Baker McKenzie has poached a team of five energy litigators from Eversheds Sutherland as partners in Houston, including the global, U.K.-founded firm’s top U.S. energy partner.
The five partners include David Baay, who was head of Eversheds’ U.S. energy practice and the partner in-charge of its Houston office, Jack Massey, Kelsey Machado, Ian Shelton and Matthew Rawlinson.
“Energy companies and other multinationals are facing more litigation risk and exposure than ever before, in addition to increased regulatory scrutiny,” said Widge Devaney, Chair of Baker McKenzie’s North America Litigation and Government Enforcement Practice in a statement.
The new group of partners joins Baker McKenzie’s downtown Houston office in the Bank of America Tower, where it relocated last year and signed a 16.5 year lease. The Chicago-founded firm has more than 6,500 lawyers across more than 70 global offices.
The firm’s Houston expansion comes amid a push by the legal industry to allocate more resources toward the lucrative energy market, which outperformed deals compared to other sectors in 2023.
In January, Steptoe opened a Houston office with more than 40 lawyers and business staff from Smyser, Kaplan & Veselka. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has been in discussions to open an office in Houston, its first in Texas.
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