Dallas-based Jenkens & Gilchrist entered the waning days of February with offices in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Chicago and Los Angeles, but it was clear by March 1 that lawyers in those offices were leaving for other firms and most if not all of Jenkens’ branches would close. At the same time, firm leaders continued negotiations on a deal to move many lawyers at the Dallas headquarters to Hunton & Williams.
The dismantling of the 56-year-old firm has been in the works for a while as Jenkens took some hits to its image and lawyer count in the wake of troubles with its Chicago-based tax practice that surfaced in 2003. The first major departure came in March 2005, when the firm lost its 91-lawyer New York office to Troutman Sanders, an Atlanta-based firm.
