- U.S. & Americas
- Lateral moves
- Houston
Kirkland & Ellis has hired Alex Kaplan, a partner and former Executive Committee member at litigation boutique Susman Godfrey, for its Houston office, The American Lawyer reported on 19 October. Litigation partner Andrew Kassof told the outlet: "You ask anyone in Texas, they know of Alex Kaplan. He's been a star for years at Susman. He's got an incredible reputation in the Houston market, but then also broadly in Texas."
Kaplan is a commercial trial and appellate lawyer who handles antitrust, energy, financial, technology and M&A-related disputes. Chambers USA recognised him in its 2026 rankings. He leaves a firm based in Wells Fargo Plaza in Houston with 221 attorneys, including 94 partners, according to Wikipedia. A departure from that firm's home market draws more attention than a move between two large national firms.
Houston openings by Paul Weiss and Sullivan & Cromwell set the backdrop
The hire comes as national firms continue to expand in Houston. Paul Weiss opened its Houston office on 3 February 2026, led by former Kirkland dealmaker Sean Wheeler as co-chair of global M&A. An attempted launch in 2024 stalled after candidates declined to move, Bloomberg Law reported. Sullivan & Cromwell hired a junior partner from Kirkland to open its Houston office in January 2026, according to Legal Business.
Kirkland has been both a source of lawyers and a buyer in this market. It recruited at least 10 Latham & Watkins lawyers in Houston in March 2026, including energy and infrastructure project-finance partner Christopher Peponis. He had spent a decade in-house at Shell working on LNG, The American Lawyer reported. The firm made the most lateral hires in 2025, with 116, The Global Legal Post found.
Kirkland's litigation hires follow partner departures to rival Texas platforms
Legal Business reported that Kirkland is "going on the offensive" after lawyers left to help competitors open Texas offices. The Kaplan hire is part of that response. Latham hired Kirkland partner Carson Young for its Houston complex commercial litigation practice. He was its third litigation partner hire of 2026, after Taj Clayton, also from Kirkland, and Scott Thomas from Winston & Strawn, Bloomberg Law reported. Latham Houston managing partner Nick Dhesi said the hiring "really positions us to scale a litigation platform to be top of the market."
Kirkland has made trial hires of its own. In August 2026, it added Andrew LeGrand from Gibson Dunn to its Dallas litigation bench. Chairman Jon Ballis said he "adds depth to our premier litigation practice," Bloomberg Law reported. The firm also brought in trial lawyer Aaron Katz that month, according to Kirkland & Ellis. A 13-partner litigation team from King & Spalding joined across New York, Austin, Houston and Los Angeles to build mass torts and product liability work, The Global Legal Post reported.
Antitrust and energy disputes are the contested practices in Texas
Kaplan's practice areas overlap with Susman Godfrey's strongest areas. The firm ranks top-tier nationally in antitrust, energy litigation and general commercial disputes, according to Susman Godfrey. National firms have invested in energy-sector work across upstream, midstream and downstream clients, Legal Business reported. The trial lawyers supporting that work are now targets alongside the dealmakers who first drew firms into Houston.
Susman has taken steps to retain its trial lawyers. It announced market-leading bonuses, welcomed five new partners and operated a 2026 associate scale of roughly $240,000 to $450,000, Susman Godfrey reported. During the same period, it elected Vineet Bhatia managing partner as Neal Manne stepped down after 11 years to focus on his trial practice, according to Susman Godfrey. The American Lawyer reported that Kaplan's hire reflects Kirkland's effort to strengthen its litigation department and move toward alternative fee arrangements.
The Houston expansion began with M&A and energy transactional partners. It has now reached first-chair trial lawyers. A firm that pays at the top of the boutique market to retain them has lost an Executive Committee member to a national platform.
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