2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Haynes and Boone, LLP

From its roots in Dallas-area corporate securities law, Haynes and Boone has expanded to 19 offices across the United States and abroad. Although much of its practice remains in the Texas corporate scene, Haynes Boone profits from its Chinese and Latin American energy deals in Shanghai and Mexico City and through 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 the 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, with more than 650 attorneys, has become one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the United States.

The Boardroom and the Border

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

In addition to its strong presence in Texas, Haynes Boone has grown abroad with attorneys serving clients in 34 different languages. It established a Latin American presence through its notable addition of a Mexico City office. Haynes Boone has worked on multinational deals involving energy and natural resources, transnational M&A, and international arbitration. The firm’s representation of Royal Dutch Shell in its sale of portions of its business to buyers in six Central American countries is one of the firm’s most notable works.

Electrifying the Courtroom

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

• Polaris Engineering, Inc. v. Texas Int'l Terminals, Ltd., No. 3:21-cv-94 (S.D. Tex. May 10, 2024): In refinery construction dispute, assisted the trial team with strategy, legal briefing, and preparing and arguing the charge at a jury trial that resulted in a favorable judgment of approximately $35 million.
• ExxonMobil Corp. v. Alvarez et al.,—S.W.3d —, 2024 WL 847701 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Feb. 29, 2024, no pet. h.):Won a very significant permissive appeal that vindicated a premises owner’s right to immunity under Texas’ workers’ compensation laws against scores of personal injury claims arising from an explosion, which should stand as an important precedent for employers and premise owners across the state of Texas for years to come. 
• Trive Capital Acquisition of Hypergiant Industries, Inc.: Represented Trive Capital in its acquisition of the AI defense platform and solutions company Hypergiant Industries, Inc.

• Best rankings to date for 89 lawyers and 35 practices in 16 U.S. offices, 2024—Chambers USA
• Repeatedly the No. 1 firm for Aviation and Real Estate law and a top International Law Firm in Latin America, 2024—Latinvex
• Mansfield Rule Certification 6.0 Plus, 2024—Diversity Lab
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework, 2024—Bloomberg Law