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Hicks Johnson: A Boutique Born From Vinson & Elkins and King & Spalding That Now Takes Both Sides of Nine-Figure Cases

Origin and Background

Andrew S. Hicks and Logan E. Johnson founded Hicks Johnson in Houston in 2007, leaving established national firms to build what the firm describes as a leaner, non-conflicted litigation shop; industry research firm BCG Search identifies their prior firms as Vinson & Elkins and King & Spalding. Nearly two decades later, Hicks Johnson has grown from that two-lawyer start into a firm of more than 20 attorneys with offices in Houston and Chicago, still organized as a litigation, appellate, and arbitration boutique rather than a full-service firm. Hicks now serves as managing partner and Johnson as founding partner, with the firm having added a dedicated appellate team, headed by partners Marc Tabolsky and Penelope Nicholson, that has argued before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for ten different circuits and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Practice Concentration

Hicks Johnson concentrates on complex commercial litigation, arbitration, and appeals for corporate clients, with particular density in energy, healthcare, construction, and corporate and securities disputes. The firm’s own materials and Chambers USA both describe a genuinely two-sided practice — Hicks Johnson takes on plaintiff-side commercial claims as well as defense-side work, a mixed-representation posture that is standard and disclosed rather than concealed. See this Houston Business Litigation directory for how this litigation boutique compares to other commercial firms serving Harris County.

Notable Work / Track Record

Hicks Johnson states on its own website that over nearly 20 years it has “defeated billions of dollars in claims for defendants and collected more than $1 billion for plaintiffs” across energy, healthcare, construction, corporate, and securities litigation — a firm-reported aggregate figure that Awesome Attorneys has not independently audited claim-by-claim. Specific matters the firm discloses publicly include representing the City of Houston in ongoing litigation arising from a $1.8 billion critical-infrastructure project tied to an expansion of the city’s northwest water treatment plant; representing 12 former officers and employees of Happy State Bank against trade-secret and breach-of-contract claims brought by Centennial Bank; leading a patent infringement matter for a payment-technology provider with nine figures in controversy; and securing summary-judgment dismissal, via a Buckman-preemption argument, of insurer claims against a Houston hospital seeking to recover more than $25 million in disputed claims payments. Case outcomes in complex commercial litigation depend heavily on the specific facts and procedural posture of each matter, and past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in any other case.

Client Voice

Awesome Attorneys did not identify a public consumer-review presence for Hicks Johnson on general review platforms, which is typical for a boutique commercial litigation firm that does not take individual consumer clients. Chambers USA’s 2026 rankings publish anonymized client-interview quotes rather than named reviews; those sourced comments describe the firm as providing “exemplary legal analysis and litigation defense” with “great bench strength,” and separately as “extremely talented,” with “excellent litigators” who are “trial-ready, efficient, and on top of the law.” These are Chambers’ own client-sourced characterizations, not Awesome Attorneys’ independent assessment.

Beyond the Courtroom

Awesome Attorneys did not identify a substantial published record of civic, nonprofit, or pro bono activity specific to Hicks Johnson as a firm — a genuine gap for a firm of this size, disclosed here rather than glossed over. The firm’s public-facing content is concentrated almost entirely on litigation results and legal commentary rather than community involvement.

Recognition for This Houston Business Litigation Firm

Hicks Johnson is ranked by Chambers USA for General Commercial Litigation in Texas: Houston & Surrounds, a peer-review-based ranking rather than a paid marketing placement, and individual attorneys including Andrew Hicks have been separately recognized by Chambers for commercial-dispute work. Several Hicks Johnson attorneys, including Logan Johnson, also appear on Super Lawyers’ Houston litigation lists, another peer-nominated recognition. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification individually attributed to either founding partner, so “specialist” language is not applied to this firm, consistent with house policy reserving that term for documented TBLS certification.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Most Texas breach-of-contract claims carry a four-year limitations period, while fraud and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims are separately subject to a four-year period under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.004; Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, by contrast, must generally be brought within two years under Texas Business & Commerce Code § 17.565. Trade-secret misappropriation claims, like the one Hicks Johnson defended in the Happy State Bank matter, are governed by the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 134A), which carries its own three-year limitations period. A prevailing party’s right to recover attorney’s fees on many contract claims runs through Chapter 38 of the Civil Practice & Remedies Code. Complex commercial cases above statutory dollar thresholds may now also be eligible for the Texas Business Court, a specialized trial court that began operating in September 2024. None of this is legal advice; a specific business dispute should be evaluated by a licensed Texas attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Hicks Johnson’s clearest differentiator is a genuinely two-sided commercial litigation practice — plaintiff and defense work in roughly equal measure — built by partners with Big Law pedigrees and validated by Chambers USA’s peer-review process rather than paid rankings alone. The honest trade-off is scale and selectivity: as a boutique of roughly 20 lawyers handling bet-the-company matters for corporate clients, Hicks Johnson is not structured for smaller, lower-dollar business disputes, and its published win figures are firm-reported aggregates that Awesome Attorneys has not independently verified claim-by-claim. For a company facing a high-stakes commercial dispute — particularly in energy, healthcare, or construction — Hicks Johnson’s Chambers-verified track record is a reasonable basis for a shortlist; a small business with a modest contract dispute will likely find better economic fit elsewhere in this category.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Hicks Johnson’s own website, including its About page and the individual attorney biographies of Andrew S. Hicks and Logan E. Johnson; Chambers USA’s firm, office, and litigation-department profiles for Hicks Johnson; and firm-ranking summaries published by BCG Search, Vault, and Super Lawyers.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Hicks Johnson PLLC prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.