Bracewell

When Stephen Crain took over Bracewell ’ s litigation section , everything was fine – but just fine . “ If the litigation section was going to go from being good but static to a new place , we were going to have to do things differently .” He worked to break down traditional silos and create , in essence , a litigation boutique inside a large firm . “ Easy thing to say . Great catchphrase . But it had to have meaning .” Six years later , the section is recognized for its courtroom success – and is made up of “ a happy and contented group of people who feel really excited about prosecuting the cases they have .”

Bracewell ’ s silos were built around senior partners ; lawyers didn ’ t identify as belonging to litigation or another section , but to a certain senior attorney ’ s group . Crain tried to change that thinking . No longer would those attorneys ’ groups have their own weekly meetings and social events , as gatherings would become more “ organic .” Crain changed office assignments to have litigators work more closely together and would share work among Bracewell ’ s lawyers in different cities . At the same time , he flattened the leadership hierarchy , reducing administrative oversight . “ It freed us up to be a little more entrepreneurial – maybe a lot more entrepreneurial – and our younger partners felt more involved early on in the development of the section .”

At 55 and in the prime of his career , Crain is as old as any partner in his section . But he already is planning for younger lawyers to ascend to leadership roles . The idea is to “ raise the next generation of leadership so that I eventually and appropriately become irrelevant .” When he retires , “ the next group comes along , and they ’ ve been raised in this culture . Their attitude is to maintain it and grow it . That ’ s my goal .”

Reprinted with permission from the October / November 2019 edition of Texas Lawyer © 2019 ALM Media Properties , LLC . All rights reserved . Further duplication without permission is prohibited . For information , contact 877-257-3382 or reprints @ alm . com . # TXL-08152019-411630