in Dechert’s announcement of 20 partner hires for new offices in Dallas and Chicago, and existing ones in key U.S. markets, marking another shift amid McDermott’s ongoing post-merger reshuffling.

January 23, 2026 Allen Pusey

Balch & Bingham Nearly Doubles Austin Presence with Duggins Wren Mann & Romero

Balch Managing Partner Stan Blanton said the firm “could not have found another group of lawyers who offer the expertise and talent” of Duggins Wren Mann & Romero, particularly in the electricity and gas sectors.

January 6, 2026 Jason Philyaw

Texas Lawbook Law Firm of the Year

There were scores of multibillion-dollar corporate mergers and some landmark commercial trial verdicts in 2025. The year was filled with big stories.

But hands down, the biggest story of the year was the Trump administration’s executive orders against large corporate law firms, including a handful that have offices in Texas.

December 30, 2025 Mark Curriden

Texas Partnership Dreams Realized as Firms Roll Out 2025-2026 Promotions

Each year, as the weather turns (somewhat) colder in Texas, partnership season starts to reshape the legal landscape. Between October and February, law firms decide which experienced associates and seasoned counsel will make the leap to equity and nonequity partner, transforming years of late nights and high-stakes deals and trials into a career milestone, most of them announced this month. 

December 19, 2025 Christi Trammell & Jeff Schnick

Susman Godfrey Associate Bonuses Skyrocket

Lawyers at Susman Godfrey have had an extraordinary year — the “second-most successful year in the firm’s history,” according to Susman Godfrey leaders.

During 2025, Susman attorneys achieved a $1.5 billion copyright infringement settlement against Anthropic over its AI scraping of content. They defeated the Trump administration’s executive orders that targeted the Houston litigation powerhouse.

On Tuesday, firm leaders announced record high year-end bonuses for its associates and elected six new lawyers to its equity partnership, including one in Houston.

December 16, 2025 Mark Curriden