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Bracewell & Patterson was founded on Nov. 1, 1945, when J. S. Bracewell and his two sons, Searcy and Fentress, joined with Judge Bert H. Tunks to practice together in Houston under the name of Bracewell & Tunks. With Searcy Bracewell's election to the Texas Senate in 1946, the firm established a long tradition of public service that is now an integral part of the firm's culture. Fentress Bracewell, who handled corporate and labor matters, is credited with leading the development of the firm's culture and vision. Harry W. Patterson joined the firm in 1951. The firm's early clients came to Bracewell & Patterson as a result of strong personal relationships firm partners had with individuals. While much of our work today is performed for large companies by multi-disciplined service teams, partners and associates still strive to develop and maintain the personal client relationships that foster good communication and build mutual trust. In 1966, the partners adopted the present name, Bracewell & Patterson, committed to grow and build a major law firm around identified practice areas. Out of this watershed event came the unity of vision with respect and dedication to client service and to each other that characterizes Bracewell & Patterson lawyers today. The firm's practice areas have grown dramatically since 1966 in response to the needs of its clients and community. When Houston's emergence as a preeminent business and commercial center pushed its geographic boundaries both outward and upward, Bracewell & Patterson attorneys handled many of the real estate transactions that created the city's current landmarks and multiple skylines. Because the city's growth and expansion required financing, the firm developed its extensive representation of financial institutions, ranging from community banks to major domestic money centers and foreign banks. While supporting the city's burgeoning energy industry, Bracewell & Patterson amassed a rich cache of energy-related knowledge and experience that few firms can rival today. Likewise, the roots of our labor and employment practice, one of Texas' largest, evolved from helping employers sort out an ever increasing tangle of federal labor laws and regulations. What is today an extensive public and school law practice started in response to the Houston Independent School District's need for representation in connection with a host of cutting-edge constitutional issues. Similarly, all of our geographic expansion has been in response to client needs. In the mid-1970s we opened offices in Washington, D.C. and Austin to assist our clients with their federal and state government relations strategies. Our London office provides a necessary link between European capital and domestic business ventures. The energy and finance opportunities existing in Kazakhstan represents a continuation of our domestic expertise in those areas. We have fulfilled our commitment to our clients to be one of the premier law firms in Texas by also opening offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. Today, Bracewell & Patterson has approximately 400 lawyers practicing in 11 offices worldwide. For over half a century, we have enjoyed steady growth and expansion by responding to the needs of our clients and fostering a culture of collaboration among all firm members. We remain committed to our culture of service and look forward to the next half century of growth and change.