June 15, 2015 - Reed Smith LLP today announced the addition of Ricky A. Raven as a partner in the firm’s U.S. Commercial Litigation Group in Houston. Raven was formerly a partner at Thompson & Knight in Houston.

“Ricky is an exceptional addition to our national practice,” said Raymond A. Cardozo, Chair of Reed Smith’s Litigation Department. “He is an accomplished and well-known trial lawyer and has first-chaired more than 100 jury trials to verdict throughout the country. His connections to the Houston business community and with in-house counsel at major corporations are exceptionally strong. We are delighted to have him as a colleague.”

Raven has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in the mass tort litigation/class actions category annually since 2008; by Texas Super Lawyers in the environmental category since 2007; and by Lawdragon 500 and Leading Lawyers in America. In 2012, he was named one of only 17 “Law Firm Rainmakers” in the United States by Diversity & the Bar, a publication of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. In 2014, he was featured by Law360 in its ongoing "Minority Powerbrokers Q&A” series, and in 2015 he was honored among the 100 “Most Influential Black Lawyers” in the United States by Savoy Magazine.

Recently elected to membership in the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates, Raven is admitted to practice in Texas, Arkansas and New York.

“Reed Smith provides me with a global platform and a network that is essential to my clients and to the evolution and growth of my practice,” said Raven. “In addition, the firm has entered the Texas market by attracting some of the top legal talent in the state; that, combined with the firm’s expansion plans and national reputation, has given them a strong foothold in the hottest legal market in the country. The firm is a perfect fit for my practice and my clients.”

A 1986 graduate of the University of Houston School of Law, Raven began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Harris County. He joined Thompson & Knight in 2002, after stints at Woodard, Hall & Prim and Porter Hedges.

Raven is very active in the Houston community, serving on the boards of numerous civic organizations, including The University of Texas Health Science Center, Ronald McDonald House of Houston, Houston Symphony Orchestra, University of Houston Alumni Association, Yellowstone Academy, the Houston Community College Foundation and the Houston Zoo.

“We welcome Ricky to our office,” said David Thompson, Reed Smith’s Houston Integration Partner . “He is very well known and highly respected throughout this community and statewide, both as an attorney and as a consummate civic leader. We have long admired his work and could not be happier to have him join us at this time.”

Reed Smith has more than 1,000 litigators in its firmwide Litigation Department in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, making it the fifth-largest litigation firm in the world, according to The Lawyer Global Litigation Top 50 2014. BTI Litigation Outlook 2015 ranked the firm as best-suited to lead litigation in six of eight practice areas, including Class Actions and Torts, Complex Commercial Litigation, Complex Employment Litigation, Routine Employment Litigation, Intellectual Property and Product Liability.

Clients of the firm’s Litigation practice include energy companies, financial services firms, life science companies, health care providers, retailers, media companies, technology companies and entrepreneurs, transport and logistics operators, communications companies, manufacturers, universities, nonprofits, real estate developers, and municipalities that rely on its experienced team to resolve their most complex and high-stakes matters.

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 26 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, entertainment and media, shipping and transport, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing and technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.

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