For Houston-based Bracewell, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was its key to New York City.
Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, joined Houston-based Bracewell in 2005, shortly before he began his unsuccessful run for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination. The firm changed its name to Bracewell & Giuliani from Bracewell & Patterson and took out a $25 million loan to open a New York office.