COVID-19 adds to turmoil in legal industry
The Houston corporate law market has experienced turmoil over the past decade and many in the legal industry expect more upheaval due to the COVID-19 crisis and low oil and gas prices.
For generations, three large corporate law firms — Baker Botts, Fulbright & Jaworski and Vinson & Elkins — dominated Houston. A handful of other big legal practices — including Bracewell and Andrews Kurth — were not far behind.
But starting in 2010, huge national law firms, such as Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley and Winston & Strawn, opened offices in Houston by stealing partners from the Texas firms. As a result, the corporate legal market in Houston and statewide changed dramatically. Most corporate law firms in Texas witnessed record income and profits in 2019, according to a survey by the Texas Lawbook, which covers the state’s legal industry. But fallout from low energy prices and the pandemic are cutting revenues at many large law firms.
Some firms have slashed salaries and instituted hiring freezes. But others, such as Kirkland, Sidley and Jackson Walker, are profiting by representing companies filing for bankruptcy.
Vinson & Elkins remains the largest law firm in Houston by both the number of lawyers and revenues because of its deep ties to the oil and gas industry. V&E has 127 more attorneys than Baker Botts, which ranks second in lawyer count. Baker Botts has focused in recent years on expanding outside of Texas.
In 2012, Fulbright merged with a global law firm Norton Rose to create Norton Rose Fulbright, which has more than 3,600 attorneys in 54 offices worldwide and ranks third among the largest firms in Houston.
Kirkland & Ellis is among the growing number of elite national law firms shaking up the local legal industry. Kirkland & Ellis, which didn’t even have a Texas office six years ago, now has 177 lawyers in Houston and ranks fourth on the list of top law firms.
Bracewell is a 75-yearold Houston firm that ranks fifth in lawyer count. It also has deep ties to the energy industry.
In 2018, the Houston firm Andrews Kurth merged with the Virginia firm Hunton & Williams. The combined firm, Hunton Andrews Kurth, ranks No. 6 on the list of largest law firms with 133 lawyers.