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Baker Botts history
Baker Botts company history timeline
Baker & Botts began in 1840 when Peter W. Gray started practicing law.
One of his and the firm's most celebrated cases involved Houston's William Marsh Rice, a prominent businessman who first used the services of Peter Gray in 1840.
The firm traces its history to 1840 in the Republic of Texas, with the beginning of legal practice by founding partner Peter W. Gray.
Peter Gray wrote the first Texas law codes after statehood in 1845.
Confederate Colonel Walter Browne Botts (from Fredericksburg, Virginia) joined the firm in 1865, and it became Gray and Botts.
In 1872, James Addison Baker (a.k.a.
Peter Gray also died in 1874.
Gray left the partnership in 1874, to join the Supreme Court of Texas, and the two remaining partners, Walter Browne Botts and Judge Baker, renamed the firm Baker & Botts.
After Gray joined the Texas Supreme Court in 1875, the firm became Baker & Botts.
In 1900, Rice was poisoned in his bed by his valet, Charles F. Jones, and his New York City lawyer, Albert T. Patrick—a sensational crime that made national headlines.
Meanwhile, oil fever struck Texas, starting in 1901 with the major strike at Spindletop.
Captain Baker was a key witness and helped investigate the murder after Patrick produced a will that gave him control of five million dollars in 1904.
The case was not settled until 1910, and by that time the estate had grown to almost 10 million dollars.
In 1914 Captain Baker presided over opening the Houston ship channel to the Gulf of Mexico, which allowed the city to bypass Galveston as the major port in that area.
A Growing Regional Firm, 1915--29
Other partners over several decades added to the firm's name, but in 1971 it returned to Baker & Botts as the permanent name.
In addition, the newspaper Texas Lawyer began in 1987 to cover the finances of Texas law firms.
Texaco appealed and sought bankruptcy protection but finally in 1988 agreed to pay $3 billion in a cash settlement.
In 1988 Baker & Botts managing partner E. William Barnett said that Pennzoil v.
That "really represented a first step," said E. William Barnett in the May 21, 1990 Houston Business Journal. "The protection of intellectual property, technology, is more important than ever.
In 1990 Baker & Botts's Dallas office hired about a dozen patent attorneys from the Dallas firm of Baker, Glast & Middleton.
Pat is proud to have played a role on projects that are “architecturally significant and that have transformed communities.” In Barcelona, she worked with her client to revitalize a neighborhood in the city that had received little attention since its glory days of hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics.
James Baker), joined the firm as a senior partner in 1993, after leaving public service.
The Texas Lawyer ranked Baker & Botts, with 410 lawyers, as the state's third largest law firm, based on its 1995 gross revenues of $171 million.
Baker & Botts IP attorneys helped i2 Technologies become a public corporation in 1996.
On November 1, 1997 the New York City firm of Brumbaugh, Graves, Donohue & Raymond merged with and became part of the New York Baker & Botts office.
In November 1998 the American Lawyer, in its first survey of the world's largest law firms, ranked Baker & Botts as number 50 based on the number of its lawyers.
With $80.8 million in 1998 net profits, the firm enjoyed a prosperity fueled by a generally good United States economy.
In 1999 Baker & Botts continued representing oil firms, such as Chevron Corporation, Conoco Inc., Exxon Corporation, Marathon Oil Company, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and Shell Oil Company.
In 2000, the firm renamed itself Baker Botts.
The firm merged into Baker Botts in 2001.
Mollie joined Baker Botts’ Austin office as a corporate associate in 2005, and she quickly became immersed in the practice.
The investigation began in 2015; a client was accused of infringing on another company’s patents.
DALLAS, TX March 19, 2019 – At age 12, Christa Sanford told her mom that she wanted to become an attorney.
AUSTIN, TX March 19, 2019 – When Mollie Duckworth graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in Communications, she wasn’t sure what career path she should follow.
San Francisco, CA March 25, 2019 – If you had asked Pat Stanton when she was a kid if she thought she would travel to some of the world’s most fascinating cities as an attorney with a major law firm representing an international developer, she probably would have laughed.
In 2019, John W. Martin was elected managing partner of the firm.
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Baker Botts competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latham & Watkins | 1934 | $4.3B | 3,000 | 63 |
| Covington & Burling | 1919 | $330.0M | 1,600 | 22 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | 1890 | $1.0B | 7,500 | 22 |
| Kirkland & Ellis | 1909 | $4.8B | 5,721 | 86 |
| Dechert | 1875 | $1.3B | 1,782 | 25 |
| Skadden | 1948 | $2.4B | 3,500 | 53 |
| Jones Day | 1893 | $2.1B | 6,097 | - |
| O'Melveny | 1885 | $725.0M | 2,100 | - |
| Ropes & Gray | 1865 | $2.1B | 1,375 | 78 |
| King & Spalding | 1885 | $1.3B | 1,927 | 33 |
Baker Botts history FAQs
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Baker Botts may also be known as or be related to Baker Botts, Baker Botts Houston Employee Relief Organization, Baker Botts L.L.P. and Baker Botts LLP.