Two Trial Partners Depart Andrews Kurth for Firms in Houston
Litigator Courtney Ervin moves to Houston trial boutique Hicks Thomas and Michelle Scheffler moves her litigation practice to Haynes and Boone's Houston office.
February 09, 2018 at 05:32 PM
3 minute read
(L-to-R) Michelle Scheffler and Courtney Ervin.
Andrews Kurth Kenyon, which is shedding lawyers in Texas as the firm gets close to a merger with Virginia firm Hunton & Williams, has lost two more lawyers to firms in Houston.
Trial lawyer Courtney Ervin joined commercial litigation firm Hicks Thomas, a firm founded in 1997 by a group of Andrews Kurth lawyers. And litigator Michelle Scheffler moved over to Haynes and Boone. Both started work at their new firms on Feb. 1.
Scheffler isn't the only Andrews Kurth lawyer to move to Haynes and Boone this month. Corporate lawyer Bill McDonald joined Haynes and Boone's Houston office as a partner in the capital markets and securities practice on Feb. 1.
Andrews Kurth declined to comment on the departures.
Ervin said she was attracted to Hicks Thomas because of lawyers like firm co-founder John Thomas, who is “strategically growing his firm to increase his bench and it has a great energy practice and a growing insurance practice.” She also said the move to a boutique will enable her to be more flexible with her rates.
“My decision to leave Andrews Kurth was really a decision to leave Big Law and move to a litigation boutique,” she said. “I have nothing but great things to say about the firm.”
Ervin does commercial litigation, including contract disputes, business torts and insurance coverage work.
Thomas said in a statement that Ervin is an “exceptional advocate and has great instincts.”
Scheffler said she moved to Haynes and Boone because of the firm's impressive strength in oil and gas on both the dispute side and the transactions side. “That's a really good fit for my practice,” she said.
Scheffler does oil and gas litigation and other trial and appellate matters, including contract disputes, property rights and business torts. She said her clients include major integrated oil and gas companies, privately owned independents and private equity companies.
She declined to discuss Andrews Kurth.
Tim Powers, Haynes and Boone managing partner, said in a statement that Scheffler adds to the strength of the firm's litigation and energy practices and will provide value to clients.
Andrews Kurth and Hunton have signed off on a merger agreement, but partners in the firms have not yet voted on the combination. In the meantime, the firm has in recent days lost several groups of lawyers in Texas.
Seven partners in Dallas departed to open a Dallas office for Katten Muchin Rosenman and another three partners left the Dallas office to join DLA Piper's Dallas office. Also, the firm is expected to lose a number of public finance lawyers in Texas to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, and to New York firms Shearman & Sterling and White & Case, which reportedly will open offices in Texas with Andrews Kurth lawyers.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Seyfarth Launches Energy Transactions Practice in Houston With Polsinelli Team
3 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1Decision of the Day: Judge Reduces $287M Jury Verdict Against Harley-Davidson in Wrongful Death Suit
- 2Kirkland to Covington: 2024's International Chart Toppers and Award Winners
- 3Decision of the Day: Judge Denies Summary Judgment Motions in Suit by Runner Injured in Brooklyn Bridge Park
- 4KISS, Profit Motive and Foreign Currency Contracts
- 512 Days of … Web Analytics
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
