Much has been written about the “hot” lateral market for law firm partners in recent years. This publication, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and others have all noted the fierce competition for talent. In years past, that competition centered around transactional or corporate lawyers. Today, it also centers around trial lawyers.
Why? With fewer cases going to trial than ever before, even as deals are being done at historically record levels, why would trial lawyers be as in demand as deal lawyers? The answer: There aren’t that many of us around. It’s hard to find a Jim Coleman, a Harry Reasoner or a Jack Hauer — to use three legendary Texas trial lawyers as examples — who have tried everything from a motor vehicle accident to an antitrust conspiracy to a merger fight.
And while AI may be an immediate answer to a lot of routine legal tasks like drafting and basic research, as law firms all over the country try to maximize its value while minimizing its risks, no lines of computer code or group of servers are ever going to replace the person standing in front of a judge or jury in our adversarial system of justice. Although the Terminator famously said, “I’ll be back,” the skilled trial lawyer is unlikely to ever leave.
This is especially apparent here in Texas, with its $2.7 trillion economy, the eighth largest in the world, which is becoming the corporate home for more businesses and thus the appropriate venue for litigation involving those businesses. The Texas Business Courts, for example, provide a specialized forum that didn’t exist five years ago for high stakes disputes. Although Texas is unlikely to displace Delaware as the go-to jurisdiction for blockbuster corporate litigation, its importance is only likely to grow in the years ahead as the state’s economy continues to boom, attracting more capital, more people and, yes, more litigation.
Our journey to King & Spalding was not something either of us had anticipated, and yet in many ways it was a very natural transition. How so? The firm had longstanding Texas roots, with longtime offices in Houston and Austin, with a Dallas office as a more recent addition. Looking at the bigger picture, over the last dozen years or so, the firm had plainly become one of the most successful law firms in the world, earning an enviable spot in the so-called “Global Elite,” 15 of the world’s truly market-leading law firms.
Another compelling metric: No firm has more fellows in the American College of Trial Lawyers than King & Spalding (including one of this article’s authors). That sort of standing matters in today’s legal market because, although there are talented lawyers at firms all over the country, the number of firms able to compete for the best talent and the best work is small. Moreover, the firms with a demonstrated track record of success over a decade or more is smaller still.
The truth is there are only a handful of firms that can tout that kind of record credibly. King & Spalding is one. Latham & Watkins, which recently announced the opening of a Dallas office with two of our longtime friends, Taj Clayton and Scott Thomas, is another. How many more firms could claim a spot? Not many. As Houston Oilers Coach Bum Phillips once said about Earl Campbell, he didn’t know if Earl was in a class by himself, “but it sure don’t take long to call the roll.”
It’s tempting to look at what is happening in law firms and make comparisons outside the legal context. Our friend Rob Walters amusingly analogized law firm hiring today to the college transfer portal. But, of course, the portal is drawing a fair amount of criticism for destabilizing college football teams. Many want to see the transfer portal changed or limited.
We don’t see law firm hiring that way at all, especially at our new firm. Smart lateral hiring creates stability, not instability. And while the “war for talent” is a real thing, the winners in that war are ultimately the clients, not the law firms. Because clients win when the firm handling their dispute has the best combination of talent and experience. That is why we are here.
Natalie Arbaugh is a partner in the Dallas office of King & Spalding.
Tom Melsheimer is the firm’s global head of trial and managing partner of the Dallas office.
