Bracewell is a leading law and government relations firm primarily serving the energy, finance and technology industries throughout the world. Our industry focus results in comprehensive state-of-the-art knowledge of the commercial, legal and governmental challenges faced by our clients and enables us to provide innovative solutions to facilitate transactions and resolve disputes.

Our Beginning. On November 1, 1945, two brothers, Searcy and Fentress Bracewell, just home from their World War II service, joined their father, J. S. Bracewell, and another leading Houston lawyer to open the doors of a new Houston law firm. From the beginning, the Bracewells understood that for their firm to succeed they must maintain a relentless focus on professional excellence. As they dreamed of building a larger firm, they also understood that the firm’s roots must be deeply embedded in a culture emphasizing personal relationships and teamwork. Finally, based on J. S. Bracewell’s great success as a statewide and community leader before the war, the Bracewells believed that a commitment to public and community service should be a key component of their firm. More than seventy years later, this commitment to professional excellence, to personal relationships and teamwork, and to public and community service remain the cornerstones of our partnership.

Born in the Courtroom. Our reputation for professional excellence began in the courtroom. J. S. Bracewell was well known as a fierce and relentless litigator, and the post-war era saw the firm assume and extend that reputation. From that beginning, our reputation for professional excellence grew from insurance defense to labor, tax, condemnation and business litigation. In the 1960s and early 1970s, as the growing Texas economy began to attract business enterprises from all over the world, as well as financing from money center banks, our litigation practice evolved to the representation of stakeholders in large-scale commercial disputes.

Development of our Business Practice. As the energy and financial services sectors grew dramatically in Texas in the 1970s, the firm’s reputation for professional excellence attracted clients focused on transactional and commercial matters. This inspired firm leaders to significantly expand the firm’s transactional practice, and in the mid-1970s the firm began adding like-minded partners focused on corporate transactions and bank finance. Our firm’s reputation in the courtroom was soon matched by our growing reputation for handling major M&A transactions and financings.

Beyond Texas, Beyond the United States. As the firm’s reputation and size grew, in the 1970s and 1980s we expanded our geographic reach to serve our increasingly diverse client base. New offices throughout Texas and in Washington, D.C. were anchored by long-time Bracewell partners and carefully selected laterals.