Firm Profiles

Founded in 1964 in Dallas, Haynes and Boone would eventually operate six offices within Texas—and set its sights far wider. Recent years have seen it plant stakes in Mexico City (a base for its growing Latin America practice), Moscow, and New York, the last a particular focal point for the firm’s growth. Indeed, to expand that office’s finance, bankruptcy and restructuring, real estate, intellectual property, and litigation capabilities, Haynes and Boone has been adding lateral attorneys there at a rapid pace, including 20 in 2010 alone.

Overall Haynes and Boone counts some 500 lawyers spread among 12 offices, and other key practice areas include energy, antitrust, and mergers and acquisitions. Haynes and Boone managed to grow its head count during the recession, though gross revenue suffered a slight drop—just over 3 percent—in 2010 (after growing steadily through the earlier part of the downturn). Traditionally, Haynes and Boone’s revenue per lawyer has ranked well among the Second Hundred firms (in recent years it has been in the neighborhood of $600,000).

Surprisingly, perhaps—given its relatively modest rankings on economic metrics—Haynes and Boone scores rather well on some nonfinancial measures. It placed well in the top half of firms—fifty–sixth of 194—on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard (notably, more than 10 percent of the U.S. partnership is comprised of minorities—higher than many of Haynes and Boone’s peers). Associate satisfaction earns fairly good marks as well: The firm placed forty–seventh of 126 firms on our 2011 midlevels survey, and fifty–fourth of 137 firms in 2010. Keeping attorneys happy while keeping the firm growing: That’s a feat a lot of firms bigger than Haynes and Boone have yet to accomplish.

—Updated as of 1/1/12