For the third time this year, Hay Compere has opened a new office. The Austin-based firm opened its San Angelo outpost on Oct. 22 with new partner Wesley M. Giesecke. Giesecke, formerly of Gossett, Harrison, Millican & Stipanovic of San Angelo, will manage the new office. Partner David Courreges says Hay Compere expanded into San Angelo because of the strength of the energy market and because Austin partners John Hay III and W. Derek Darby are both from San Angelo. “Wes is specifically in oil and gas and energy law, and, as you know with the new methods of drilling that have been going on in that area . . . there is a need for greater representation over there,” Courreges says. Giesecke says he enjoyed his previous firm but is excited about building a firm with a group of young lawyers “all just trying to make our mark.” He declines to identify clients. With Giesecke, Hay Compere has 11 lawyers in four offices, Courreges says. The two-year-old Hay Compere also has offices in Lakeway and South Padre Island. Greg Gossett, a partner in Gossett, Harrison, says the firm regrets losing Giesecke. “He’s a very talented and capable attorney, but apparently . . . a lot of the principals in that firm are also contemporary friends of Wes and felt like they had some potential business that was more oil and gas.”
Party Time
The Lanier Law Firm‘s annual holiday party is set for Dec. 9 at Mark and Becky Lanier’s house in the Cypress area northwest of Houston. Mark Lanier says it’s the 20th anniversary of the family-oriented party, which is a holiday tradition for many Texas lawyers, their spouses and children. “This has the coolest invitations yet, and they should drop in the mail a week from tomorrow,” Lanier said on Oct. 25. The party features a carnival-style midway with games and rides for children, food and big-name entertainment in a huge concert tent. As in past years, partygoers will be asked to contribute to a number of charities including Guatemala SANA, which builds schools and provides medical facilities in Guatemala, Lanier says. This year’s entertainment is expected to be country music couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Lanier declines to confirm that, saying only, “That would be an outstanding choice for our 20th anniversary party.” Country group Rascal Flatts took the stage at the 2011 shindig; Sting wowed the crowd in 2010; New Jersey band Bon Jovi rocked the party in 2009; and teen pop singer Miley Cyrus performed in 2008.
