Sidley: ‘The Heat is On’

Angela Zambrano and Scott Parel took over as co-managing partners of Sidley's Dallas office only a month ago, but they and Texas will be front-and-center this week when they host the management committee for the 150-year-old, 2,000-attorney global law firm. Sidley has made Texas key to its strategic growth. The firm's headcount and revenue increased tenfold over nine years. And Sidley's next global chair is their predecessor. As rocker Glenn Frey would say, "The Heat is On."

November 11, 2021 Mark Curriden

Ted Lasso Season Two Playbook Offers Mental Health Strategies for Attorneys

Where the theme of Ted Lasso season one was empathy, season two’s theme is clearly about mental health. This message could not be timelier for attorneys.

November 9, 2021 Heath Cheek

Thompson Coburn Makes 5-Year Sponsorship Commitment to UNT Law Moot Court Competition

In addition to the firm's five-year sponsorship commitment to the nation's most diverse law school, Thompson Coburn has hired four UNT Dallas College of Law grads since opening its Dallas office in March 2020.

October 19, 2021 Nicole Williams

‘Not Enough Lawyers’ – Texas Corporate Law Firms Face the Unthinkable

The Texas legal market is so hot right now that law firms have discovered the economic theory known as supply and demand. Corporate lawyers are stretched and in danger of burnout. Law firm leaders want to hire more attorneys and are even offering huge signing bonuses. But there's a problem: There just aren’t enough lawyers in Texas to do the job.

September 20, 2021 Mark Curriden

Texas-based Firm Finances: The Kingpin of Texas Corporate Law – Dallas or Houston?

While there has been great focus lately on the Austin legal market, Dallas and Houston still dominate the corporate law world in Texas. But figuring out which market is doing better depends on the measuring stick. One city has more lawyers at corporate law offices. The other generates more revenues from business clients. Find out which city is the unofficial kingpin of Texas corporate law – Dallas or Houston? Or is it a feud running on fumes? This is part four in The Texas Lawbook series on Texas-based law firms.Note: The chart in this story has been updated to correct revenue figures for Locke Lord.

September 8, 2021 Richard Alm & Mark Curriden

A Seller’s Market: How Covid-19 Sparked a War for Talent

The pandemic has resulted in a number of interesting twists and turns in legal recruiting; most recently, the increasing number of companies and law firms requiring new hires to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Pye Legal Group President Stacy Humphries surveys the lay of the land and shares best practices for landing top candidates.

August 27, 2021 Stacy Humphries

Texas-based Firm Finances, Part 3: Content to Work Close to Home

Our Gang of 10 Texas-based corporate law firms are an under-the-radar success story. These firms do nearly all their work inside the state, and they beat the overall Texas Lawbook 50 in revenue growth and new lawyer jobs. Most Gang of 10 firms are small, but two big legacy firms confine operations to Texas – Jackson Walker and Winstead.

August 23, 2021 Richard Alm

Updated: Texas-based Firms’ Finances, Part 2: ‘Gang of Six’ Trying to Win in the Big Leagues

They bear storied names in Texas corporate law: Vinson & Elkins, Baker Botts, Haynes and Boone, Akin Gump, Locke Lord and Bracewell. National firms continue to expand their Texas market share, but the big legacy firms still carry considerable weight in Texas corporate law. They’re not giving in without a fight and busy growing revenues and hiring lawyers in 2021. Editor's note: The Lawbook article has been updated to show that Baker Botts' 2020 revenue in Texas was $361.9M in Texas - not $336M as originally reported.

August 16, 2021 Richard Alm & Mark Curriden

Texas-based Firms’ Finances, Part 1: Some Optimism, Some Challenges

Don’t write the obituary for Texas-based corporate law firms just yet. There are fewer than a decade ago, but most are doing quite well financially. In fact, 10 scored record Texas revenues in 2020 despite the pandemic and economic slowdown. Even more of the Texas-based firms say they’re doing better in 2021 than last year. And all of them are hiring more lawyers to handle the increased legal work clients are sending them.

August 12, 2021 Richard Alm & Mark Curriden

Texas Law Firm PPP Lending Less in 2021, But More Than Reported in 2020

Newly released data from the Small Business Administration reveals the full extent to which Texas law firms relied on Payroll Protection Plan loans to stay afloat while adjusting to the widespread disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the data also shows that law firms in Texas rebounded enough to leave a fair amount of federal money on the table. The Texas Lawbook has the numbers.

August 5, 2021 Allen Pusey