Eversheds Poaches Three BakerHostetler Partners in Houston

Eversheds Sutherland hired three partners from BakerHostetler to expand its litigation and corporate practices in Houston, including new co-office managing partner Eric Kristiansen, the firm announced Monday.

Kristiansen worked as a litigator at BakerHostetler for more than 25 years before moving to Eversheds as a Texas strategic growth partner. Ryan Pittman, a trial lawyer who represents energy and construction companies, will join the transatlantic firm’s litigation group, while M&A dealmaker Cleve Glenn will join its corporate team.

“Houston, and Texas more broadly, are critical markets for our clients,” Lino Mendiola, global co-CEO and US chief executive of Eversheds, said in the announcement. The trio’s arrival to the firm “reflects a deliberate investment in top-tier growth, notably in energy and industrials,” Washington-based Mendiola said, representing “another big step forward” to growing in Texas.

Global firms continue to swell in the US energy capital to better compete in the active Texas legal market. In February, Sullivan & Cromwell opened a Houston office with a junior partner from Kirkland & Ellis. Another top New York firm, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, announced the same month it nabbed a Kirkland partner to launch its own Houston office.

Eversheds on March 19 said it poached Phyllis Young from McGuireWoods LLP as a partner in its finance practice in Houston. With the new hires, the firm has roughly 20 attorneys in Houston, according to its website.

“Houston is one of the most active litigation markets in the country,” Kristiansen and Pittman said in the statement. Glenn added that “the firm’s integrated platform supports Texas‑based and Texas‑connected clients across their transactional, governance, and broader strategic needs.”

The 2017 merger between London-based Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan of Atlanta created Eversheds Sutherland. The combined firm focuses on tax, litigation, financial services, insurance, energy, corporate, and real estate. However, both firms preserved their independent pay and promotion systems.

Eversheds Sutherland US reported a gross revenue of $503 million for 2025, a 9.2% increase from 2024. The firm, which is expected to release its 2025 international figures later this year, said its US revenue has grown by 39% since 2020. It counted 10 US offices with 430 lawyers last year.