The international law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe today announced the opening of its Houston, Texas, office. Orrick’s Houston office, which will be the firm’s 25th office worldwide, will have a founding team of approximately 20 partners. The office will focus on serving the energy & infrastructure, technology and finance sectors – the sectors in which Orrick is a leading global advisor. The firm’s new partners will be Texas lawyers who have been practicing in the Houston offices of leading global, national and state firms.
“As a global law firm focused on the energy & infrastructure, technology and finance sectors, we believe Houston is a critically important market for our clients and our firm. Houston is a world energy capital, a hub for international business and a center for innovation,” said Orrick Chairman & CEO Mitch Zuklie. “We are excited to enter this market with a team of leading practitioners who share our commitment to providing the highest quality legal service and commercial advice and to a firm culture that inspires the best talent.”
Orrick’s Houston office founders will focus on:
- Energy & Infrastructure: Expanding Orrick’s market-leading team in the United States and worldwide into Texas. In 2015, Law360 named Orrick Project Finance Group of the Year for the third time. The firm is Chambers-rated in 20 different categories of Energy & Infrastructure globally, and has completed projects in 95 countries and 49 US states.
- Electric Power: Adding further industry expertise to Orrick's global platform, the new team in Houston regularly advises market-leading clients on the development, construction and financing of electric power projects, and in transactions involving the buying and selling of power plants and structuring complex equity and debt investments in that asset class.
- Renewable Energy: The Houston team will join Orrick's top tier practice in the renewable energy sector, providing additional depth and breadth for clients engaging in the development, financing, acquisition and disposition of renewable energy assets and projects at a time at which the sector is poised for substantial growth in the US and Latin America.
- Oil & Gas: Providing the cornerstone for Orrick's worldwide oil and gas practice, Houston will serve a broad range of clients – ranging from private equity funds and independents to master limited partnerships and multinational corporations – across the upstream, midstream and downstream market segments.
- Latin America: Providing world-class M&A, private equity, corporate finance and project development and finance capabilities and local market insight, and complementing Orrick’s global coverage.
- Litigation and IP: Adding proven first-chair trial lawyers to Orrick’s highly acclaimed litigation and IP litigation teams, which were recognized earlier this month by The American Lawyer as IP Litigation Department of the Year and as a finalist for overall Litigation Department of the Year.
- Public Finance: Deepening Orrick’s bench and adding Texas-based practitioners to the firm’s nationally dominant team – a team that has consistently ranked as the number one bond counsel in the United States for most of the past two decades.
In the coming weeks, Orrick will announce teams of founding partners who focus in each of these areas.
About Orrick
Orrick is an AmLaw 50 firm focused on serving the energy & infrastructure, technology and finance sectors. The firm’s practice is evenly balanced between transactional work and litigation and IP advice. Founded more than 150 years ago in San Francisco, the firm today has offices in major markets worldwide. Approximately a quarter of Orrick’s practice is outside the United States led from offices in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, China and Japan. In-house counsel elected the firm to BTI’s 2016 Client Service A-Team for the second year in a row. The firm ranks in the top 10 on The American Lawyer’s 2015 A-List, reflecting its leadership in client service, associate satisfaction, diversity and pro bono legal service. Financial Times has selected Orrick as one of the most innovative firms in North America in each of the past five years, and the firm is rated across 45 practice areas by Chambers Global 2015.
- Energy & Infrastructure: Orrick is a leading advisor to the energy & infrastructure sector globally. In 2015, Law360 named Orrick Project Finance firm of the year for the third time. The firm is Chambers-rated in 20 different categories of Energy & Infrastructure globally. Last year, the firm added a highly regarded London Energy team from Hogan Lovells.
- Tech: Orrick acts for more than 1,600 emerging tech companies as well as more than half of the Fortune 20 TMT companies. The firm advises 20% of the unicorns in today’s market, including some of the most disruptive businesses. In 2015, Orrick completed more than 300 venture financings raising $6.4 billion in total. Law360 named Orrick 2015 Tech Group of the Year for the second year in a row.
- Finance: Orrick has been a pioneer in the US public finance markets for more than a century, and has been consistently ranked as the number one bond counsel firm in the United States for most of the past two decades. Orrick’s public finance lawyers have served as bond counsel on more than 8,000 transactions aggregating more than $650 billion with a market share of nearly 10% during this period. In addition, Orrick serves as disclosure counsel, underwriter’s counsel, borrower’s counsel, investor counsel and other roles. The firm also has leading practices globally in structured finance, real estate and other finance disciplines. Law360 selected the firm as Restructuring Group of the Year for 2014.
- Litigation and Intellectual Property: More than a third of the Fortune 100 calls on Orrick’s teams for representation in high-stakes trials, appeals, arbitrations and investigations. The American Lawyer named Orrick as 2016 IP Litigation Department of the Year and a finalist for Litigation Department of the Year. The firm is also among the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2016 Litigation Power Rankings. In 2015, Law360 selected the firm as one of four IP MVPs based on its winning record over the past five years and as Employment Group of the Year for the third time.