2022 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Haynes and Boone, LLP

From its roots in Dallas-area corporate securities law, Haynes Boone has expanded to 19 offices across the U.S. and abroad. Although much of its bread and butter remains with the Texas corporate scene, Haynes Boone has used its presence in Shanghai and Mexico City to profit from Chinese and Latin American energy deals and international trade. 

Like Teacher, Like Student

With $1,600 and a handful of small clients, Richard Haynes opened a solo law office in Dallas in 1964 while moonlighting as a securities law seminar teacher at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Michael Boone joined Haynes’ office when he graduated in 1967, after impressing Haynes as a student in his classroom; the firm became Haynes and Boone, LLP three years later. Over the next few decades, the firm rode the wave of Dallas’ building boom, merging with other firms and opening additional offices throughout Texas. Since then, Haynes Boone has become one of the largest law firms in the U.S., with more than 650 attorneys, and has ranked as one of the highest-grossing practices in the U.S.

The Boardroom and the Border

While in its early years, Haynes Boone maintained a focus on corporate securities law, the firm has grown to 40 practice areas, including business restructuring law and M&A.

In addition to its strong presence in Texas, Haynes Boone has grown abroad, with its attorneys able to serve clients in 34 different languages. A feather in the firm’s cap is the Latin American presence based out of its Mexico City office. Haynes Boone has worked on multinational deals involving energy and natural resources, transnational M&A, and international arbitration. Among its notable work is the firm’s representation of Royal Dutch Shell in its sale of portions of its business to buyers in half a dozen Central American countries.

Electrifying the Courtroom

Haynes Boone has also earned accolades for its use of technology to bolster attorney/client communication, including developing its own software that allows clients to digitally access information on documents, status, and cost of their cases. The firm supports the incorporation of technology into law practice, both in the office and the courtroom. In fact, Haynes Boone attorneys have served as consultants for local courthouses looking for digital enhancement, advised companies struggling to update Luddite codes of conduct to cover employees’ social media use, and represented technology startups as part of the firm’s Venture Capital practice.

• In Fan Expo v. National Football League, successfully represented the NFL in affirming a take-nothing summary judgment in the second of several lawsuits filed by a fantasy football convention co-owned by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Also won a summary judgment in favor of the NFL in a lawsuit brought by the fantasy football convention. 
• Defeated a class-action bid for AT&T in a suit in federal court in Houston brought by property owners alleging that AT&T telephone cable buried underneath their properties—pursuant to easements that had been granted to AT&T in the 1950s—were contaminating their properties. 
• The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reformed the death sentence of Juan Lizcano, who was sentenced to death in 2007 for killing Dallas Police Officer Brian Jackson in 2005. The court resentenced Lizcano to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Haynes and Boone was retained in 2012 to represent Lizcano as habeas counsel on a pro bono basis after his direct appeals were unsuccessful. 
• Represented Landry’s, Inc. in the sale of Golden Nugget Online Gaming, Inc. in a take-public sale to Landcadia Holdings II, Inc., as part of a $745 million de-SPAC transaction.

• Corporate Equality Index 100% Rating; Named a “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality” for the 3rd straight year, 2021—Human Rights Campaign
• Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified, 2021—Diversity Lab
• Gold Standard Certification (9th year), 2021—Women in Law Empowerment Forum
• “Top 25” firm in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2021—Chambers Associate
• “Client Service A-Team” ranking (18th straight year), 2021—BTI Consulting Group