- Bracewell & Giuliani
Infobox Law Firm
firm_name = Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
firm_
headquarters =Houston, Texas
num_offices = 10
num_attorneys = 400+
practice_areas = Energy, environmental, banking, financial, investment, white collar criminal
key_people = Mark Evans (Managing Partner)
date_founded = 1945
company_type =Limited liability partnership
homepage = http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is an
international law firm based inHouston, Texas that began in 1945. The firm has over 400 lawyers, and hasUnited States offices inNew York ,Washington, D.C. ,Hartford ,San Antonio ,Dallas , and Austin, and overseas offices inDubai , [ [http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/25/c8807.html CNW Group | BRACEWELL & GIULIANI LLP | Bracewell & Giuliani LLP Opens Office in Dubai ] ]London , andAlmaty inKazakhstan . The firm's areas of specialization includeenergy ,banking andfinancial institutions , environmental strategies,white collar criminal defense, special investigations and private investment funds. [ [http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/index.cfm/fa/lawyers_practice.home/lawyers_practice.cfm Bracewell & Giuliani: Practices ] ] Also unique to the firm is the strategic communications team who has more than two decades of experience in government relations, media relations and policy-making. [ [http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/index.cfm/fa/lawyers_practice.group/attorneys_practice/67f5cd26-12cb-4bac-957b-e7f1743cd6c2/Strategic_Communications.cfm Strategic Communications Practice Group, Bracewell & Giuliani Lawyers ] ]History
The firm was founded on
November 1 ,1945 , when J. S. Bracewell and his two sons, Searcy and Fentress, joined with Judge Bert H. Tunks to practice together in Houston under the name of Bracewell & Tunks.Searcy Bracewell was then elected to theTexas Senate in 1946, representing Harris County, and ultimately becoming the Majority Leader of the Senate. Fentress Bracewell led the development of the firm. Harry W. Patterson joined the firm in 1951, and was made name partner in 1966 as Bracewell & Patterson prospered from the commercial growth of Houston. [ [http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/index.cfm/fa/locations.detail/office/ea87fe1f-c43c-403d-bc87-56f2ed0631b9/Houston.cfm Houston ] ] National expansion began during the 1970s, followed by international expansion later.On
March 31 ,2005 , former New York City MayorRudolph W. Giuliani joined the firm as a named partner. Subsequently, Bracewell recruitedMark E. Palmer (formerly with theLondon firmLinklaters ), top restructuring lawyerEvan Flaschen , former federal prosecutorMarc L. Mukasey (son of Judge,U.S. Attorney General , and Giuliani friendMichael Mukasey [cite news | title=White House Says Mukasey Would Skip Giuliani Issues | author=William K. Rashbaum | publisher=The New York Times | date=2007-09-29 ] ), and former Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for Air and RadiationJeffrey Holmstead . During Giuliani's presidential campaign for 2008, he remained a participating partner but did not do direct client or operational work.cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-usrudy055488144dec05,0,6737667.story | title=Rudy no CEO,POLITICS,CANDIDATE,CAIMPAIGN,PRESIDENTlonger firm CEO | author=Tom Brune | publisher=Newsday | date=2007-12-05 | accessdate=2007-12-06]Many other noteworthy political figures have worked at the firm, including former U.S. Congressmen
Jim Chapman ,Edwin Bethune , andHenson Moore , as well as formerGovernor of Montana andRepublican National Committee chairMarc Racicot , U.S. Ambassador toMexico Tony Garza , andTexas Attorney General Greg Abbott .Client base
Bracewell & Giuliani has for decades represented clients on government relations matters in
Washington, D.C. and inAustin, Texas . The firm's clients have included major energy and natural resource concerns, from conventional energy sources to renewable energy such assolar power andwind power . [ [http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/index.cfm/fa/lawyers_practice.detail/attorneys_practice/c67d8f6c-f836-4212-ad08-2532d5d0fa01/Federal_Government_Relations_and_Advocacy.cfm Federal Government Relations & Advocacy Practice Group, Bracewell & Giuliani Lawyers ] ] The firm worked on behalf of geothermal interests (particularlygeothermal heating technology) in the most recent federal energy legislation. [Kate Ackley, “Steamed About Energy,” Roll Call, June 18, 2007, at http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Facts&ContentRecord_id=3fb6338e-802a-23ad-4a38-7fc2eda6c8ca&Region_id=&Issue_id=] According to one source, because of its broad-based energy experience, "Bracewell has earned a reputation as one of the most powerful law firms in the energy sector." [Amanda Griscom Little, Giuliani-Come-Lately, Grist magazine, April 8, 2005, at http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2005/04/08/little-giuliani/] Bracewell lobbying tactics have variously been noted for bipartisanship [“The new sheriffs in town,” The Hill, April 25, 2007] and stressing substantive expertise over mere access. [Eamon Javers, “Washington Outlook,” Business Week, Feb. 13, 2006, at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_07/c3971054.htm]By the late 1990s Bracewell & Patterson was known as the largest recipient of oil-industry lobbying contracts. [ [http://www.publicintegrity.org/oil/report.aspx?aid=345 Politics of Oil - The Center for Public Integrity ] ] In March 2007 it was revealed that a lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani was acting as a lobbyist on behalf of the
Houston -based,Venezuela n state-owned petroleum companyCitgo before the Texas legislature, [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Giuliani-Lobbying.html?_r=1&oref=slogin] with the firm receiving $100,000 to $200,000 in billings [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11188273/ Giuliani’s law firm lobbying for Citgo - Rudy Giuliani News - MSNBC.com ] ] after having registered to lobby for Citgo on April 26, 2005, less than a month after Giuliani joined the firm. [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/03/14/2007-03-14_giuliani_firm_on_payroll_of_prez_chavez_.html Giuliani firm on payroll of Prez Chavez oil company - News - NY Daily News ] ] Citgo had been the focus of boycott efforts [ [http://citgoboycott.org/ Citgo Boycott Headquarters ] ] due to theSocialist policies of PresidentHugo Chavez and allegations by the U.S. Government that Venezuela had "not cooperated" in theWar on Terror . [ [http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/2006/68968.htm Venezuela: Terrorism Hub of South America? ] ] Giuliani's presidential campaign said he did no lobbying for Citgo. [ [http://www.kare11.com/news/national/national_article.aspx?storyid=247897 New Header ] ] As of May 2007, the firm no longer lobbied on behalf of Citgo.In 2007, the firm represented a Spanish firm, Cintra Concesiones de Infrastructures de Transporte, S.A., a subsidiary of the
Grupo Ferrovial , in its negotiations to operate a toll road as part of the controversialTrans-Texas Corridor . [ [http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=7123 NAFTA Superhighway Has Giuliani As Key Player ] ] The Bracewell & Giuliani website states, "The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road." [http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/news/newsroom_detail.asp?NewsID=2017&archive=False]Notes
External links
* [http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/ Bracewell & Giuliani web site]
* [http://www.lawperiscope.com/profiles/038.html LawPeriscope Profile]
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