2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

The result of 2018’s largest merger, Hunton Andrews Kurth, pairs two firms—each with over a century of history—that had been growing by leaps and bounds in the previous few years. Mid-Atlantic-based Hunton & Williams brought with it leading global practices in privacy and cybersecurity, energy, financial services, and real estate. Houston’s Andrews Kurth Kenyon had recently grown from a Lonestar State stalwart to an international firm renowned for its energy, environmental, IP, and privacy practices.

A Tale of Two Firms

Though founded more than 1,000 miles apart, Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth Kenyon were in many ways mirror images of one another. Eppa Hunton, Randolph Williams, and two others founded their firm in Richmond, VA, in 1901 and quickly attracted banks, railroads, energy companies, and utilities as clients. Only a year later, Frank Andrews and Thomas Ball founded a firm in Houston representing railroad bigwigs like Houston Belt, Terminal Railroad, and the Gulf Coast Lines. In its early days, Andrews’ firm was heavily involved in the city’s development, helping secure funding to build the Port of Houston and working with the Houston Land Corporation. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil—which controlled 90% of the country’s oil production—was a client of both firms until the Supreme Court ordered the company to be broken up in 1911. 

Both legacy firms began expanding from their home bases in the second half of the 20th century. Today, Hunton Andrews Kurth boasts over 900 lawyers across 12 domestic and six international offices. The firm is particularly well-known in the south and is in the Top 20 of Vault’s Regional rankings for both Texas and the South Atlantic.

Feeling Energized

Hunton Andrews Kurth practices across dozens of areas, including banking and finance, bankruptcy/restructuring, corporate, energy, environmental, healthcare and life sciences, insurance, IP, labor and employment, litigation, M&A, privacy, private equity, real estate, tax, and white collar defense, for example.

The firm has a robust energy practice, handling everything from litigation, permits, project finance, M&A, and regulatory matters to tax law. The firm takes an interdisciplinary approach, with lawyers from the energy space collaborating with those in antitrust, bankruptcy, IP, labor and employee benefits, and real estate. The firm’s energy practice includes more than 400 attorneys. 

Environmental law is another of the firm’s fortes. The firm’s bench boasts experience working at the EPA, DOJ, DOI, DOE, and other government agencies. Among the industries that the firm covers are automobile, chemical, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, real estate development, semiconductor, and steel. Hunton Andrews Kurth is ranked among the Top 10 in Vault’s Environmental Law practice area ranking.

• Represented Yahoo! (now Verizon) in all aspects of its nation-state and criminal cybersecurity attacks that compromised approximately three billion user accounts. We defended the company in over 40 consumer class actions across several districts. We also managed the company’s responses to investigations by state, federal, and international regulators and by business partners and provided regulatory and litigation counsel for Yahoo!.
• Represented Healthcare Realty Trust in its $18 billion combination with Healthcare Trust of America, a deal that will create one of the nation’s largest owners of medical office buildings.
• Represented J.P. Morgan in its role as issuer and initial purchaser in a first-of-its-kind $186.4 million private securitization backed entirely by participation interests in home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) originated by third parties. In addition to representing J.P. Morgan in the inaugural transaction, the firm also assisted J.P. Morgan in developing the securitization program and in the acquisition of the HELOCs from third party originators. 

• Represented Forcite Helmet Systems Pty Ltd in negotiation of the sale of Forcite Helmet Systems, a smart motorcycle helmet company, to GoPro, Inc.

• Recognized as a Top Law Firm for Associate Satisfaction and Quality of Life, 2023 – Chambers Associate
• Recognized as a Strong Performer for Best Firms for Retention, 2023 – Chambers Associate
• Best Companies to Work For Among U.S. Law Firm Ratings, 2024 – U.S. News and World Report/Best Lawyers
• Client Service A-Team for the 23rd consecutive year, 2024 – BTI Consulting
• Leading Edge Law Firms, 2024 – BTI Consulting