Winston & Strawn Adds Capital Markets Duo to Houston Office

Winston & Strawn has hired two former Thompson & Knight partners for its capital markets practice in Houston as the firm positions itself to capture more corporate matters in a fast-changing Texas market.

Douglas Lionberger and James Brown handle an array of corporate work, from M&A and private equity transactions, to securities and special purpose acquisition companies.

Winston opened its office in Houston in 2011, one of a slew of Big Law firms founded outside Texas that have arrived in the last decade to challenge homegrown firms for business. The market for law firms in Texas has recently evolved as companies migrate to the state, and growth in green energy provides new clients and work.

“More and more companies in the energy sector are looking for a path to transition their business model towards more renewable forms of production,” said Douglas Atnipp, managing partner of Winston’s Houston office, in a statement. “Making this transition requires a great deal of capital, and James’ and Doug’s considerable experience at the intersection of corporate transactions and the energy sector will be a great asset to our clients as they navigate this process.”

Lionberger and Brown were both formerly at Vinson & Elkins, and joined Thompson & Knight last year. That firm recently announced it’s in talks to merge with Holland & Knight, though the attorneys said their departure is unrelated to the potential tie-up.

“When Winston reached out, I already had a favorable disposition,” said Brown, citing the firm’s reputation and his interactions with its lawyers. “I’d noticed the way Winston has been able to grow its Houston office, particularly in capital markets, over the past couple of years, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Winston & Strawn recently has added several Houston lawyers, including Michael Blankenship and J. Eric Johnson, former co-chairs of Locke Lord’s global capital markets practice, in early 2020.

Lionberger and Brown both work with energy-focused clients as well as those in infrastructure and other areas. They said joining Winston will give them access to clients across a wide breadth of industries and allow them to do more work on the underwriter side of capital markets transactions.

Lionberger also cited the firm’s work around one of the biggest capital markets trends over the past year, special purpose acquisition companies.

“Obviously they are pretty prolific in the SPAC space, which is really hot right now,” he said.

Winston & Strawn reported $981.2 million in gross revenue in 2020 and profits per equity partner of $2.42 million, according to Am Law figures, .

Over the years, the firm has added more lawyers on the corporate side, balancing out a historically heavy focus on litigation. The firm’s most recent corporate adds have included Rachel Gray in New York, Andrew Hutchinson in Chicago, Kathleen Blaszak in Washington, and Stephen Kong in Los Angeles.

Tom Fitzgerald, chair of the firm, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg Law that capital markets, along with private equity, finance, and M&A, has been a key part of Winston’s long term expansion plan.

“In fact, I would not be surprised if for the remainder of this year corporate continues to grow at a little bit of a faster rate than litigation,” he said.

Texas has already emerged as a focal point for Big Law hiring that’s unlikely to slow down soon, as companies seeking lower taxes and expenses, particularly in technology, flock to the state. Lionberger said he’s optimistic about the new opportunities, noting it’s a “fun time to be a lawyer in Texas.”

“It’s not that we don’t love doing oil and gas deals, which we do,” said Brown. “It’s just nice to have an economy that’s not solely tied to the next oil and gas cycle, and I think that’ll be a positive change over the next several years and decades.”