Texas

Firm overview

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is a law firm created by the 2018 merger of two preeminent firms— Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth Kenyon—each more than a century old. With nearly 1,000 lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, the firm serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters.

Hunton Andrews Kurth boasts two internationally renowned energy practices—a tier one oil and gas practice, and a tier one power practice. In addition to its deep and diversified corporate and finance practices with robust capabilities in capital markets, private equity and structured finance, the firm has one of the largest full-service litigation practices in the country, with particular depth in the key litigation markets of Texas, California, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic.

Hunton Andrews Kurth brings together multiple widely recognized industry-leading practices, including privacy and cybersecurity, labor and employment, intellectual property, environmental and P3, public finance and infrastructure. Both legacy firms have received recognition and accolades in the league tables and rankings outlets for their work in these, and other, practice areas.

Litigation Overview:

With over 350 attorneys, Hunton Andrews Kurth has one of the top litigation teams in the country, having litigated and/or arbitrated in each of the 50 states and in many foreign countries. Our diverse team has the collective knowledge, skill, and experience necessary to help businesses identify and manage potential risks, respond to existing or threatened litigation, and pursue resolution in any venue. Clients have distinguished us for having the “manpower and experienced attorneys who can handle the most sophisticated and high-end litigation” (Chambers USA, 2018).

Our lawyers regularly handle litigation matters in the energy, financial services, healthcare, construction, aviation, consumer products and retail industries. We pride ourselves on our ability to tailor our strategy to the needs of the client’s specific situation. Our commercial litigation docket regularly includes class action defense, commercial contract disputes, white collar defense matters, administrative matters and investigations, and appeals in state and federal courts.

Our team of litigators draw upon decades of experience to handle all aspects of disputes with the goal of achieving successful results whether in the boardroom or a courtroom. We collaborate with clients to develop strategies that are comprehensive in scope and aligned with their needs. The firm’s representation does not exist in a vacuum, and we approach each matter within the larger context of client businesses.

We serve as national or worldwide coordinating counsel for many of our clients. We are engaged by corporations and other large entities across a broad range of matters – from providing advice and counsel about business disputes and torts to civil litigation, trial and appeal, when necessary. We are often engaged in “bet-the-company” cases, complex commercial disputes, multidistrict litigation and coordinated state law proceedings, as well as class actions. Our lawyers have the experience to handle cases that involve multiple adversaries in federal and state courts across the nation and abroad.


Last updated September 2019

Firm overview

Hicks Thomas LLP is one of Houston’s premier litigation boutiques led by experienced senior trial lawyers whose talents rival those in the litigation departments of any of Houston’s global law firms. Based in Texas, the firm handles client matters across the country. With a commitment to client service, Hicks Thomas offers superior value to clients facing the significant costs and uncertainty inherent in complex litigation.

Here are some things their clients typically say:

• Relentless advocates and fearless in court.
• They are ready for the courtroom and the Board Room.
• They understand our business.
• We get their undivided attention.
• No surprises.

Hicks Thomas lawyers have extensive experience representing clients in and out of the courtroom in a broad range of industries and litigation practice areas. Clients hire the lawyers at Hicks Thomas not only for their broad range of subject matter expertise, but also, and more especially, for their strategic insights in managing disputes from pre litigation advice through trial and appeal. Senior Management hire Hicks Thomas for their track record and dedication to delivering results. In-house litigation managers want to work with Hicks Thomas because they know they will have the benefit of top notch trial lawyers who are collaborative, easy to work with, and understand how to succeed both in court and for the business.

The firm’s lawyers are widely recognized as part of the upper echelon of the trial bar. Several of the firm’s attorneys are Board Certified in specialties such as Civil Trial Law, Civil Appellate Law, and Personal Injury Trial Law. The firm is also consistently recognized as a top law firm by publications such as Chambers USA, U.S. News – Best Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation and the Super Lawyers Guide. Nearly all of the firm’s lawyers are recognized by national peer-review legal guides, including Super Lawyers.

Our track record of success has made us a “go to” firm for clients facing complex litigation challenges. Founded in 1997, Hicks Thomas is entering its third decade of operation and has offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont and Amarillo, Texas, and Sacramento, California.

Firm overview

Gibbs & Bruns LLP is a litigation boutique engaged exclusively in high-stakes business and commercial litigation.  The firm is acclaimed for its high-value and precedent-setting work across the banking, energy, technology, and financial services sectors, among others. Gibbs & Bruns is renowned for its signature lean trial teams and representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in complex matters.  Representation of clients on both sides of the docket gives our trial lawyers unique insights into what motivates opponents in court and during settlement negotiations.

As top-flight as it gets. A boutique staffed with outstanding lawyers.

An excellent high-stakes litigation firm – top-notch across the board.

