Fulbright & Jaworski LLP

01 May 2007

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP in Who's Who Legal: Texas

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP is an international law firm with an enviable position in its home market. Founded in 1919 in Houston, the firm now has a presence in four cities within Texas: Houston, of course, and Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. Recent expansion has seen offices open in Beijing, St Louis, Riyadh, Dubai and Munich. The firm now houses approximately 1,000 lawyers in 16 locations across the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The four Texas offices field an enviable 47 entries in 19 of our chapters – an array unmatched by any other firm in the research, demonstrating the strength in depth that clients can expect from one of Texas’s premier law firms.

Oil & gas is another area in which Fulbright has a “solid and well- deserved reputation”, based on over 70 years’ experience. The firm fields four people in our chapter, all from energy-oriented Houston. These individuals are prominent on both a national and international scale, working on transactions, litigation, regulation and dispute resolution within the energy arena.

George Kutzschbach was praised for his “excellent reputation in Africa and the Middle East”. Brian Bradshaw was rated as “quite exceptional” by one prominent source and John Bowman was praised as “one of the most highly regarded energy disputes lawyers around”, having worked in regions such as North and West Africa, the former Soviet Union and Latin America. “There’s no one better” than Bowman for energy and petrochemical disputes according to our sources. He is also included in the Arbitration chapter of the publication.

Fulbright is also particularly strong for dispute resolution, with several nominees in the Arbitration and Commercial Litigation chapters. Mark Baker joins Bowman in Arbitration. Described by one source as “very active, highly capable and extremely experienced”, Baker is a co-head of the firm’s international department and also co-head of the arbitration and ADR practice group. There are three Fulbright nominees in the commercial litigation chapter. Linda Addison was described as “one of the jewels in the firm’s crown” and can count Mars and General Electric among her clients. We also recognise “seasoned commercial litigator” Frank Jones as “a cut above”, and Dudley Oldham, whose practice focuses on complex litigation in the areas of energy, patent infringement and trade secret litigation.

Product liability defence is also a strong suit for the firm, with three nominees in this chapter. Otway Denny has tried product liability cases from chemicals and automobiles to construction equipment. Terry Tottenham is partner in charge of the Austin office and is well known for his expertise representing pharmaceuticals and medical device companies. The “well respected” Lana Varney joins Tottenham and Denny on this list.

The firm also boasts three nominees in the Competition chapter. Layne Kruse co-chairs the firm’s nationwide antitrust, marketing and trade regulation group. She is said to be particularly adept at handling class actions and has represented clients from industries such as oil and gas, health care, insurance and publishing. Richard Carrell is “well respected” and a former chair of the antitrust and trade regulation section for the State Bar of Texas. Carrell was praised as a “good strong lawyer” and is joined by “premier litigator” William Pakalka.

The Austin office is home to over 85 lawyers. The firm’s national trademarks practice group is based in the state capital and all bar one of the practitioners featured in the IP chapters hail from this office. In the past year the firm has filed over 2,808 trademark applications worldwide and counts 3M and Shell Oil among its clients. The firm provides five nominees for the Trademarks chapter, a showing unmatched by any other outfit. Shannon Timothy Vale, was praised as “a safe pair of hands when it comes to obtaining and maintaining trademarks”. He is joined in the chapter by Richard Groos, a “real all-rounder” with “a flair for creative problem-solving”, and Michael Metteauer, who has an “enviable reputation” for trademark clearance, prosecution and licensing. Linda Merritt works from Dallas and is a “very big name in the area”.

The firm has also filed over 4,107 patent applications worldwide in the past year and in the Patents chapter the Austin office also boasts the “excellent” Christopher Benson and David Parker. Benson joined the firm from Arnold White & Durkee. Parker is “known for his strong reputation in the biotech arena” and is head of the Austin intellectual property and technology section of the firm, and the Austin leader of the biotech patent group.Fulbright dominates the research in the insolvency & restructuring chapter, in which five of its practitioners are included – more than any other firm, and Fulbright’s largest showing in this publication. Having worked on the Enron, WorldCom and Mirant cases, it is obvious that the individuals selected for inclusion are “big players” in the market. Fulbright also tops the table in Aviation, with more practitioners listed in this chapter than any other firm. Winn Carter is their top ranking practitioner and leads the “very capable group”.

The firm can also lay claim to a “cohesive and highly skilled team” in the labour & employment chapter. The group is lead in the voting by Brian Greig. He was deemed by one source as “first-rate – the best, no question”. The “well respected” Philip Pfeiffer completes the firm’s excellent performance in the chapter. For the employee benefits chapter, sources also spoke very highly of partner Mark Miller; “he is excellent, I would recommend him to anyone” said one source. Stephanie Schroepfer “comes with the highest recommendation” and is known for her work on the employee benefits aspects of numerous asset and stock sale transactions, and IPOs in a range of industries.

The firm also boasts a number of individuals who appear in multiple chapters. Charles Still features in the upper reaches of the research for both the M&A and corporate governance sections and is “a very solid pair of hands”. Fulbright fields “some major players” in its real estate team, and John Hollyfield and Robert Converse came highly recommended in the research. Hollyfield’s practice includes lending, leasing, development, construction, sale and purchase of land, and he also teaches courses on real estate finance and commercial leasing all over the country. Converse is the “resourceful and experienced” head of real estate at the firm’s Austin office and advises national and international businesses and developers on complex issues such as land use regulation and construction contract negotiation.

Attorneys from the firm also feature in the Banking, Corporate Tax, Environment, and Insurance & Reinsurance chapters of this publication and round off an impressive showing from one of Texas’s most respected firms.

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