Noelle Reed, Abby Davis and Michelle Scheffler spearhead the litigation practice at Skadden’s Houston office. <\/p>\n
In a city like Houston, which has kept a small-town character despite boasting the largest population in a state where size grants bragging rights, relationships matter.<\/p>\n
Even Texas\u2019s transformation into a financial industry hub, drawing companies from corporate strongholds like New York and Delaware and fueling the development of three stock exchanges, hasn\u2019t changed that: The state\u2019s securities industry has been dubbed \u201cY\u2019all Street,\u201d in a nod to (and a play on) Manhattan\u2019s Wall Street.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an environment that makes Skadden\u2019s<\/a> more than 30 years in Houston the kind of asset even Texas money can\u2019t buy, something the megafirms now arriving in Space City (population 2.3M and climbing) are unable to replicate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to be able to say to clients, \u2018We know this market, we know this region, we know the oil patch, we know the businesses that you\u2019re in,\u2019\u201d says Noelle Reed<\/a>, the head of both Skadden\u2019s Houston office and its growing litigation practice. The office\u2019s expansion is a key reason for its recent move to a state-of-the-art headquarters at Texas Tower, a 47-story building in downtown Houston that opened in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the last three years, we have nearly tripled the number of attorneys in the Houston office,\u201d Reed explains. Today, in addition to associates, the Houston office has three litigation partners: Reed, Michelle Scheffler<\/a>, who joined in 2024, and Abby Davis<\/a>, who leads hiring for the office.<\/p>\n Time to Move<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still a little undersized for our market and for the size of the office, so I\u2019d expect, in the next couple of years, to see the litigation practice continue to grow,\u201d Reed adds. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for great people, and we will always take the opportunity to interview people whom we think are going to strengthen our litigation base.\u201d<\/p>\n Connections with prospects have occurred organically, more often than not, as they did with Davis, who was based in the firm\u2019s New York office and worked closely with Reed and the Houston litigation team on a few cases, including one headed to a jury trial.<\/p>\n She jibed so well with them that one night over dinner, more than two years ago, Reed broached the topic of relocation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d never think of moving to Houston, would you?\u201d she asked Davis, who had recently made partner in New York. \u201cMy reply was, \u2018Let\u2019s talk about it and what that might look like,\u2019\u201d Davis says. \u201cAnd the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n The daughter of a trial lawyer, Davis grew up outside Boston and spent her summers as an undergraduate working with her father, which solidified her plans to go to law school. After earning her Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky, she focused on New York law firms and was particularly intrigued by the training and mentorship opportunities at Skadden, which was founded in the mid-20th century and built an early reputation handling proxy fights and hostile takeovers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked with people who are absolutely at the top of their game and who are always willing to look out for opportunities for more junior people,\u201d Davis says. \u201cBeing able to get pushed out of my comfort zone, take that deposition, do that argument, was critical to my ability to grow as a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis has spent her entire career at Skadden, and the breadth of her experiences has equipped her for a role on a team whose members are often described as the Swiss Army knives of lawyers, possessing the tools to handle any case.<\/p>\n The Houston litigation practice is broad, the partners say, and frequently involves \u201cparachuting in\u201d on cases that the parties and other law firms were unable to resolve through negotiation.<\/p>\n Up in the Air<\/p>\n \u201cOnly 11 percent of cases actually go to trial,\u201d Scheffler says, \u201cand that includes personal injury cases, which means a very, very small number of true commercial cases are actually tried. Often, clients don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to get there and then have an \u2018aha\u2019 moment where they realize, \u2018We\u2019re actually doing this,\u2019 and they want somebody experienced in the courtroom who\u2019s done it before. Our group provides that. We put on Superman\u2019s cape and get ready in three weeks, or however long it is that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n Reed\u2019s favorite memory of parachuting in dates to the early 2000s, when she and litigation partners from other Skadden offices were rushed to California to defend a newspaper in a class-action suit filed by paper carriers \u2013 five days before trial.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout 10 partners from around the firm and all of our associates from Houston at the time packed our bags and relocated to Los Angeles and dug in, 24\/7, for months,\u201d says Reed, who had five-month-old triplets at the time. \u201cI flew out at 5 a.m. every Monday morning for months and months and flew home on Thursday nights; court was dark on Fridays.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat sounds terrible, but for a trial lawyer, it\u2019s the greatest thing in the world,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt really is. We all looked at each other the day before trial after running ourselves ragged trying to master the material, interview all the witnesses and make sure that we were prepared and said, \u2018If we win this case, we are the greatest trial lawyers in America, and if we lose this case, we might still be the second greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Often, clients don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to get [to trial] and then have an \u2018aha\u2019 moment where they realize, \u2018We\u2019re actually doing this,\u2019 and they want somebody experienced in the courtroom who\u2019s done it before. Our group provides that.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Not every lawyer would react to the challenging demands of such a situation with Reed\u2019s enthusiasm. The ones who do are the attorneys Davis looks for as a hiring partner.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving that kind of can-do, proactive attitude, that willingness to do what\u2019s necessary to give the best client service is the hallmark of a Skadden lawyer,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s critical, but it\u2019s hard to tease out during the interview process, so what I\u2019ve tried to do over the years is figure out the best questions to identify those people who will do anything for the team and really just want to dig in.\u201d<\/p>\n Grit and Grid<\/p>\n Another factor that\u2019s key to success is grit.