In an interview with Invest: San Antonio, Javier Martinez, managing partner of Haynes Boone’s San Antonio office, discussed the firm’s momentum. He underscored San Antonio’s importance in cross-border trade and talent development, stating, “San Antonio is poised to continue being a leader in this market.”
Read an excerpt below.
What makes San Antonio a strategic location for Haynes Boone, and how does this market differentiate itself?
We’ve been in the San Antonio market for 38 years, and it’s always been an important market for our firm. What makes this region different is the people. It’s not the same type of business environment as places like New York, Charlotte, or Miami. It’s a place where you can come and immediately ingratiate yourself with the local business community at the highest levels because people here are friendly and inviting. It’s part of our culture.
What opportunities are you seeing, and are there any specific sectors or client profiles where you are seeing the most demand for your services?
Like all cities, San Antonio is subject to local, state, and federal legal structures and we’re also subject to macroeconomic trends. Right now, we are expecting more onshoring of data centers and chip manufacturing. Senate Bill 6 in the legislature is going to go a long way in determining how appealing Texas is for these sectors. San Antonio is poised to continue being a leader in this market. The growth in this industry in western Bexar and Medina counties has been phenomenal, and this growth is ready to explode. The legal and regulatory framework that SB6 is going to impose on Texas is just the first step. Locally, we will need to invest in infrastructure and top-notch execution for the experiment to be successful. Our biggest competitors will be other Texas cities, so we need to ensure we have the resources not only for the data centers and chip manufacturers, but for the associated residential and other commercial demands spurred by the associated growth as well. As a corollary matter, we’re excited about the airport expansion, adding 17 gates to the existing 27, which will presumably come with new routes connecting San Antonio to the rest of the world. San Antonio has a lot to offer, but we need to make it easier for people to access it. Speaking to out-of-towners who came for the recent Final Four, the feedback we’re getting has been terrific. The city did an amazing job hosting the Final Four, but the logistics of getting here were a bit complicated for a lot of visitors, especially from the East Coast.
What is your outlook for the legal landscape in San Antonio, and what are your top priorities for Haynes Boone?
In the last year, in San Antonio, we’ve added lawyers in real estate, intellectual property, and litigation. Compared to historical levels, over the last three years, our firm has promoted a greater number of young lawyers to partnership in the San Antonio office. It’s a testament to the growth of the city and the firm’s commitment to the city and the opportunities here. The influx of young partners and other young lawyers has made it an energetic and exciting place to work, and we plan to leverage that energy and excitement to meet and exceed our current goals and set new goals for the future. I am part of our finance practice group and consider myself fortunate that our firm has been supportive of what we’re trying to do. We’ve had a big emphasis on growing our core finance practice areas, but are also adding significant talent in other finance areas, including leveraged finance, capital markets, and securitizations. More broadly, the firm continues to grow strategically in areas that complement existing firm practices, like the addition of environmental lawyers and new regulatory practices. In the last 20 years, we have doubled in size. In times of economic downturn, we have been successful in finding opportunities that others are not in a position to pursue, which has helped propel our growth.
To read the full article from Invest: San Antonio, click here.
