Big corporate law firms operating in Texas dramatically slowed their hiring in 2024, adding the fewest new lawyers since the pandemic year of 2020.
The 50 largest law firms doing business in Texas grew, on average, by only two attorneys last year — down from an average of four in 2023, according to new data compiled as part of the Texas Lawbook 50 annual firm business review.
And that number is skewed due to the significant headcount growth of four law firms — Jackson Walker, Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Hastings and Sheppard Mullin. Remove those four firms and the average firm in Texas witnessed a lawyer headcount decline in 2024.
Collectively, the Lawbook 50 employed 8,195 attorneys in their Texas offices in 2024 — only 112 more than the same firms had in 2023.
The 1.4 percent increase in lawyer headcount last year compares to 2.6 percent growth in 2023, 3.8 percent growth in 2022 and a 4.1 percent increase in 2021.
In 2020, the Lawbook 50 grew headcount by only 62 lawyers, or 0.3 percent. Lateral hiring came to a screeching halt once the Covid-19 pandemic hit that March and many firms delayed hiring of their first-year associates from September to January 2021.
“The biggest limitation for corporate law firm growth in Texas is the talent pool,” said Kent Zimmermann, a law firm consultant for the Zeughauser Group. “The talent pool is limited and that can restrict growth. The result might be law firms recruiting talent from other cities or trying to lure corporate in-house counsel to return to daily practice. It is a concern.”
Dallas-based Jackson Walker, which has no offices outside of Texas, retained its claim to being the largest law firm in Texas by attorney headcount, with 484 lawyers in 2024 — 25 more than the year before. The firm has had a net increase of 97 lawyers during the past three years.
“The best way to grow is to not lose lawyers,” Jackson Walker managing partner Wade Cooper told The Texas Lawbook in an interview. “We filled some areas in energy, ERISA and corporate. We brought in partners with good books of business and expertise in areas that are growing.
Cooper said that the firm’s culture is consistently ranked among the best in national surveys.
“We want to show that you don’t have to be miserable to practice business law,” he said.
Kirkland, a Chicago-founded law firm that opened its first Texas office in 2014, is still number two with 414 attorneys, which is an increase of 35 over 2023. Haynes Boone ranks third with 412 lawyers.
Norton Rose Fulbright leaped over Vinson & Elkins by adding 13 attorneys last year and because V&E saw its Texas lawyer headcount decline by 28 attorneys.
The fastest-growing corporate firm in Texas in 2024 was Paul Hastings, which went from 33 lawyers in 2023 to 85 in 2024 and debuted in the Lawbook 50 at number 44.
Sheppard Mullin also made its Lawbook 50 debut with 79 attorneys in the state — up 25 from 2023.
Combined, Jackson Walker, Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Hastings and Sheppard Mullin increased their attorney headcount by 137 lawyers in 2024. Without those four firms, the overall headcount in the Lawbook 50 would have dropped by 29 attorneys.
No firm in Texas grew faster in 2024 than Los Angeles-founded Paul Hastings. The firm had a small Houston office until late 2023, when it started a lateral partner hiring spree.
Paul Hastings jumped from 33 Texas attorneys in 2023 to 85 last year — a 158 percent jump.
“We are not done growing in Texas,” Paul Genender, who is the co-partner-in-charge of Paul Hastings’ Texas operations, said in an interview earlier this year. “Texas is such a dynamic market. There is a lot more room to expand.”
In all, 30 law firms saw their 2024 headcount increase, 19 firms went down and two remained the same.
Six other law firms grew their Texas headcount double-digits, including Pillsbury (+15), Gibson Dunn (+14), Wilson Elser (+14), Norton Rose Fulbright (+13), King & Spalding (+12) and Bradley Arant (+11).
Seven law firms witnessed a double-digit decline in their Texas headcount: Vinson & Elkins (-28), Hunton Andrews Kurth (-19), Holland & Knight (-15), Winston & Strawn (-11), Chamberlain Hrdlicka (-12), Reed Smith (-10), and Kane Russell Coleman (-10).
Of the 8,195 lawyers working at Lawbook 50 firms in 2024, 3,803 — or 46 percent — worked for Texas legacy firms.
All law firm headcount numbers in the Lawbook 50 are full-time equivalents. One equals a lawyer who worked full-time at the firm for the full year.
Stories Coming in May and June
- The top 50 law firms by revenue generated by their Texas lawyers. “The firm’s numbers are just eye-popping.”
- Three Texas Legacy Firms Grow East and West and Overseas.
- Annual revenues of the Texas legacy firms — in and outside of Texas.
- Firms from Five Cities (Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and New York) Battle for Texas Lawbook 50 Revenue Supremacy.