Spotlight On: Suzanna Bonham, Office Managing Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Key points:
- • Energy and healthcare continue to drive legal demand in Houston’s growing market.
- • Seyfarth pairs AI tools with legal judgment to help clients manage risk.
- • Companies relocating to Texas need guidance on its legal and regulatory landscape.
October 2026 — Invest: Houston spoke with Suzanna Bonham, office managing partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, about Houston’s continued growth, changing client expectations, and how Seyfarth is combining innovation, technology, and legal judgment to help clients navigate increasingly complex business decisions. “Houston is one of the most dynamic legal markets in the country right now. Businesses have access to more information than ever before. The challenge is not finding information. The challenge is figuring out what matters. AI can help get you to an answer faster, but there is still a difference between getting an answer and knowing whether it is the right answer for the situation. That is where experience, judgment, and understanding a client’s business still matter,” Bonham said.
Join us at the Invest: Houston 3rd Edition Leadership Summit! This premier event brings together hundreds of Houston’s business and regional leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities for businesses and investors. Buy your ticket now!
How would you describe Houston’s business climate, and how is it affecting demand for legal services?
Rapidly expanding.
Energy and healthcare remain two of Houston’s primary industries and continue to fuel significant legal demand. At the same time, we are seeing substantial activity in real estate, infrastructure, construction, and companies relocating or expanding their operations in Texas.
That growth creates opportunity, but it also creates more complicated legal and business issues. Clients need lawyers who understand their industries, know the Houston market, and can help them see around corners. They are not looking for legal advice in a vacuum. They want practical advice that accounts for the business, the people, and the long-term consequences of a decision.
Where are you seeing the most growth across your Houston client base?
Energy and healthcare. These two industries remain pillars of Houston’s economy and two of the principal industries we serve. With that growth, we are seeing more business in transactions, employment, litigation, and regulatory matters. In some instances, this growth is driven by consolidation, creating many of the same legal, operational, and strategic issues that accompany organic expansion.
We are also seeing significant activity in real estate and infrastructure development. These projects often involve multiple legal disciplines, including real estate, construction, corporate, finance, employment, and regulatory issues. That is where a coordinated platform matters. Growth in one market can create opportunities across the firm, not just in a single practice area.
Are you seeing businesses take a more proactive approach to managing risk?
Absolutely. Companies are trying to identify issues earlier, and AI can be useful in that process. AI is changing the speed and scale at which both businesses and lawyers operate. It can process information faster, spot issues earlier, and surface insights that might otherwise go unnoticed. But faster information is not the same as better judgment. Good risk management is not about having more information. The challenge today is not finding the information. It is knowing what matters, what is missing, and what to do next. Technology can accelerate the analysis. Experience and judgment determine the strategy.
Our job is to help manage that risk, test assumptions, identify what may be missing, and help clients understand the full range of their options. Clients want an early, clear-eyed assessment of the facts, exposure, business impact, and available options. Sometimes the right answer is to litigate aggressively. Sometimes it is to resolve the matter early or preserve an important business relationship.
What does the competitive landscape look like for attracting experienced attorneys in Houston?
Houston is an intensely competitive market. Experienced lawyers have more choices than ever, and national firms have made significant investments in Texas. Compensation matters, of course, but it is not enough by itself.
What differentiates a firm is the opportunity it can offer: a platform that helps lawyers grow their practices, serve clients more effectively, and work in a culture people want to be part of. For experienced lawyers, I think the question ultimately becomes, “Can I build a better practice here than I can where I am today?”
That is also why I think talent is broader than laterals alone. We want to attract experienced lawyers, but we also want to develop and support talent at every stage. This year, Houston had two Seyfarth finalists in the Texas Legal Awards: Paul Pryzant, a finalist for Legal Innovator, and Julia M. Tape, a finalist for Most Promising Newcomer. Julia went on to be named Most Promising Newcomer. That says a lot about the range of talent we have fostered and supported at Seyfarth, from one of our most senior partners to one of our most junior associates.
