News

An established law firm leader with 25 years of executive management experience, the majority of it with three major law firms, has joined Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. as the global firm’s new Executive Director. The firm also has appointed partners to serve as new heads of its offices in Austin and Denver.

James K. Dixon joins Fulbright from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where he served as the Chief of Practice Development and held other senior administrative positions. Jack Vaughan, the firm’s long-time administrative partner, remains with the firm to support the transition and provide advice on a number of areas of importance to the firm, including tax and risk-management.

In Austin, Butch Hayes is the office’s new Partner-in-Charge taking over for Terry Tottenham, who will continue as Of Counsel to the firm while serving this year as the President of the State Bar of Texas. In Denver, Poe Leggette replaces as Partner-in-Charge Jeff Dykes, who also will serve in an Of Counsel capacity.

“Jim Dixon brings the perfect mix of knowledge, skills and experience to support the management of our global law firm,” said Steven B. Pfeiffer, Chair of Fulbright’s Executive Committee. “Jim knows how to develop and execute strategies across the various administrative areas critical to the continued success of our firm. He has broad and valuable experience in law firm management.”

Dixon will oversee the complete range of administrative departments. He will operate out of Houston and Washington, D.C. while spending a significant portion of his time in the firm’s 14 other domestic and international offices.

“I’m delighted to be part of such a great firm that maintains a solid grounding of tradition and culture while expanding and innovating to serve clients with excellence and efficiency,” Dixon said.

Among those Dixon will be working closely with are the firm’s Partners-in-Charge, including Hayes in Austin and Leggette in Denver.

Hayes oversees nearly 90 lawyers and more than 100 staff members working in Fulbright’s Austin office, where the firm has a strong intellectual property practice and does a full array of legal work ranging from litigation to corporate, regulatory and transactional work for a diverse range of industries, including the health care, insurance, information technology, energy, semiconductor, real estate and development and biotech industries.

Hayes primarily handles employment and business litigation ranging from employment discrimination to shareholder derivative to trade secret and employee raiding suits. He advises clients on a range of employment and business issues and has tried dozens of matters, in various jurisdictions, with a particular emphasis on federal court practice.

“Our Austin lawyers practice all over the world, but remain dedicated to serving Central Texas,” Hayes said. “We have done so for more than three decades by helping to structure deals, protect intellectual property, litigate important cases, build and shape this region and serve those who are less fortunate. Our staff and lawyers reflect the diverse fabric of this region and have given their money, time and creativity in ways that make this a better place to live. I am excited about helping continue this culture, supporting our people and making a difference in our community.”

In Denver, Leggette will oversee lawyers in the firm’s Denver office, which opened in 2006. Lawyers in the office regularly provide litigation services and energy regulatory and transactional services to domestic and international companies doing business in the Rocky Mountain region.

Leggette heads the firm’s Western Lands and Energy Practice and regularly counsels oil and gas and wind energy companies on obtaining and operating leases on federal and Indian lands. He also defends oil and gas companies accused of violating the False Claims Act. Leggette has been involved in many significant cases at the trial, appellate and Supreme Court levels regarding ownership of mineral rights, royalty disputes and compliance with environmental statutes.

“Denver remains an economic center of the Rockies and an important center for many of our energy clients,” Leggette said. “Given our firm’s long history representing the energy industry, Denver is an important market for us. Alternative energy development will flourish in the region, and the Rockies will continue to be an important supplier of natural gas, oil and coal. We are where our clients need us to be whether that is in the Middle East or Asia or in domestic markets, such as Denver and Washington, D.C.”