If It’s Wednesday, Susman Godfrey Is Placing Bets on Lawsuits

At noon on Wednesdays, lawyers filter into a Houston conference room for one of the more dramatic regular meetings inside an American law firm.

One at a time, Susman Godfrey partners pitch colleagues on the next big lawsuit the firm should invest in. The colleagues poke holes. They probe the legal theory, question damages, ponder the jurisdiction. Then up to 150 lawyers, including those on Zoom, vote on whether to take the case.

“I wouldn’t call it a murder board,” Vineet Bhatia, one of the firm’s two managing partners, said of the weekly meeting in an interview. “It’s not a ...