We are seeing the same thing internally. In recent years, Houston has also had two finalists in the firm’s SEYence Fair, a firmwide innovation competition designed to surface practical ideas from across the organization and move them from concept to real-world application. The point is not innovation for its own sake. It is identifying real business challenges, improving how we work, strengthening collaboration, and creating value for our clients, our people, and the firm. To me, that reflects the kind of environment we are building: one where lawyers at different stages are encouraged to think creatively, solve problems, and make the practice better.
Genuine collaboration across practices and geographies is one of the things that sets Seyfarth apart. Our lawyers regularly share opportunities and put together the best team for the client, regardless of where they sit. That gives our clients the full strength of the firm and gives our lawyers a compelling place to build their careers. We are also disciplined about growth. We are not interested in getting bigger simply for the sake of size. We want people who elevate what we can do for clients, create opportunities for colleagues, add to what we offer, and make an already strong team even stronger.
What are clients expecting today in terms of value, transparency, and overall performance from outside counsel?
Clients want advisors who can help them separate signal from noise, understand the business implications of a decision, and identify risks and opportunities that may not be obvious at first glance. They expect a clear assessment of risk, exposure, cost, opportunity, and available options before they decide how to proceed.
Most importantly, they want advice tied to their objectives. The right result is not always a trial victory. It may be an early resolution, preserving an important relationship, avoiding disruption, or positioning the company to move forward. Our job is to understand how the client defines success and build the strategy around that.
Experience is what matters here. It comes from handling complex matters, understanding the industry, knowing the players, and recognizing which issues are likely to drive the outcome.
How does Seyfarth’s national platform support complex matters that originate in Houston?
Our Houston clients have the benefit of the full firm behind them. We build teams around the client’s needs, not geography. A matter that starts in Houston may quickly involve lawyers across multiple practices and cities, but the client continues to work with a connected team and clear relationship leaders here. To me, that is the real value of a national platform. It is not about being able to say how many offices or lawyers you have. It is about getting the right lawyer, with the right experience, involved at the right time without making the client navigate the organization.
We take the same practical approach to innovation across the firm. We have moved beyond the traditional lunch-and-learn and have what I call “lunch-and-dos.” Instead of just talking about new technology, our lawyers use it together, test it, and determine where innovation can add value and where independent legal judgment remains essential. The goal is thoughtful adoption, not adoption for its own sake.
What risks or market signals are you watching most closely as you plan for the remainder of 2026?
New technology and emerging legal markets. I am closely watching the gap between adoption and governance in AI. Businesses are moving quickly to integrate AI into operational decision-making, but the legal, ethical, confidentiality, privilege, and data-security issues cannot be an afterthought. The organizations that get this right will be the ones that pair innovation with thoughtful oversight and experienced judgment. Our investment in Seyfarth Labs and client-facing technology is designed to put those capabilities to work for clients, helping them identify risks and make better-informed decisions.
I am also watching Houston’s continued growth as a legal market. More companies and law firms are relocating to Texas, which creates opportunity but also raises the bar. For Seyfarth, growth has to be strategic. We want to grow where we can add meaningful depth that enhances and strengthens the firm.
Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest opportunity for your Houston office over the next few years?
I see tremendous opportunity for our Houston office. The opportunity is not simply to grow with Houston, but to help our clients grow in Houston. Growth comes from understanding clients’ businesses, staying close to the issues they are facing, and anticipating what they will need next.
Companies entering Texas also need practical guidance. They may understand the business reasons for being here, but operating successfully in Texas can involve a different legal, regulatory, and business environment.
For both new and established clients, we can help navigate the full range of issues that come with growth, including workforce, real estate, regulatory, and other operational considerations, while also helping them build the relationships necessary to succeed in the market. Fundamentally, this city is a relationship market. We know this market and understand the business that drives it.
Want more? Read the Invest: Houston report.
