That's the conclusion suggested by this Houston Chronicle article, about the most fabulous law firm holiday parties thrown in that city.

In New York, the biggest and best law firm parties tend to be thrown by the biggest and best law firms. But they do things differently down in Texas, Land of the Plaintiffs' Lawyers. From Mary Flood's quite interesting article:

A random survey of about 100 Houston lawyers showed these to be the six hottest legal party tickets this holiday season:

• litigation firm Susman Godfrey's art-studded office reception;
• plaintiffs lawyer Richard Mithoff's traditional classy soiree;
• plaintiffs lawyer Mark Lanier's family-friendly extravaganza;
• plaintiffs lawyer John O'Quinn's sparkling gala;
• Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels & Friend's crowded office open house;
• defense lawyer David Beck's high-quality in-home affair.

More excerpts and discussion, after the jump.

So why do plaintiff's lawyers dominate the holiday party rankings? It's all about building business:

It's not always the big firms that have the biggest parties, though it may be some of the most aggressive that do.

These lavish bashes accomplish a variety of business functions, including building good will with the judiciary, clients and other lawyers, who can refer cases. One civil court judge said he literally has "stacks" of invitations.

They also reward employees and loyal others. Some are meant to just plain show how successful a firm has been — not to mention how fun they are.

With large, defense-oriented firms, lavish parties may not go over well:

There is sometimes backlash from clients about excessively expensive-looking parties. After Baker Botts held a client appreciation party at the Toyota Center last November, some clients groused around town about money spent on overhead acrobats at the party.

But for Susman Godfrey, which does a fair amount of contigency fee work, a big-time blowout sends the right message:

"We want people to think we're extravagant," said Susman, who when hired by the hour charges $1,100. "We want them to find our rates so expensive that they hire us for a piece of the action."

Speaking of action:

[T]he best story ever from a Houston firm's holiday party comes from a Vinson & Elkins bash years ago when the leg of an amorous secretary was spied as it slipped through a ceiling tile while she engaged in extracurricular conduct in a crawl space with an associate. The notorious event was memorialized in an episode of the '80s TV show L.A. Law.

What's the bottom line for these fetes? Flood writes: "The firms won't say how much the biggest parties cost, but off the record some acknowledge we're talking $100,000 and up."

You can check out the full article, which includes tons of details about the various festivities, by clicking here.

Law firms can go to extremes [Houston Chronicle]