Law360 Profiles Akin Gump in its “Texas Powerhouses” Series

Akin Gump has been ranked among Law360’s inaugural list of “Texas Powerhouses” for its “significant accomplishments in regional work over the last two years,” including the firm’s work for Crestwood Midstream Partners LP on an $8 billion merger agreement with Inergy LP and Inergy Midstream LP and for MetroPCS Communications Inc. on its $1.5 billion sale to T-Mobile USA Inc.

For the article, “Texas Powerhouse: Akin Gump,” Akin Gump Houston partner in charge Chris LaFollette pointed to the office’s “cradle to grave” relationship with clients as well as the firm’s strengths up-, mid- and downstream along the energy chain. She also noted that the firm’s long history in Texas give it an advantage over other firms opening offices in the area to work in the energy sector. “They see that as a market that they're missing out on completely if they don’t have boots on the ground. The challenge, though, is that this industry has a long history of relationships and they're very conscious of the roots, and the Texas roots that we have are a very distinguishing factor for us.”

Akin Gump Dallas partner in charge Ken Menges discussed three of the firm’s distinguishing factors in Texas:

• The firm’s global footprint: “Of any firm founded in or with a large presence in Texas, we are clearly the most global in our outlook and footprint and in our strategy.”
• Its lobbying edge: “Secondly, of any Texas-founded firm—and I would also expand that to any other very large firms in the United States—we have the strongest government policy lobbying practice of any of those firms.”
• And its trademark entrepreneurialism: “The entrepreneurial spirit that goes hand in hand with the ability to represent a number of different and disparate clients and interests, I think, is also a distinguishing mark. It's very hard to pigeonhole Akin Gump as just being on one side or the other because we like to think we can help just about anybody.”

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