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