Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. > The Legal 500 Rankings

Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing) Tier 2

Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. fields a team of experienced trademark lawyers across the country, though its strongest presence is in Dallas. Acting for clients in the advertising, telecoms, financial services and music industries, the team handles the full range of IP matters, including domain name disputes, oppositions and enforcement. Contacts in the Dallas office include trademark group chair David Bell, a name to note for international brand management; Purvi Patel Albers, who advises Fortune 500 companies on US and foreign trademark enforcement; and Jeffrey Becker, who is also noted for brand management as well as for advertising issues. 2020 saw the introduction of a number of new team members: in May, Erin Hennessy joined from Bracewell LLP; in August, partner Joseph Matal joined from the USPTO; and in November, Theresa Conduah joined the firm from an in-house role.

Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products Tier 3

The derivatives practice at Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. is diverse, encompassing a wide variety of asset classes, including equity, FX and increasingly environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments. The group advises buy-side and end-user clients, including an impressive array of institutional investors. Areas of expertise include traditional and more exotic hedging and derivatives, project finance-related hedging agreements, over-the-counter and structured derivatives, as well as ISDA regulatory and prime brokerage advice. Contacts in the team include Houston-based Neal Kaminsky, who leads the practice group; Giorgio Bovenzi, who has built a strong global credit risk practice and is rated by clients for his 'solution-oriented' service; Matthew Frankle, a specialist in equity derivatives and margin loans; and Brian Sung, who maintains a very broad practice covering a variety of structured transactions for buy- and sell-side clients. Washington DC's Phil Lookadoo is an expert in energy and project finance-related derivatives and commodities issues. Named lawyers are based in New York unless stated otherwise.

Industry focus > Energy litigation: oil and gas Tier 3

Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. is recognized for its experience litigating in state and federal courts, as well as its handling of domestic and international arbitration proceedings. The practice group represents key US oil and gas basins and has offices located near many of the major shale plays. Craig Stahl manages The Woodlands (Texas) office and has been involved in significant natural gas flaring, fracking, and environmental indemnities cases. Houston-based Michael Mazzone co-chairs the litigation group and represents energy companies in environmental contamination, indemnity and toxic tort cases. He is also experienced in construction litigation and arbitration and real estate disputes.

M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m) Tier 4

Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. handles a wide variety of M&A and related transactions, including spin-offs, divestitures, strategic alliance and distressed transactions, representing both buyers and sellers. Tom Harris heads the M&A practice group from Dallas.

Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional Tier 5

Haynes and Boone, L.L.P.'s employee benefits and executive compensation practice has been advising clients in the energy, healthcare, retail, financial services and food and beverages sectors on high-value acquisitions, restructurings, and benefit transfers. Recent work for the group includes advising hospitality company Landry's on the $745m sale of its online gaming subsidiary, Golden Nugget Online Gaming, to Landcadia Holdings II; practice head Susan Wetzel and associate Scott Thompson led on this matter from the Dallas office. Houston-based Jesse Gelsomini has expertise in incentive compensation and equity arrangements.

rankings-lawyer > United States