Inadmissible

In legal circles, Steve Susman — who founded Houston’s Susman Godfrey and pioneered contingent-fee, plaintiffs-side work for corporate clients — has a well-recognized name. But in the wider world, he may be confused with the Steve Susman vying to represent the 22nd Congressional District, which includes Houston. That Susman identifies himself in an interview as a Libertarian Party candidate and as affiliated with the Liberty-Candidates organization. A caption for a video posted on his campaign website describes him as speaking “about the evils of the FED, IRS, and all of the useless extortionists that steal ruthlessly from ALL AMERICANS.” Susman the candidate jokingly describes Susman the lawyer as “my doppelgänger.” He says when his father ran a Google Internet search for his name, he discovered Susman the lawyer. In an e-mail responding to an inquiry about their names, Susman the lawyer writes, “[W]e aren’t related,” adding, “I have [not] gotten any of his calls or emails, but I have a service that tells me each morning where my name shows up on the web and when I think I have become much more famous, I get disappointed when I open the link and find out it really ain’t about me after all.”

Who’s on the List?

Seven Big-Tex firms made the AmLaw 100 list this year, with Bracewell & Giuliani of Houston vaulting onto the list with a 98th-place ranking to join six Texas firms making repeat appearances. The ranking, compiled by Texas Lawyer affiliate The American Lawyer, is based on the firms’ 2009 gross revenue, rounded to the nearest $500,000. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld of Dallas was 31st on the list of highest-grossing firms in the country, maintaining the same place as last year, with $719 million in revenue. Fulbright & Jaworski of Houston was next on the list at 40th, down from 36th last year, with $642.5 million in revenue. Houston’s Baker Botts was 45th with $575 million in revenue, down from 43rd. Vinson & Elkins , also of Houston, was close behind at 47th, down from 45th place last year, with $562 million in revenue. Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell of Dallas kept its 69th spot on the list, with $399 million in revenue for 2009, while Dallas firm Haynes and Boone advanced to 87th on the list, up from 94th last year, with $306.5 million in revenue. Bracewell cracked the AmLaw 100 with $277 million in revenue, slotting the firm in a tie for 98th place, up from 101 last year (and a position on the AmLaw 200 list). The AmLaw 100 is published in the May issue of The American Lawyer, and the AmLaw 200, which reports on the gross revenue of the next 100 highest-grossing firms, is published in the June issue.

Out at Work