Willkie Farr & Gallagher opened its Dallas office just two years ago, initially concentrating on transactional work. Now, the firm is advancing to the next phase by expanding its global litigation capabilities in Texas by hiring Grant Schmidt and Andrew Bean from Hilgers.
“Our goal the entire time was to grow a full-service office that could sophisticatedly handle the most complicated matters of our clients across the board, and a big part of that is litigation,” Managing Partner of Willkie’s Dallas office Holt Foster told The Texas Lawbook.
Foster said they were looking for someone they could build a practice around while also ensuring longevity.
“We can grow together as a family and build this platform together,” Foster said. “And so I literally spent a year and a half talking to friends who were attorneys, talking to judges, talking to clients, explaining what our parameters were and what our goals were, and a team kept on coming up over and over and over again. As they say, when there’s smoke, there’s fire, and so I kept on hearing that. ‘Hey, you know, Grant Schmidt and Andrew Bean, they’re this pretty impressive group. You should really look into them.’”
Schmidt was the managing partner at Hilgers, where he practiced for 3 years after working at Winston Taylor.
He first started having a conversation about Willkie with Chase Proctor and Tony Johnston, both of whom he knew well. And then he had breakfast with Foster.
“Over the last couple months, several people have compared my energy level to Holt, which is like the ultimate compliment,” Schmidt said.
He said that after meeting Foster, he knew he wanted to be around that level of energy.
“Once you have the talent and the bench and the resources and the experience that a firm like Willkie has, the next step is who are the people that are walking the halls, and Wilkie, the diversity of age and experience and background. I mean, the energy really is palpable,” Schmidt said.
He will serve as Willkie’s chair of litigation in Texas.
“I’m really excited for this role that the firm and Holt have entrusted me with,” Schmidt said.
He acknowledged that he is on the younger side than most litigation chairs.
“Because of so many of my mentors and other people, I’ve been given what I think are an unprecedented number of experiences in the courtroom, and so I do fully realize this is a unique situation, but I am completely ready for it,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt and Bean are hitting the ground running with mediations and depositions already scheduled in their first week with the firm.
Bean said the environment and culture at Willkie really attracted him to the firm.
“Willkie gives us the chance to just to level up, to have an extraordinarily deep bench of talented lawyers in a in a thriving market like Dallas, and also a national practice and a national bench. It just combines the best of both worlds, being able to continue to grow our practice, but with the resources, talent and platform that Wilkie offers,” Bean said.
Prior to joining Hilgers, Bean had practiced for six years at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Bean focuses on complex commercial litigation and appeals. He advises clients on all phases of the process, from pre-litigation through appeal, and has significant experience with discovery, briefing, and hearings on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.
Hannah Luke is also joining the trial team as an associate. She was an associate at Hilgers for a year.
This year, the team has been busy in the courtroom with two recent wins.
Schmidt and his team secured a complete jury trial win on July 15 on behalf of Paul VanMeter in the 162nd District Court of Dallas County.
VanMeter brought five civil claims for significant damage caused to his property by a neighboring development managed by defendants. After a seven-day trial, the jury found liability on all five claims and apportioned all of the liability to defendants, despite four other involved entities appearing on the verdict form. The jury awarded damages of up to $1.9 million, with the final award amount dependent on a handful of post-trial legal determinations. The jury’s verdict also opens up the possibility for VanMeter to obtain permanent injunctive relief against defendants and recoup a portion of his litigation costs.
Earlier this year, Schmidt and Bean secured a trial win in Collin County before Judge Christine Nowak — resulting in a take-nothing judgment and defeating all breach of contract and fraud claims.
Schmidt said he hopes to bring in high-profile cases to the firm.
Willkie has offices in Houston and Dallas. The Dallas office opened in 2024 and focuses on transactional, private equity, finance, restructuring, tax, executive compensation, litigation, and regulatory matters across the energy, aviation, automotive, chemicals, banking, real estate, technology, and retail sectors.
The Houston office opened in 2014, extending the firm’s corporate, private equity, and transactional capabilities to clients across the energy, infrastructure, industrial and manufacturing, and financial services sectors.
Hilgers partner David Sillers is taking the reins from Schmidt as interim managing partner. He once called Schmidt the Fernando Mendoza of law firm partners, referencing the former star quarterback at Indiana University who was the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
“Grant and Andrew have been valued members of our team, and we appreciate the many contributions they made to our firm and our clients. We thank them for their service and wish them all the best in the next chapter of their careers,” Hilgers CEO Heather Hilgers said in a statement.
King & Spalding’s global head of trials, Tom Melsheimer, hired Schmidt at Winston Taylor. He described Schmidt as an “enhancer.”
“He enhances any organization he’s a part of, any group, any law firm, any charitable organization, any just any kind of group or fantasy football league. He’s just somebody that enhances and elevates the people around him. So I think he’s going to be a terrific addition to Willkie’s office,” Melsheimer said.
Foster said there is a demand for litigation work in Dallas and expects more growth for the team this year.
“Texas is one of the fastest-growing legal markets in the country and represents a significant opportunity. Grant and Andrew are leading trial lawyers with national practices and deep roots in the region, and their addition further strengthens our best-in-class litigation capabilities and positions us for continued growth,” Firm Chairman Matthew Feldman said in a news release.