# Haynes and Boone

Haynes Boone is an international corporate law firm headquartered in the Harwood No. 14 building in Harwood Historic District Dallas, Texas. It is among the largest law firms based in the United States and provides services for more than 40 major legal practices. The firm has offices in major energy, financial and political centers around the globe, including in Austin, Dallas, New York City, San Francisco, Charlotte, Houston, Denver, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Shanghai, London, and Mexico City.

## Practice areas

Areas of law practiced by Haynes Boone include Corporate/Securities, Banking & Finance, Energy, Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Technology, Healthcare, and all aspects of Business Litigation.

## History

Haynes Boone was founded in 1970 by just two partners: Michael Booneand his Southern Methodist University professor Richard Haynes. Today it provides a full spectrum of legal services across multiple sectors, including energy, financial services, private equity and technology.
The firm began handling initial public offerings (IPOs) in the booming Dallas economy. To promote the firm and grow business outside of Dallas, Haynes Boone sponsored a series on the local public television station in 1984: “A Walk Through the 20th Century” hosted by Bill Moyers.
That same year, the firm opened a second office in Fort Worth followed by a third office in Austin two years later. Its San Antonio office opened in 1987, growing the firm to 166 lawyers. Haynes Boone expanded to Houston in 1990 to solidify its position as a Texas firm rather than just a Dallas firm.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was the impetus for the next expansion. In 1994, the firm opened its first two offices outside of Texas: a cross-border branch in Mexico City and an out of state branch in Washington, D.C. At that time, the firm had established seven offices and had over 300 lawyers, 30 of whom were international lawyers. The firm continued to grow coast to coast and internationally by adding offices in New York City in 2004, Orange County and Palo Alto in 2009, Shanghai in 2013, Chicago and Denver in 2015, London in 2016, the Woodlands in 2018, Charlotte in 2019, San Francisco in 2020 and Northern Virginia in 2023.
As of today, Haynes Boone has nearly 700 lawyers in 19 offices around the world. In 2024, Michael Boone was inducted into the prestigious Texas Business Hall of Fame.

## Awards and Recognitions

According to Chambers , Haynes Boone consistently ranks among the best law firms in the world with dozens of attorneys ranked across the United States and U.K.
In 2024, The American Lawyer's revenue survey noted Haynes Boone had one of the largest jumps of any firm in the country, with a 16.51% revenue increase from the year prior.
In 2023, Who's Who Legal named Haynes Boone the Texas Firm of the Year and in 2024, it became the first American Lawyer 100 firm certified by Mental Health America, earning a Gold-level Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health.

## Notable Clients/Cases

Haynes Boone represents many of the largest corporations in the world including Bank of America, Exxon, AT&T and others. For decades, the firm has advised on investments for the Bass, Hunt, and Perot families as well as for Caroline Hunt, sister of Nelson and Bunker Hunt and an heiress of H.L. Hunt.
In 1993, won a $420 million case for Exxon in an insurance coverage case against Lloyd's of London over the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska.
In 1997, negotiated a settlement for the Catholic Dioceses of Dallas involving sexual molestation charges and its priests.
In 1997, oversaw negotiations for a client over a large liquid natural gas facility in mainland China.
In 1999, oversaw the merger between Exxon Corp and Mobile Oil Corp.
In 2001, led a constitutional challenge to Texas’ school finance system in West Orange-Cove C.I.S.D. v. Neeley which ultimately persuaded the Texas Supreme Court to strike down the state's school finance system.
In 2011, negotiated AT&T Corp's agreement to buy the cell carrier T-Mobile USA.
In 2015, obtained a reversal of a $663 million verdict in federal court for an employee who claimed his company had hidden the fact its highway guardrails did not meet federal standards.
In 2016, defended Abbot Laboratories in a whistleblower case.
In the summer of 2018, responded to the immigration crackdown on the South Texas border and represented many immigrant families in a monumental pro bono undertaking.
In 2019 and 2020, oversaw cases that upheld pension rule changes designed to preserve the liquidity of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension system.
In 2023, represented a coalition of news organizations seeking a release of records from the 2022 mass shooting in the City of Uvalde.

## Alumni

Eric Johnson, Dallas Mayor
Salman Bhojani, U.S. Representative, Texas’ 92nd District
Don Willett, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge, 5th Circuit
Leigha Simonton, U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Texas
Jeremy Kernodle, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Texas
Wendy Davis, U.S. Senator, Texas’ 10th District
Will O’Neill, Mayor, Newport Beach
Jason Villalba, U.S. Representative, Texas’ 114th District
David Crump, American legal scholar and writer
David Epstein, American Law Professor, University of Richmond School of Law
Sarah Saldana, Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Lynne Liberato, First President of the Houston Bar Association and former head of the State Bar of Texas
Lisa Normand, Film Producer
Heidi Bundren, Chief Legal Officer, Nashville Predators

## Community Involvement and Pro Bono Work

Richard Haynes received the Justinian Award for Public Service in 1989 in recognition of his ongoing service to the Dallas community. Co-founder, Mike Boone, was awarded the Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award for public service in 2012 and in 2019, the Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas named an elementary school after him, recognizing his continued support and contributions to public service for the Dallas public school. The school is now called Michael M. Boone Elementary School.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Haynes Boone lawyers and staff raised substantial funds for Feeding America , local food banks, and frontline healthcare workers. In 2022, the attorneys at Haynes Boone contributed 11,652 hours towards pro bono efforts and expanded that work to 15,000 hours in 2023.
Each month, the firm staffs a clinic to provide help to those facing a range of legal issues and other pro bono matters through the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) . The DVAP recognized one of Haynes Boone's long-time employees as the 2022 Pro Bono Coordinator of the Year.
In July 2024, the firm hired its first ever Pro Bono Counsel to manage the pro bono efforts across its 19 offices.

## Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Haynes Boone was a trailblazing firm for hiring and promoting women attorneys before its peers. Nina Cortell joined the firm straight out of law school in 1976 and was the firm's 13th attorney. She founded the first diversity committee of Haynes Boone.
In 2002, Haynes Boone launched the Diversity Scholarship Opportunities , which provides mentorship, scholarship and a paid summer clerkship for up-and-coming lawyers.
In 2013, the Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program (DAPP) was created to support the next generation of women of color attorneys and empower them to take on the challenges and demands of the legal profession.
In 2018, the firm hired its first Director of Diversity and Inclusion. Shortly thereafter in 2020, the firm named its first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. The Inclusion Dessert, Freedom Run, and Women's Summit are some of the events HB hosts annually. Haynes Boone also participates in and sponsors the Lavender Law Career Fair organized by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association.
Haynes Boone has achieved Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certification in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for its diversity efforts and achieved at 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index in those three years as well. The firm also ranks as a top 20 firm in the American Lawyer's 2023 Diversity Scorecard and the 2023 Chambers Associate DE&I survey.

## Sources

* ↑ "Home". haynesboone.com.
* ↑ "AmLaw100"
* ↑ https://texasbusiness.org/2024-inductees/mike-boone/
* ↑ "Legal Ace in AT&T's Purchase, Sale of Time Warner Got Big Paycheck". Corporate Counsel. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
* ↑ "Abbott Whistleblower Seeks New Trial In $219M Stent Row - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
* ↑ "Michael M. Boone Elementary School". boone.hpisd.org. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
* ↑ Street, 165 Fleet; London; Kingdom, United. "Haynes and Boone, LLP - The Inside View". www.chambers-associate.com. Retrieved 2024-10-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)