By Mark Curriden
(Feb. 7) – When Winston & Strawn Managing Partner Tom Fitzgerald decided to open a Dallas office over a year ago, he knew he needed more than numbers and practice groups.
He needed a name. He needed a superstar lawyer.
He found Tom Melsheimer.
A former federal prosecutor and widely recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers in Texas, Melsheimer announced Monday that he is joining the Chicago-based firm as the co-managing partner of its new Dallas office.
Melsheimer said he’s joining Winston & Strawn because he believes the firm can significantly expand his complex commercial litigation practice nationally and he confirms the firm made him a generous compensation offer. His hourly billable rate for corporate clients is about $1,200 an hour.
Winston has more than 800 lawyers in 18 offices worldwide, including more than 40 attorneys in its Houston office, which opened in March 2011. The firm launches its Dallas branch with 23 corporate litigation, tax and transactional partners.
During his 17 years as a principal at Fish & Richardson’s Dallas office, Melsheimer scored some huge courtroom victories, including a $158 million settlement against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson in a Medicaid fraud case. He also successfully defended Mark Cuban against allegations of insider trading by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I didn’t think I would ever leave Fish,” he said in an interview with The Texas Lawbook. “It is a great firm, and I have lots of friends at Fish.”
Melsheimer said that Winston officials contacted him last fall to gauge his interest in helping the firm launch its North Texas operation.
“Other firms have approached me before, but it was clear that Winston was serious about Dallas and serious about me and my practice group,” he said.
Melsheimer admitted he was on the fence about making a lateral move when Winston sent its big gun – former U.S. Attorney and trial lawyer extraordinaire Dan Webb – to meet with him. Webb spent two years in Texarkana defending cigarette giant Phillip Morris in its multi-billion-dollar litigation brought by then Texas Attorney General Dan Morales.
“Dan [Webb] was instrumental in my thinking,” Melsheimer said. “He is one of the top three trial lawyers in the country. Dan convinced me that we can grow our complex trial team into a truly national practice.
“It is very exciting, and I think we are going to have a lot of fun,” he said.
Several of the 23 partners joining Winston have compensation guarantees of $2 million to $3 million a year for the next two or three years. By contrast, lawyers familiar with this situation say that Melsheimer cared less about a compensation guarantee. Instead, he has the ability to receive significantly higher compensation if he wins large-dollar contingency fee lawsuits.
“Money is not an issue – money is never what drives me,” he responded. “I can say that what Winston offered me is a very strong and attractive compensation package.
“And yes, it is helpful that Winston wants to do more contingency fee work in litigation,” Melsheimer said. “I want to take on cases where there’s home run potential.”