<\/p>\n \u201cIn litigation, one of the great things is that you can win,\u201d Davis says. \u201cOne of the hard things is that you can lose. When you go into that argument and you are 100 percent certain \u2013 because you have to be, by the time you get to the podium \u2013 that you are right and you are going to win and you don\u2019t, it\u2019s a blow. Being able to dust yourself off, get back up and do the best for the client and win at that next turn without getting deterred is a critical ability to have as a litigator.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Houston litigators maintain a heavy commercial caseload, they also take on matters outside that realm, including bankruptcies and a significant amount of securities cases.<\/p>\n Whatever the field, there are no run-of-the-mill trials.<\/p>\n \u201cWe handle more than your typical simple breach-of-contract cases,\u201d says Scheffler, who dreamed as a child of working as an actress or a geologist, eventually combining the two interests by becoming a trial lawyer with an energy focus. \u201cWe excel at handling true bet-the-company cases, where the company is on the operating room table, bleeding out, and they call us. When you\u2019re a trial lawyer, not only is that really, really exciting, but it\u2019s also really challenging, and it\u2019s what sets us apart as a practice group and as a firm.\u201d<\/p>\n As Houston is the heart of the U.S. energy industry, changes in prices of commodities such as oil and gas as well as regulatory shifts are regular influencers in the types of cases clients bring, says Scheffler, who has 20 years of experience in the field.<\/p>\n The demand for energy continues to grow, with data centers and AI helping drive the market. As a result of rapid growth and high demand there comes an increase in litigation over energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s increased demand for energy across the country and obviously here in Texas as well, so you\u2019re going to see disputes related to that,\u201d Scheffler explains.<\/p>\n In securities litigation, meanwhile, courts are still processing cases from the Covid-19 pandemic along with suits related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and claims involving cryptocurrencies as well as artificial intelligence. As use of commercial AI has increased, so have lawsuits related to the accuracy of corporate disclosures about the technology, Reed says.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n We excel at handling true bet-the-company cases, where the company is on the operating room table, bleeding out, and they call us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Though Reed, Scheffler and Davis each have areas of particular interest and expertise, they\u2019re also generalists, able to try a variety of cases and adept in mastering new subjects. The team\u2019s caseload is split almost evenly between plaintiff and defense matters.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving the experience of doing both is really valuable,\u201d Reed says. \u201cThe hardest thing for people who do mostly defense work when they get on the plaintiffs\u2019 side is to push a case forward. There\u2019s a joke on the defense side that when nothing\u2019s happening, nothing bad is happening. Plaintiffs are often freer to move and move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s the Why?<\/p>\n A former federal prosecutor, Reed enjoys the opportunity to play offense that comes with plaintiffs\u2019 litigation. And she\u2019s also aware of the edge that comes from practicing on both sides of the V.<\/p>\n As a defense lawyer, she says, cross-training helps gauge the plaintiff\u2019s next move more accurately.<\/p>\n \u201cAll three of us approach our cases with trial in mind,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a different way to prepare a case when you\u2019re thinking about how it will ultimately look, not just in summary judgment papers but live in front of a jury or a judge when you try it.\u201d<\/p>\n That requires a willingness to explore new techniques and strategies, contrary to the stereotype of Big Law attorneys as staid practitioners reluctant to depart from traditional methods.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be successful standing in front of a judge or a jury telling your client\u2019s story requires not only academic expertise but also the ability to employ elements of both theater and knife-fighting,\u201d Scheffler explains.<\/p>\n Successful litigators are \u201cable to anticipate the questions that are going to be lingering in a judge\u2019s mind or a jury\u2019s mind,\u201d Davis adds. \u201cIt\u2019s not just, \u2018What do the documents say?\u2019 and \u2018What are the facts?\u2019 but also \u2018What\u2019s the why? What\u2019s the motivation behind it? Why did things happen the way that they happened?\u2019 and filling in those blanks. Or, even better, laying out the groundwork so that the jury or the judge can piece that together themselves, which is sometimes more convincing to the juror than just telling them the story. If they get to put that final piece in place, then they found it out for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n To be successful standing in front of a judge or a jury telling your client\u2019s story requires not only academic expertise but also the ability to employ elements of both theater and knife-fighting.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Scheffler often compares litigation practice to a giant game of chess. \u201cEvery single day involves strategizing how to best position your client for the most successful outcome at trial or the most successful settlement that you can achieve that\u2019s aligned with their business goals,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Reed agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cYears ago, somebody asked me, \u2018Is every case winnable?\u2019 she recalls. \u201cAnd my answer was, \u2018Yes, if you define a win correctly.\u2019 And that’s really a core part of what we do with our clients. You can’t just say, \u2018There’s a complaint filed, and we have to go to trial and win the case.\u2019 You really have to understand your client’s business, what that case means for them and all the nuance around it. Is this going to involve your CEO sitting in depositions? Is this going to involve your management team being distracted? Is this going to involve your core technology and put it at risk? What is litigating this case going to do to customer relationships, to vendor relationships? Are they going to get dragged into the litigation?<\/p>\n \u201cAs much as I love trials and a trial is sometimes the right answer for clients, it’s not always the right answer,\u201d Reed adds. \u201cThe really critical part of what we all do is work with our clients to define at the outset, \u2018What does a win look like for you?\u2019 and then find the fastest, most cost-effective path to that win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Noelle Reed, Abby Davis and Michelle Scheffler spearhead the litigation practice at Skadden’s Houston office. In a city…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-355433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}