Greenberg Traurig gained five public finance lawyers who joined the law firm’s Houston office this month from Orrick.
Adrian Patterson, who served as Houston office leader at Orrick, joined Greenberg as a shareholder, along with Robert Collie and James Hernandez as of counsels, and Noe Hinojosa III and Donna McIntosh as associates, the law firm announced Thursday.
“The combined experience and skills that Adrian and his team bring will enhance our footprint in the Texas public finance space, and broaden our infrastructure reach,” said Franklin D. R. Jones, Jr., co-chair of Greenberg’s public finance and infrastructure practice, in a statement.
Patterson, who spent five years at Orrick, said Greenberg has “deep roots in Texas,” along with complementary practices in government relations, public law, and economic development.
“We’re all kind of working with the same clients and this just presented an opportunity to go deeper and wider with some of the folks we are working with,” he said. “It just felt like a natural fit.”
The addition of the public finance attorneys will give Greenberg a boost in Texas bond counsel rankings, according to Patterson. The law firm was not in the top 25 in the state last year, but ranked 10th in the Southwest region and 14th nationally, according to Refinitiv data.
Orrick was in fourth place in Texas in 2022 and was the top bond counsel in nationwide rankings.
After a drop in issuance last year, Patterson said activity is starting to pick up.
“Our clients are telling us ‘let’s move forward with the things we need to get done,’ particularly in Texas where some infrastructure improvements are critical,” he said.
Patterson and his team have represented several big bond issuers in Texas including: the city of Houston, Harris County Toll Road Authority, Port of Houston, Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority, Texas Medical Center, City of Brownsville Public Utility Board, Brazoria County Toll Road Authority, and Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority, according to the Greenberg statement.
Greenberg entered Texas 20 years ago and has approximately 150 lawyers in various practices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. Its public finance and infrastructure practice has more than 35 attorneys in 10 states and Washington, D.C.