Baker Botts Lawyers Vie for Firm’s Top Role Amid Merger Talks

Five Baker Botts partners are competing to become the Texas-founded law firm’s new leader as its partners explore a possible merger.

Litigator Danny David, energy lawyer Jason Bennett, and dealmaker Samantha Hale Crispin have thrown their hats in the ring as the firm sets to elect a new managing partner, according to three sources familiar with the situation. Trial lawyers Roger Fulghum and Kevin Sadler also are said by two sources to be seeking the role.

They’re vying to replace John Martin, who has led Baker Botts for more than four years. The Baker Botts veteran—who spearheaded its California expansion—is stepping down after reaching the firm’s mandatory retirement age of 65.

The lawyers recently pitched the firm’s partners, with most pledging to seek a merger with another firm to obtain scale and ward off poachers, the sources said. The firm has generally discussed combinations over the past two years, but David and other candidates promised to ratchet up those efforts if elected.

Baker Botts saw its headcount decline in recent years, thanks in part to competition from large firms looking to increase their presence in Texas.

The firm declined to comment. The candidates didn’t respond to inquiries via phone and email.

Merger talks among law firms have heated up this year, as economic conditions sour and the world’s largest firms continue to take a larger piece of a shrinking pie. The UK’s Allen & Overy last month announced that it reached a deal to combine with Shearman & Sterling, a New York firm that had previously discussed a possible tie-up with Baker Botts.

Baker Botts reported more than $752 million in gross revenue last year to rank among the country’s 65 largest law firms, according to data compiled by The American Lawyer. The firm’s revenue was up 4% over the year, even as its headcount declined by 7%.

Baker Botts has explored potential mergers, the sources said, in response to the massive growth of some of the world’s largest law firms. Kirkland & Ellis, which has led the charge in growth over the past decade, cracked $6.5 billion in gross revenue last year and $7.5 million in profits per equity partner.

Martin was the first lawyer outside of Texas to lead the firm since it was founded in 1865 in the Lone Star State as Gray and Botts. The Silicon Valley lawyer was tapped for the role after Andrew Baker stepped down following eight years at the helm.

‘Fundamental Change’

The lawyers running to replace Martin formally pitched the firm’s partners last month, submitted memos outlining their credentials and goals and participated in video Q&A sessions, according to the sources.

Voting for new leadership while also exploring merger possibilities can be complicated, said Ralph Baxter, a law firm consultant who previously held the top leadership role at California-founded Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe.

“They’re going to want someone who can be a strong leader in the context of a very fundamental change and integration,” said Baxter. “No one at Baker Botts or any other firm they merge with is going to want to disappear.”

David, who the sources said is favored to win the job, is a Houston trial lawyer who leads the firmwide litigation practice group. He has defended a wide range of energy companies in court over the past two decades, including Sunnova Energy International Inc., a major client for the firm. David has also advised United Airlines, Lyft, Inc., and Landry’s Restaurants, Inc., among others, according to court dockets and his law firm bio.

Bennett has worked in Baker Botts offices around the globe over the past 25 years, including Moscow, London, Washington D.C., Dallas, and now Houston. The Russian-speaking partner is chair of the firm’s global projects practice and co-head of its firmwide energy sector group. He’s a leading adviser on liquefied natural gas projects.

Dallas-based dealmaker Crispin is best known for advising Liberty Media on a growing list of transactions, per the sources and her law firm bio. She leads the firm’s corporate department and has worked on deals for AT&T, Kimberly-Clark, and Accenture, among other clients.

Fulghum focuses on patent and trade secrets cases, representing the likes of Dell Technologies Inc. and AT&T. Sadler, based in Northern California, has represented the receiver for Stanford Financial Group in litigation stemming from founder R. Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

A group of senior partners at the firm will vote in the coming weeks to nominate one candidate for the role, the sources said. The nomination then goes to the full partnership for an up-or-down vote.

A contested election comes with risks, Baxter said. Losing candidates often exit their firms shortly after an election, he said.

“Having candidates vie for the position is not a good idea because it will produce one or more losers,” he said. “When you have an election among worthy candidates for the leader of the firm, almost by definition, these candidates are among your most respected, trusted and valued.”