Haynes and Boone managing partner Timothy Powers has spent the last year implementing the firm's new strategic plan, adding 40-plus laterals, investing in technology and more—momentum Powers' incoming successor, Taylor Wilson, should be able to easily continue come January given both lawyers helped develop and write the plan.

The Dallas-based firm announced on Monday that Wilson, a co-chair of the firm's investment management practice, has been selected as the firm's new managing partner, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

He will succeed Powers, who will step down because he turns 65 this year. Wilson will become only the fourth managing partner in the firm's 50-year history.

Wilson, who has practiced at Haynes and Boone for his entire 30-year legal career, has served in a number of leadership roles at the firm, including the board of directors, executive committee, chairman of the partner compensation committee, hiring partner and founding chair of the  alumni committee. He also played a key role in creating the Dallas-based firm's 2025 Plan.

Wilson said in an interview Monday that Haynes and Boone's management team will stay focused on meeting the near-term and long-term strategic goals.

"In 2021, I will have many priorities," Wilson said. "One of those that is front and center is advancing our diversity and inclusion initiatives, managing our teamwork culture … and helping our firm continue to grow," he said, noting that despite the pandemic, the firm has brought on about 40 lateral hires since the beginning of 2020.

In an earlier interview, Powers said the firm spent a considerable amount of time in 2019 implementing the 2025 Plan by investing significantly in technology, launching wellness programs—the firm signed the American Bar Association's Well-Being Pledge—enhancing its alumni program, and continuing to focus on diversity and inclusion.

He said the heavy investment in technology, which put equipment into attorneys' homes that allows them to easily work remotely, turned out to be very useful as the pandemic struck and stay-home orders led to remote work.

"It's certainly done a couple of things for us from the validation perspective—it's proved we can work remotely [and] it's enhanced our cross-office work," he said.

Financially, Powers said, the firm is weathering the COVID-19 crisis. Wilson said the firm has avoided pay cuts, layoffs or furloughs. The firm did offer voluntary early retirement to some staff, he said, but that was already part of the firm's strategic plan to look closely at staffing.

"We finally got to the point where we had the consensus with the partners. They were seeing with remote work, they found they didn't need the level of support," Powers said.

Based in Dallas, Wilson also spends considerable time in the firm's New York and London offices.

Powers said Wilson is a proven leader. "He embodies our client-first culture and is the perfect person to help ensure that we continue to develop new and improved ways to deliver value to our clients," Powers wrote in a press release.

The incoming managing partner wrote in the release that Powers is a role model for how a managing partner can work collaboratively with lawyers and clients to meet the firm's vision that "values teamwork and client service above individual acclaim."

Due to the firm's partnership age restrictions, Powers will step down as managing partner at the end of the year, but will remain active in firm affairs and his practice for a transitional amount of time. He said on Monday he expects to stay at the firm for at least a year after Wilson becomes managing partner.

Haynes and Boone posted relatively flat financials in 2019 compared with 2018, with gross revenue hitting $404.3 million, and revenue per lawyer at $777,000. But that is in comparison with a milestone 2018.