Akin Gump Partners Discuss Growth of Houston Office and Legal Industry for Texas Lawbook

“Akin Gump’s Houston Office Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary,” an article published by The Texas Lawbook, features insights and reminiscences from five Akin Gump partners regarding the growth of the Houston office as well as its legal industry since the founding of the office in 1988.

In their discussion, senior executive partner Alan Feld, Houston partner in charge Christine “Chris” LaFollette, Houston founding partner and international managing partner Rick Burdick, partner Jim Langdon and partner emeritus and former Houston partner in charge Mike Swan covered a wide range of topics, including:

• Why Akin Gump entered the Houston legal market: “At the time, the firm had a very significant Washington office with an array of regulatory practices, with a presence in the energy industry. That said, we lacked one thing that you needed to become a real player: a Houston office. The firm came to the realization that in order to continue to build their energy practice, they needed a Houston office. After all, Houston is the world’s energy capital.” (R. Burdick)
• The opening in Houston’s legal market: “When fracking came in, all kinds of things occurred that were bullish for the industry and from a lawyer’s point of view. Every day, it seemed that a new firm from Chicago or New York or Los Angeles was opening up in Houston.” (M. Swan)
• The energy market’s changing legal needs: “If one looks at the oil and gas activity ongoing today in the Permian, this would have been a boom time in years past. Today, the legal work has moved from the fundamentals of the lease and title work to the complex financial structuring that allows the extremely large capital requirements to be met by the smaller companies participating in the exploration and development in the area. Still a great deal of work for lawyers, just a different expertise required.” (J. Langdon)
• The Houston legal market explosion: “I think a lot of the firms from outside of Houston saw an opportunity—at least they thought they did—to get a couple of partners from one of the established firms, a couple of associates and then set up shop. In my opinion, having practiced law now for a long time, I think that is a dangerous game.” (A. Feld)
• Houston’s resilience: “Even with things like Enron’s collapse, the Deepwater Horizon spill and Hurricane Harvey, it’s a city that has always rebounded quickly and keeps moving forward. That’s the Houston spirit.” (C. LaFollette)

To read the full article, please click here.