San Antonio's legal scene saw the curtain drop on a long-standing partnership as personal injury powerhouses Mikal Watts and Francisco "Frank" Guerra IV went their separate ways earlier this month. The attorneys, who worked side by side for years commanding Watts Guerra LLP, have each launched independent firms, bringing an end to their joint venture that for a time loomed large over mass tort litigation.
Guerra took with him the lion's share of the workforce, setting up shop as Guerra LLP with some 85 employees, while Watts took a leaner approach with around 30 employees for his Austin-based new berth, Watts Law Firm LLP. The shuffle comes as the duo cited different personal and professional directions. The breaking news of the once collaborative powerhouse was confirmed in reports by the San Antonio Report and the San Antonio Express-News.
Once steering collective efforts in representing plaintiffs in high-profile cases like the billion-dollar settlements against PG&E for California wildfires, Watts and Guerra are now adjusting their sails for solo voyages – albeit on familiar seas. "After an amicable split with my friend Frank Guerra, I’m at the Austin office of Watts Law Firm LLP by 6 am chasing that first worm," Watts revealed on his personal Facebook page. Meanwhile, Guerra remains committed to "building the next generation of fantastic lawyers," as per a recent interview.
As the divisions were drawn, the fallout saw Watts Guerra’s Puerto Rico office slated for closure, symbolizing the geographical as well as organizational distances between the founders. Watts, who had relocated to Puerto Rico at the pandemic's onset, has now chosen to focus on a more reduced work pace and spend time with his burgeoning family. "I’ve got a body mass index I’m not very proud of," he jestingly admitted regarding his health and lifestyle changes, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
Despite the dissolution, business marches on. Guerra LLP continues its operation, absorbing a substantial chunk of the former firm's legal arsenal, while Watts flies his law banner high tackling mass torts from a legal landscape he knows intimately. Their storied collaboration may have run its course, but the legal chapter for each attorney is far from finished, with hefty caseloads and new frontiers awaiting the long-time colleagues turned solo practitioners.
