In a year‑end round‑up for Texas Lawyer, Haynes Boone Managing Partner Taylor Wilson shared his perspective on the firm’s exceptionally strong 2025 and continued expansion of the firm’s talent pipeline.
Read an excerpt below.
Q: How is 2025 shaping up, and what has been unexpected about the year?
Wilson: 2025 has been an exceptionally strong year for Haynes Boone. We are seeing the benefits of long-term investment in key growth areas, and client demand has remained high across the board—including in both our litigation and transactional practices. That momentum is translating into firmwide success, including our financial performance.
Like many large firms, the early part of 2025 was filled with uncertainty, with both the economic and geopolitical picture. Our clients experienced market volatility resulting from trade tensions and tariffs, delayed interest rate cuts, and other challenges. As the year progressed, the markets have stabilized, and we have seen a nice rebound in transactional activity both in domestic and international markets. In the end, we have seen excellent growth in demand, and our headcount is at an all-time high.
Q: The lateral partner hiring market has been active in Texas in 2025. How would you grade your firm’s success in hiring this past year and why?
Wilson: Haynes Boone has been fortunate to continue attracting outstanding talent in 2025, which we think speaks highly of our platform and our strong firm culture. When the dust settles, we expect to have hired more than 80 laterals firmwide, with the most significant growth in New York, London and Texas.
Our growth has been broad-based, with the highest number of additions in our finance and litigation department. In 2025, we expanded our capacity in multiple practice areas, including capital markets, structured finance, private wealth and family offices, labor and employment, employee benefits and environmental law. We also welcomed Supreme Court Partner Michael Qian, who previously clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ketanji Brown Jackson, and M&A Partner Janice Davis, D CEO’s Attorney of the Year. In addition, we brought on one of the largest first-year associate classes in our history, with 41 associates joining the firm—including 29 of them in Texas.
Read the full Texas Lawyer article here.
