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John D. Beck
(2010, 5th Circuit)
It is no exaggeration that my life and legal career were drastically altered by the American College of Bankruptcy honoring me as its “Outstanding Law Student for the Fifth Circuit” in 2010.
Prior to receiving the award, I had assumed I would practice corporate law in Dallas. I certainly never imagined I would ever practice law outside of Texas. Upon learning I was selected for the honor, I was most excited about a free trip to Washington D.C. for the American College of Bankruptcy’s annual conference and the opportunity to attend its event at the U.S. Supreme Court building. Naively, I never viewed the conference as an opportunity to forge a career in business restructuring.
At the conference, I was invited to attend an intimate dinner of Texas restructuring professionals. all members of the American College of Bankruptcy. At that dinner I was fortuitously seated next to a Texas bankruptcy legend, Bob Albergotti, but was blissfully unaware of Bob’s stature in the bankruptcy community. We talked throughout dinner and I shared with him that I was not actually planning to practice bankruptcy law after graduation. As we parted for the night, he handed me his business card and said, “Give me a call if you ever change your mind and want to be a bankruptcy attorney at Haynes and Boone.”
Later that year, I was serving as law clerk to the Honorable Phil Johnson of the Texas Supreme Court and was increasingly becoming more interested in litigation and therefore questioning my corporate law path even more. I decided to explore Bob’s offer to practice bankruptcy law, which I viewed as a hybrid practice allowing me to also have exposure to litigation. He responded to me quickly and within a week I travelled from Austin to Dallas to interview with the bankruptcy group at Haynes and Boone, thinking I was vying for an associate position in their Dallas office. The interviews went well, and I quickly understood that the Haynes and Boone bankruptcy group was highly accomplished and would be immensely fun to work with.
The next day I received an offer to join their group, but with one major caveat that took me by surprise. They had an urgent need for bankruptcy associates in their New York office and wanted me to relocate and take the New York bar exam in a few short months. I had never aspired to work in New York and had passed on a summer offer from the Dallas office of a New York based firm because of its reputation for sending associates to New York. Nevertheless, the chance to live and practice bankruptcy law in New York was as enticing as it was daunting. I decided to take a chance and moved to New York City without knowing a single person when I arrived. It proved to be the greatest decision I have made to date. Haynes and Boone New York was a great place to start my legal career and many of my colleagues there are still some of my closest friends to this day.
After 4 years at Haynes and Boone, I was ready for a new challenge and began to explore other opportunities. I ultimately decided to join Hogan Lovells, where I still remain today. I was instantly attracted to the complex client base and work at Hogan Lovells, as well as the opportunity to practice in a truly global firm with nearly 50 offices all over the world. It was clear to me that the practice group and the firm had bold ambitions for the future of the restructuring group and that I could play a role in its evolution. It has been 5 years and the group has doubled in size both at the partner and associate level, and we are taking on ever increasingly complex, high profile and interesting matters.
Looking back, it seems like such an inevitable
Where Are They Now?
ACB Distinguished Law Students