Chambers USA

Founded by Robin Gibbs, named “Father of the Litigation Boutique in Texas” by The Texas Lawbook, the firm sustains a forward-thinking culture of creativity and a personal approach to managing its client matters.  Reciprocity is at the core of all of the firm’s client engagements. Risk sharing with clients and innovative fee arrangements are a hallmark of Gibbs & Bruns' practice.  The firm’s track record of successes for clients since 1983 attests to the talents, creativity, and dedication of the firm’s trial lawyers.

Named to Forbes “America’s Top Corporate Law Firms 2019”

Named Benchmark Litigation’s “Texas Firm of the Year 2020”

Noted a “go-to firm for high-stakes litigation” by Legal 500, 2019

Recent results demonstrate the significance of our firm’s impact on the nationwide litigation scene:

• $8.5 Billion Countrywide RMBS Precedent–Setting Settlement Obtained for 22 Institutional Investor Clients (2015)
• $7 Billion Allowed Claim - ResCap Bankruptcy Settlement with 17 Institutional Investors (2013)
• $4.5 Billion Settlement with JPMorgan on Behalf of 21 Institutional Investors (2013)
• $2.4 Billion Settlement with Lehman Brothers on Behalf of 14 Institutional Investors (2017)
• $1.7 Billion Net Settlement Package for Huntsman; including $1.1 billion in financing and $632 million in cash, the largest cash settlement payment ever recovered with respect to a busted LBO (2009)
• $1.13 Billion Settlement with Citigroup on Behalf of 18 Institutional Investors (2014)
• $1 Billion in Total Recoveries for Clients, Including $400 Million Settlement with Credit Suisse - National Century Enterprises (NCFE) Securities Litigation (2013)
• Major Defense Win in Multi-Billion Dollar Environmental Trial for Waste Management; settlement was less than one percent of the government’s demand (2014)
• $196 Million Judgment Win for Plaintiff Client D. Bobbitt Noel Jr. against Devon Energy (2011)
• $100 Million Value Arbitration Award for Venoco against Denbury Onshore (2014)
• $56 Million Take-Nothing Success for Natural Resource Partners (2019)
• $37.2 Million Recovery for Client Against the Port of Houston (Verdict 2010, Finalized 2017)
• $35 Million in Settlements for ERG re: Contract Dispute in the Republic of Columbia (2017)
• $5.65 Million in Damages Awarded in Trial Win for U.S. Pipeline (2018, Affirmed by Nebraska Supreme Court 2019)
• $4.58 Million Jury Verdict for Plaintiff Client SourceGas in Dispute against Noble Energy (2011)
• Successful resolution of seven-year dispute for Chevron re the transfer of its responsibility for massive future dismantling and restoration costs of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline; the firm succeeded on each aspect of the legal disputes involved in this matter (2019)

Last updated Aug 2020

Firm overview

Smyser Kaplan & Veselka, LLP (“SKV”) is a diverse and growing litigation boutique based in Houston, Texas, with an office in New Orleans, with nationally-recognized civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense practices. 

With its Houston roots, SKV has tried and won numerous energy cases over the years. But our practice is broader than that. We handle civil matters of all sorts, including intellectual property, healthcare, bankruptcy, and general commercial cases. We also have a flourishing white-collar practice, with a third of our attorneys specializing in the area. 

Our work spans all stages of a case and types of forums. We negotiate favorable resolutions to disputes before they go to court. We go to trial. We arbitrate. We mediate. We handle appeals. And we do so in jurisdictions across the country. 

While building our firm, we’ve stayed true to a single principle: People drive success. That’s why we’ve put together a first-class team. The vast majority of our lawyers began their careers as law clerks, and since then, they’ve seen just about everything. So it’s a rare day when we confront a legal issue for the first time. 

Experience, though, is just one piston in the engine that powers our firm. Another is our junior attorneys’ vigor. We hire promising young lawyers out of clerkships or early in their careers, and we treat them as future partners. That means they take depositions, draft dispositive motions and appellate merits briefs, and present oral arguments. The results speak for themselves: our associates provide terrific outcomes for our clients. 

But all of the individual talent in the world is useless without cohesion. We understand that, too, which is why we’ve fostered a family atmosphere. We’re not only colleagues; we’re friends. 

As SKV has grown, we’ve developed into one of the nation’s premiere litigation boutiques, and our commitment to excellence has not gone unnoticed. In recent years, SKV has been named: 

• The “Best Litigation Firm in Texas” (Benchmark Litigation) 
• One of the “10 Best Litigation Boutiques in the United States” (Benchmark Litigation) 
• The Small Firm Litigation Department of the Year for 2019 (Texas Lawyer) 
• A “Top 150 Under 150” firm for 2019 (Vault) 

SKV has also topped Vault’s national rankings for midsize firms, placing #1 for quality of work for associates, #2 for hours, #2 for culture, #4 for compensation, and #5 for career outlook. 

Racking up awards has never been our goal, but we appreciate the high praise. What matters most is delivering exceptional results for our clients while maintaining the family-like culture that brought us together in the first place. And as these decorations suggest, over the past 25 years we’ve done just that.

Last updated Aug 2020