Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is looking to the future.
First, with the addition of
Justin Cooper, co-head of public finance for Orrick, described Holland as part of its next-gen hiring.
Holland worked in the Texas Attorney General's office for five years before moving to Hunton Andrews Kurth in 2012. He left Hunton for Orrick.
"Clay is a trusted advisor in Texas public finance, known for his deep command of state law issues and practical insight into regulatory interpretation," said Jerry Kyle, an Orrick partner in a statement, adding "we are thrilled to have him."
Holland, a Chambers-ranked public finance lawyer, said he is "excited about joining Orrick for the expanded platform," its "strong national capabilities and deep bench on the tax side."
"I have known Jerry and Marcus (Dietz, a Houston partner) for a long time and have great respect for their leadership and expertise," Holland said.
Orrick's practice had been to promote partners from within, Cooper said, but that trend changed somewhat with the hiring of first Turner-Bond and now Holland, which he described as more "lateral" moves, as they were both partners at their previous firms.
The focus for Holland, age 46, is K-12 education.
The current volatility creates a greater need for the role that bond attorneys play in public finance: advising clients on how to manage land assets as they move through the life cycle, Holland said.
His core work focuses on traditional public finance, which involves helping public and charter schools issue debt and providing legal advice ahead of bond elections.
Both K-12 and charter schools are "still going strong," though "I don't think the charter school practice is as strong as it was five years ago," Cooper said. "It's maybe in a down cycle, but I expect it to have ups and downs like everything."
Following the
The state is in a transitional phase, Holland said.
Fewer "bottoms in the seats" puts a strain on school districts, he said.
School districts still have 50-year-old infrastructure that needs to be maintained or improved to add technological advancements, Holland said.
Voters in Dallas Unified School District approved on May 2 a
Holland said bond counsel need to work with districts that have schools that need to close and turn them into a revenue stream to aid the district's bottom line.
Cooper noted the declining enrollment issue and need to rethink land and building uses is an interesting one, something also faced by religious institutions. A topic Orrick just
Holland has served as bond counsel for over $4.6 billion of school district bonds over the past five years, including $1.4 billion of charter school bonds, the latter fits nicely with Orrick's leadership in the space, Cooper said.
Orrick has ranked as top bond counsel nationwide for the past 25 years, advising on 415 transactions aggregating nearly $66 billion in 2025 — the most
"Clay adds a top caliber practitioner as we continue to focus on innovative financing solutions for our Texas public finance clients — both issuers and bankers across the state," Deitz said in a statement.
"It's an exciting time to be joining the top bond counsel (firm) in the nation," Holland said. "I look forward to collaborating with Jerry and Marcus and the rest of the Orrick team to build on the firm's strong platform here in Texas."
Orrick ranks in the Top 5 in Texas for public finance, according to LSEG.
Attorneys in Orrick's Texas practice "represent every type of issuer in the state across a wide range of projects and transactions including pioneering tax-exempt financing solutions and innovative Texas Infrastructure Program (TIP) bonds," according to the press release.
Orrick's Texas public finance practice is 25 years old. In 2025, the firm was bond counsel on 59 transactions in Texas aggregating $5.9 billion, according to the press release.
Orrick was founded 150 -years ago in San Francisco, and now has offices in 25-plus markets worldwide.
