Lawyer Pay

Energy Lawyers Lured by High Pay in Houston’s Booming Legal Market

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In the last two years, several national law firms have opened in Houston and lured lawyers from firms already established in the city.

The competition has created a “buyer’s market” for lawyers, particularly energy lawyers, the National Law Journal reports. ABAJournal.com noted last April that energy lawyers in Houston are in big demand and short supply.

Some leaping lawyers are getting three-year salary guarantees and promises of $1 million a year in exchange for achieving business expectations, the NLJ story says.

Peggy Heeg, a Houston partner at Fulbright & Jaworski, told the NLJ that the firm’s lawyers get calls from recruiters on a daily basis. “Law firms want to come here because we have a strong energy base plus the city is doing pretty well economically, and Houston is the gateway to the world’s energy market,” she said.

Law firms that have opened in Houston in the last three years include McDermott, Will & Emery; DLA Piper; Hunton & Williams; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; Sutherland Asbill & Brennan; and Greenberg Traurig. Several legal recruiting firms have done the same.

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