Paul Weiss Houston Launch Stalled as Top Rival Partners Stay Put

Paul Weiss has been stymied in its effort to open a Houston office, as top equity partners at rival firms spurned recruitment efforts.

Partners at firms including Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Sidley Austin and Baker Botts ended talks about joining the office, five people familiar with the matter said. Some turned down guarantees of $10 million to $15 million for multiple years.

The partners were comfortable at their current firms, which have established presences in the Houston market, said three of the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the private talks.

Paul Weiss partner Scott Barshay has led the push to open an office in Houston, as the firm seeks to cement its place in an increasingly important and competitive region for Big Law given the proximity of major oil and gas companies and private equity firms.

Barshay and Paul Weiss did not respond to requests for comment.

While Paul Weiss’ initial efforts have sputtered, the firm isn’t likely giving up on trying to open an office in Houston, the five people said. Bloomberg Law first reported on Paul Weiss’ effort to open an office in the city Dec. 15.

The firm pulled in $2 billion in revenue in 2023 and its average equity partner earned $6.5 million. That’s the fifth most of any law firm, according to data from the American Lawyer.

Popular Houston

Three-fourths of the 21 largest law firms have Houston offices. Twenty years ago, only a third of the 15 largest did.

Firms that opened offices made splashy entrances by signing partners from multiple competitors—a tactic engineered in 2010 by Latham, the first national firm credited with cracking the once-insular market. Latham hired partners from Vinson & Elkins, Baker Botts and Akin Gump.

Paul Weiss, while lacking a Houston office, has engineered a significant expansion of its lateral hiring strategy in recent months. It added 140 lawyers, 21 of them partners, to its London office, including top lawyers from Kirkland, the world’s largest law firm by revenue.

Paul Weiss has reportedly adjusted its compensation system to accommodate high-priced new hires, including moving to a black-box compensation model where partners don’t know what their peers earn.

In its push to open in Houston, Paul Weiss held discussions with Justin Stolte at Latham and Sean Wheeler at Kirkland, according to two of the people. Both Stolte and Wheeler, whom Paul Weiss courted to lead the new office, remain at their firms.

Stolte is global chair of Latham’s energy and infrastructure group, where he handles transactions with an emphasis on M&A and joint ventures for large energy clients and private equity firms.

Wheeler is a prominent M&A partner at Kirkland who handles deals in the energy, infrastructure, healthcare, technology, real estate and travel industries. He joined Kirkland in 2018 from Latham.

Stolte declined to comment, while Wheeler did not respond to a request for comment.

Paul Weiss also approached Jason Bennett, a longtime partner at Baker Botts who is department chair for the firm’s global projects practice and co-head of its firm-wide energy sector, according to two of the people. Bennett declined to comment.

Paul Weiss also discussed a move with two partners at Sidley Austin, according to three of the people.