Category: News

Copeland & Rice LLP’s predecessor firm, Schick & Copeland, was awarded Metropolitan Tier 1 (Houston) status in Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Environmental, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants and Product Liability Litigation-Defendants in the 2017 Edition of U.S. News-Best Lawyers-“Best Law Firms” rankings.

Morgan Copeland was recognized by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America by Woodward White, Inc. in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Environmental, Litigation-Patent, Mass Tort/Class Actions-Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants.

Morgan Copeland was listed in the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America by Woodward White, Inc. in 5 categories: Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Environmental; Litigation – Patent; Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants; and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants.

Copeland & Rice LLP’s predecessor firm, Schick & Copeland, was given a Tier 1 ranking in the 2016 Edition of “Best Law Firms” by U.S News & World Report and Best Lawyers for the following categories:

• Commercial Litigation
• Litigation – Environmental
• Litigation – Patent
• Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
• Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

Founding partner Morgan L. Copeland, Jr. has been listed in the 2015 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America by Woodward White, Inc. in 5 categories: Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Environmental; Litigation – Patent; Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants; and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants.

The Texas Lawbook has anointed Houston the “king of litigation boutiques.”  In its July 7 article, the Texas Lawbook attributes the rise in Houston’s litigation boutiques to Houston’s entrepreneurial roots, comparing lawyers who leave big firms to strike out on their own to oil wildcatters.  Describing Morgan Copeland and Bob Schick’s recent big firm departure as the “highest profile move this year,” The Texas Lawbook quotes Morgan Copeland as saying “We love V&E, but the time is right for us to strike out on our own and build our own practices,” says Copeland. “The structure of large law firms presents significant hurdles that make it difficult to attract new clients.”

Texas, and Houston in particular, has seen a rapid rise in litigation boutiques, such as Schick & Copeland, over the past decade.  Some estimate that the number of attorneys working in litigation boutiques has tripled over the past ten years.

Why? Litigation boutiques offer lower billable rates, fewer conflicts, and more often than not, big firm talent.  On the subject of conflicts, Bob Schick, recently quoted in a Houston Chronicle, said that one of the biggest obstacles for large law firms, especially those that have strong transactional and M&A practices, is that they employ hundreds or even thousands of lawyers in dozens of offices around the globe, and each lawyer represents dozens of clients.

Read more here: http://tablet.olivesoftware.com/Olive/Tablet/HoustonChronicle/SharedArticle.aspx?href=HHC%2F2014%2F07%2F05&id=Ar03305