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Texas In Brief
Texas In Brief
Texas identifies 578 of the state’s finest practitioners in 24 practice areas. Although a proportion of these are based in the large metropolitan areas of Dallas, Houston and Austin, the publication also recognises the important role a number of other cities play in the state’s vibrant business and legal market. The US Census Bureau estimated that the population of Texas had reached 23,507,783 in July 2006, ranking it second behind California, and with a total area of 268,581 square miles Texas is the second largest state after Alaska.The Lone Star State’s geographical centrality between the East and West coasts makes it an attractive place to do business and Fortune Magazine’s 2007 ranking of the United States’ largest corporations by revenue reveals that 56 of the Fortune 500 are headquartered in the state, just one short of New York’s total.
Aviation, aerospace and manufacturing all loom large while the state also boasts a rich array of hi-tech companies – the Austin suburb of Round Rock is home to Dell and many computing and semiconductor companies have operations in the surrounding area, known as the ‘Silicon Hills’. Health care is another prominent sector in the state, driven in part by the prominence of Houston’s Texas Medical Center, the largest medical district in the world with 45 medical institutions, 13 of which are hospitals and two of which are specialised patient facilities. As one would expect, however, the greatest focus is on the energy sector as well as oil and gas equipment and services. According to the Energy Information Administration, a statistical agency of the US Department of Energy, Texas leads the US in fossil fuel reserves, boasting almost one quarter of the crude oil and three-tenths of the natural gas reserves of the US. The state’s refineries can process more than 4.6 million barrels of crude a day and companies such as Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Valero Energy, Marathon Oil, Halliburton and Plains All American Pipeline are all headquartered in the state.
These industries, and the companies associated with them, consequently provide a great deal of work for the firms and individuals featured on the following pages. Our research identifies a wide array of legal talent within the state, with boutique and specialist outfits rubbing shoulders with some of the legal profession’s most recognised firms. The publication also features some of the industry’s most respected practitioners in over twenty practice areas. Using each chapter as a lens, we are able to highlight certain firms that stand out from the pack based on the number of partners we identify.
Editorial
Editorial: Texas
Editorial: Arbitration in Texas
Commercial arbitration is now established as a popular mechanism for dispute resolution in the United States, across a range of industries. This chapter identifies 21 individuals who are leaders in arbitral practice, whether as neutral, panellist or counsel, and who have experience of both domestic and international disputes.
Editorial: Aviation in Texas
According to Fortune magazine’s 2007 ranking of America’s largest corporations by revenue, four of the country’s largest companies within the aviation industry are headquartered in Texas – AMR, Continental Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Express Jet Holdings. Geneva based Airports Council International, a trade group for the world’s commercial aviation industry, lists Dallas Fort Worth International Airport as the sixth busiest airport in the world with Houston coming in at No. 18. This, coupled with strong industry links to Texas, ensures that a number of the practice area’s leading lights practice in the state. Nineteen of these are included in this chapter, the majority of whom specialise in litigation and contentious liability matters arising out of major accidents.
Editorial: Banking in Texas
Our research identifies a raft of talented banking lawyers, many of whom are associated with Texas’s historic and thriving oil and gas industry. Respondents often recommended Vinson & Elkins LLP as an “excellent banking practice”.
Editorial: Business Crime in Texas
Texas’s business crime bar has had a particularly high profile ever since light was thrown upon the goingson at Enron Corp in 2001. The state fields 16 practitioners of the highest reputation in white-collar defence work. An obvious breeding ground for such extraordinary ability is the United States Department of Justice, with many of the individuals below having served as US attorney or assistant attorney before entering private practice. The inclusion of a large number of individuals from specialised firms highlights the presence litigation boutiques carry within the market.
Editorial: Capital Markets in Texas
With an astonishing seven practitioners featuring in this chapter, Baker Botts LLP is “a real powerhouse” for capital markets.
Profiled Firms
Firm Profiles: Texas
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP was founded in Chicago in 1881 and has developed into a truly international firm. Through global expansion (the firm has 15 offices worldwide, in major cities including London, Frankfurt, Paris, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC and Hong Kong) and strategic alliances (Tonucci & Partners in Italy and Ramón & Cajal in Spain) the firm provides a global platform for its clients. It also boasts approximately 1,500 lawyers on its payroll. The firm opened its Houston office over 25 years ago and 10 practitioners appear on the following pages, featuring in six separate chapters.
Thompson & Knight LLP
Thompson & Knight LLP was founded in Dallas in 1887 and has been an integral part of the Texan legal landscape ever since. As the state developed into a burgeoning business centre so the firm adapted to the increasing complexity of its client's needs, expanding the range of industries and practice areas covered by its lawyers. The firm now has 12 offices in six separate countries and can boast over 400 lawyers offering a wide range of legal services to a diverse client base. Eighteen of these feature in 11 chapters in this book.
Vinson & Elkins LLP
Vinson & Elkins LLP celebrates its 90th anniversary this year and in that time has grown from a two-man partnership to a firm with over 700 lawyers in 12 offices. Vinson & Elkins remains a trusted adviser to some of the world's leading corporations such as Huntsman Corporation, AT&T, Waste Management, Shell Oil, Halliburton and Deloitte & Touche. V&E's 62 nominees on the following pages give it a greater presence than any other firm. That these are distributed between 18 of the 24 featured practice areas only serves to highlight both the strength and depth on offer to clients of the firm.
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP
Weil Gotshal & Manges houses over 1,100 lawyers in offices across the US, Europe and Asia. Nationwide strength is amply illustrated by the New York firm's Texas capability, which spans Houston, Dallas and Austin and generated enthusiastic responses during our research. The firm fields 15 lawyers across five areas, including banking, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions - proving one respondent's claim that the firm is "a real powerhouse, especially on the corporate side".
Winstead PC
Founded in 1973, Winstead PC has grown into one of the largest commercial firms in south-west United States, with six offices in Texas and another in Washington, DC. The firm earns 10 nominees across six practice areas, and its local profile has been bolstered by recent lateral hires.
Focus On Corporate Counsel
Corporate Counsel Q&A: Texas
Texas Corporate Counsel: Michael Nichols
Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Sysco Corporation
Sysco is based in Houston and provides food and related products and services to approximately 390,000 restaurants, health care and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers. Sysco’s operations, supported by 47,500 associates, are located throughout the United States and Canada and include broadline companies, specialty produce and custom-cut meat operations, Asian cuisine foodservice distributors, hotel supply operations, and chain restaurant distribution subsidiaries that serve both domestic and international locations.