D CEO Profiles Managing Partner William Brewer in “My Office” Feature
D CEO magazine profiled Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and Managing Partner William A. Brewer III in its October 2016 issue. The “My Office” profile takes readers inside the offices of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, located on the top two floors (59 and 60) of Comerica Bank Tower in downtown Dallas.
Firm Named to Vault “Top 150 Under 150” and “2017 Best Law Firms in Texas” Lists
Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors was named to Vault’s “Top 150 Under 150” list of leading midsize law firms. The ranking recognizes the top 150 law firms in the U.S. with fewer than 150 attorneys.
According to Vault, the firms on the list are “known for providing top-notch service and delivering big results.” Vault developed the list of highly sought-after law firms after reviewing Vault survey data, news stories and legal publications.
The firm was also named to Vault’s “2017 Best Law Firms in Texas” list. The firm is described by Vault as “the type of high-powered, bet-the-bank commercial litigation firm you would see on prime time.” Vault is known for its influential rankings across many industries and professions.
D CEO Magazine Names Managing Partner William Brewer to “The Dallas 500” 2016 List
The editors of D CEO Magazine named Managing Partner William Brewer to “The Dallas 500” for 2016. The Dallas 500 is a special publication recognizing the 500 most powerful business leaders in North Texas in 60 different categories.
Brewer was one of only six attorneys recognized in the “Law: Business and Commercial Litigation” category.
Those featured in the exclusive listing were selected by D CEO based on more than one year of research that included a review of corporate rankings, input from industry experts and analysts, and a final analysis by the publication’s editors.
The Next Chapter: Bill Brewer Moves Forward
June 21, 2015 – The Dallas Morning News reports today on the next chapter of Bickel & Brewer – as co-founding partner John W. Bickel II leaves the firm after more than three decades. The article reports the firm is changing its name to Brewer, and preparing for a “move to new offices atop downtown Dallas’ Comerica Tower.”
The Morning News reports, “For more than three decades, Bickel & Brewer instilled fear in business leaders and disgust in opposing counsel. The Dallas litigation boutique firm gained a national reputation for its abrasive, brass-knuckles, confrontational style.”
“I will always appreciate the time we had together and the success we experienced during the past 30 years,” Brewer said. “We never really felt there was a dispute between us. We are good friends and godfather to each other’s children. We had lunch together just recently.”
He said that large full-service law firms that cut back their litigation departments present opportunities for litigation boutiques such as Brewer to grab experienced trial lawyers seeking firms that have lots of cases.
“We live in the rarefied air of handling big-ticket items that attract really great lawyers,” he said. “If you are a buyer — and we are — it is a conspiracy of riches right now.”
Read the report here.
On the Hot List: Firm Earns NLJ Acclaim
February 3, 2014 – The National Law Journal reports today on the firm being named to the “Litigation Boutiques Hot List” – 10 national firms earning national acclaim based on skill, not size. The article, “Relentless, Focused, Choosy,” reports on the firm’s “penchant for matters with a lot of money and business at stake, groundbreaking legal issues or big public policy questions.”
The NLJ reports that Partner William Brewer III explains the zest for big cases with a rhetorical question: Would you rather play in the minor leagues or in the majors?
“You really want to play against the best competition,” Brewer says.
Attorney Frank Finn, of counsel in the Dallas office of Thompson & Knight, has encountered the firm many times during his 58 years as a civil defense attorney and a mediator. “I found them very thorough and not afraid to invest hours and hours making sure they cover the waterfront,” Finn says.
Read the report here.
Firm Recognized by National Law Journal: Top Boutiques
May 23, 2011 – The National Law Journal today recognized the firm as one of the nation’s leading litigation boutiques. The reporting, “A Consistent ‘Bare-Knuckles’ Strategy in a Mix of Cases,” chronicles the rise of Bickel & Brewer, reports on the firm’s many notable clients, and comments on its innovations.
For a firm founded a quarter-century ago by just two lawyers in their 30s, Bickel & Brewer has had remarkable success building an outsized reputation, reports the NLJ. “Unlike many boutiques, Bickel & Brewer doesn’t hew to a particular niche. The firm handles a mix of plaintiffs’ and defense-side commercial litigation and arbitrations, shareholder and corporate-governance disputes, white-collar defense work, intellectual property cases, and regulatory and antitrust litigation out of Dallas and a growing New York office,” says the NLJ.
William A. Brewer III tells the NLJ, “I don’t think clients come to Bickel & Brewer because our model is different. Clients comes to Bickel & Brewer to win cases.”
Read the full report here.
Best Lawyers: William Brewer on Cases That Can Make or Break Corporate America
December 9, 2009 — Best Lawyers of America profiles the "New York powerhouse litigation boutique Bickel & Brewer," which has "earned a reputation as the go-to firm in cases where a company simply cannot afford to lose."
“Right now, there’s a seemingly endless supply of businesses facing situations that require legal representation in which, if they don’t get the financial situation worked out or don’t get those supply lines open or don’t get the burden off their back, it will so impact them—that they’ll likely be out of business,” said William A. Brewer III, one of the firm’s founding partners. “We’re built for these kinds of disputes.”
The article, published in a special section of New York Magazine, notes some of the firm's "unusual features," including having an in-house team of former FBI investigators and business specialists, while also focusing on its devotion to public service.
The article states, "Its Future Leaders Program targets talented school kids from economically disadvantaged parts of Dallas, and provides intensive academic and leadership training from fifth grade through high school. The Future Leaders Program grew out of another of initiative, the Bickel & Brewer Storefront, a community law office it established in 1995 in the inner city in Dallas to provide free or sliding scale civil legal services to low-income clients (any fees it receives are funneled back into the Bickel & Brewer Foundation, which funds the firm’s many public service initiatives.)"
“We’ve been blessed,” said Brewer, “and I and my partners feel that whenever we can, we should make ourselves available to help people who need it.”
To read the full article, click here.
The Wall Street Journal Reports on Firm's "Old-School Power Attire"
February 5, 2009 — The Wall Street Journal's Style Section reports on the firm's affinity for formality in the article "Inside a Bastion of Old-School Power Attire." The report states that, at Bickel & Brewer, "even the mailroom clerks wear suits and ties."
"I think people expect high-powered lawyers to look like high-powered lawyers," said Managing Partner William A. Brewer III. "Anything else is sending the wrong signal."
Read the full article here.