Texas-based corporate law firms are billing more hours, growing revenues faster and collecting money from clients better and faster in 2023 than most of their counterparts throughout the U.S., according to new data from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group. Demand by business clients for legal work in Texas is also up and leaders at Texas law firms are “slightly more optimistic” about growth for the rest of 2023 and 2024 than corporate lawyers in other regions of the country. But there are negative signs that some corporate clients are taking longer to pay invoices. The Texas Lawbook has the exclusive report.
New Citi Data: Texas Firms Slowly Getting More Diverse, with a Long Way to Go
According to a Citi survey of 140 predominantly Am Law 100 and 200 firms, including six Texas-headquartered firms, the rate of promotions for women and minorities on both a global level and state level steadily declines as lawyers work their way up the ranks — from associates to of counsel to partner to equity partner.
Texas Legal Market: Soft Landing, New Take-Offs or Just More of the Same?
The Texas legal market — just like the national economy — seems to be moving forward but at a considerably slower and more cautious pace. Lateral hiring of associates, especially transactional practitioners, is rare and six-digit signing bonuses are history. Partners with strong books of business, however, remain in demand.
Litigation partners, senior associates and counsel are more sought-after than those in the transactional practices. The DFW lateral hiring legal market is a tad stronger than Houston right now. Austin’s legal hiring has cooled considerably.
The Texas Lawbook interviewed four Texas legal industry insiders to get their insights on the Texas legal market and what they expect for the rest of 2023 and 2024.
The ‘Lasso Way’: Lessons for Lawyers from Ted Lasso Season Three
Season Three provided more takeaways for enriching attorneys on “The Lasso Way.” And of course, more quotable pearls of wisdom.
Texas Lawyers Hit $2,000 an Hour
Just a dozen years ago, a handful of lawyers in Texas breached the $1,000 hourly rate barrier. The $1K lawyers were the best of the best in their practice areas: trial lawyers Steve Susman, Tom Melsheimer, Charles Schwartz and Harry Reasoner for bet-the-company litigation, or deal lawyers like Jeff Chapman, Andy Calder, Tom Roberts or Michael Dillard to lead mega-billion-dollar transactions. This year, a handful of Texas lawyers broke through another billing barrier: $2,000 an hour. Dozens more are expected to start charging clients $2K next year.
Perkins Coie, MoFo Lawyer Up in DEI Lawsuits
Within the last week, lawyers from Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, Jenner & Block and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher appeared on the dockets of federal lawsuits filed against Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster alleging discriminatory practices related to their diversity fellowships. Both firms operate in Texas and one of the lawsuits is in Dallas. Natalie Posgate has the latest.
AI Hallucinations in Legal Research Are a Serious Problem … for Now
By now, we know that GenAI hallucinates. It is very real. It is very serious. And it is most likely very temporary.
Looking to learn from others who are approaching the inevitable disruption that GenAI will bring to the legal industry, I talked with three legal technologists from the UK law firm Travers Smith about mitigating the hallucination problem, the development of their own open-source AI chatbot and more.
Holding Vigil: Law Firm Executives Deserve a Gold Star for Patience
Lawyers today face endless liabilities — both financial and reputational. Throw in the continuous industry-wide challenge of diversity and inclusion, a decline in associate writing skills and a truly mixed bag of social skills, and it is no wonder law firms find themselves stagnant and struggling to make big moves. This OpEd outlines key ways law firms can better utilize administrative resources and forge more strategic pathways.
DEI Initiatives Challenged at Law Firms with Two New Lawsuits
After weeks of chatter, law firms have officially been roped into the legal battle over corporate diversity hiring initiatives following the aftermath of the SFFA v. Harvard Supreme Court decision that banned race-based affirmative action in higher education. The same plaintiff behind that case has now sued Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster, which both operate in Texas. Natalie Posgate dissects the facts and details known about the litigation so far.
Fifteen Law Firms in Texas Reach Elite Status
Corporate lawyers at 15 law firms operating in Texas reached elite financial status in 2022, according to the Texas Lawbook 50 data. Only two are based in Texas. Four are headquartered in New York. Four were founded in Chicago, four others in California and one in Atlanta. Eight of the elite law firms achieved revenue per lawyer of $1.5 million or more. Three topped $1.8 million. And one, for the first time in Texas history, broke the $2 million RPL barrier. Combined, the Texas lawyers at these 15 firms combined generated $3.18 billion in 2022.