Global law firm White & Case has opened an office in Houston to further strengthen its oil and gas industry group. It will be run by four lateral hire partners. Jay Cuclis joins from Vinson & Elkins and will become office executive partner. He is joined by partners Christopher Richardson and Charlie Ofner, who have joined from Andrews Kurth Kenyon.  Saul Daniel, an English-qualified White & Case partner who has practiced in London and Abu Dhabi, has also joined the Houston office. 'Houston is the global capital of the oil & gas industry, with more than 5,000 energy firms doing business in the metropolitan region,' said White & Case partner Philip Stopford, co-head of the global oil & gas industry group.

Growth strategy

'An office in Houston furthers the firm's strategy to grow in the United States while supporting the firm's industry priority groups,' says executive committee member Dave Koschik, who heads White & Case's US growth team. 'The Houston office will be focused primarily on strengthening our global oil & gas industry group by identifying and nurturing deep and enduring corporate client relationships within that industry...Our goal is to have at least 15 partners and 50 total lawyers across the core transactional practices of corporate, finance and projects.' White & Case's Houston office is its seventh location in the US and its 43rd globally.