Baker Botts has appointed four partners to firmwide leadership roles, as the Texas-founded firm looks to double down on its core strengths to fuel growth.
The leadership shakeup will see new appointments to core practices at the firm, including two new co-chairs of the firm’s global projects department – Elaine Walsh (pictured second from left) and Carlos Solé (pictured left) – and new global tax chair Jon Lobb (pictured right).
In addition, New York energy M&A partner Michael Didriksen (pictured second from right) has been appointed co-chair of the firm’s energy sector leadership committee. He will work alongside fellow co-chairs Scott Janoe, also chair of Baker Botts’ environmental, safety and incident response section, and energy litigation chair Bill Kroger.
The shifts see projects chair and Legal 500 large-cap oil and gas transactions leading partner Jason Bennett and tax chair Stephen Marcus step down from their leadership roles, remaining partners in Houston and Dallas respectively.
Commenting on the news, Didriksen said: ‘Baker Botts has a really long history in the energy space, as well as a long history in the technology space.’
‘Those two areas have collided, so we’re in a very fortunate space.’
‘Carlos, Elaine, Jon and I all have something to bring to bear in those areas,’ he continued. ‘To me, it’s a vote of confidence in us that we’re the right people to be thinking about the future for the next five, eight, ten years at the firm.’
All four lawyers are longtime Baker Botts members, with Lobb having spent nearly two decades at the firm, starting his career there in 2008.
Walsh and Didriksen joined the firm in 2012 and 2013, from Kirkland & Ellis and the now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf respectively. Both lawyers are recognised by Legal 500 for mid-market electric power transactions, with Didriksen a leading partner and Walsh in the Hall of Fame. They will continue to serve as co-chairs of the power practice.
Walsh also retains her role as partner-in-charge of the Washington DC office, the firm’s second largest.
Solé, meanwhile, also joined the firm in 2013, from DLA Piper. He works out of the firm’s flagship Houston office, alongside Lobb, and has served as deputy chair of the global projects department since 2018.
‘I’m looking forward to helping guide our strategy. There’s an element of it that feels like legacy building’
Walsh said of her new role: ‘Getting to know more lawyers and clients as my leadership roles have expanded has been a terrific opportunity, and certainly being co-chair with Carlos, I’m getting to know, one on one, a lot more of our partners across our global offices, and that’s been a wonderful experience.’
Meanwhile, for Didriksen, making decisions on the firm’s global strategy is a key incentive for taking on the new leadership position: ‘I’m excited about being a part of the next level of leadership in the firm, it’s invigorating,’ he said.
Didriksen added: ‘I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to help guide our strategy going forward. There’s an element of it that feels like legacy building, which is great.’
Commenting on the firm’s strategy, Solé said: ‘Our focus is not on changing how we operate, but rather on further enriching our firm’s intellectual capital to maximize client value.’
‘Our core strategy remains centered on seamlessly integrating our cross-border insights in energy and infrastructure with our team’s deep industry knowledge – a proven approach that best leverages our collective global expertise to meet the evolving needs of our clients,’ he added.
At the same time, the firm has not shied away from lateral hiring, bringing in patent litigation partner Kathleen Fox Murphy in London and environmental litigation partner Nash Long in Washington DC last month, and Vinson & Elkins energy M&A pair Alex Msimang and Nadine Amr in London last November.
It has also invested substantially in its Middle East offices, bringing in HSF Kramer Riyadh head Joza Al Rasheed as its partner-in-charge in the Saudi capital, and hiring Faris Al Amoudi as global head of Islamic finance.
‘It’s so important for us to get good quality laterals and groups to serve our clients,’ said Walsh. ‘Focusing on recruiting has been another really interesting, and new, part of my practice.’
‘It’s been a learning experience, even though I’ve been here for 14 years, learning how to leverage more of our folks worldwide and bringing those resources and new opportunities to bear for clients. But I really relish that.’
‘It’s very uplifting and has actually reinforced my view of the firm and what a great culture it is,’ she concluded.
