Hillary H. Holmes, a Gibson Dunn partner who co-chairs the firm's Capital Markets Practice Group, has been named Texas Lawyer's 2026 Texas Influential Woman of the Year.[3][6] The Texas Legal Awards recognized attorneys and legal professionals at a September 30 ceremony in Dallas; Gibson Dunn announced Holmes's award on October 1, and Texas Lawyer published its recognition on October 2.[3][5] The honor brings attention to a lawyer whose work combines corporate finance, firm leadership and programs for women pursuing board service.[6]
Holmes is co-partner-in-charge of Gibson Dunn's Houston office and a member of its Executive Committee.[6] Her official biography lists her admission to the Texas Bar and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, confirming a legal career that extends across capital markets transactions and corporate governance.[6]
The award belongs to Texas Lawyer's Texas Legal Awards program.[3][5] It is separate from the Influential Women in Law™ honor.
A practice built around financing and governance
Holmes represents issuers, underwriters and investors in equity and debt offerings, according to her firm biography.[6] Her work includes initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, investment-grade and high-yield debt, and preferred equity financings.[6] Although she advises companies across industries, the firm identifies energy and infrastructure as areas of particular experience.[6]
Her listed matters give a sense of that practice's range. Gibson Dunn credits her with representing Excelerate Energy in its $384 million initial public offering and Aris Water Solutions in its approximately $229 million IPO.[6] The biography also lists work for underwriters on public bond offerings by Waste Management and for American Electric Power on equity issuances through at-the-market and forward equity programs.[6] These examples place her work on both the company and financial intermediary sides of capital raising.
Holmes also advises boards, special committees and executive teams on mergers and acquisitions, fiduciary duties and governance issues.[6] For public companies and businesses preparing to go public, her work includes securities disclosure and SEC regulatory requirements.[6] That combination connects the financing transaction with the responsibilities that continue after it closes.
Her professional service includes membership on the American Bar Association Business Law Section's Corporate Laws Committee and a longstanding officer role with the Houston chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance.[6] Those activities sit alongside her responsibilities within Gibson Dunn, where she was a founding member of the Houston office.[6]
Preparing women for board service
One concrete part of Holmes's work for women in the profession is an annual program called Board Readiness for Women Legal Professionals, which her biography says she founded.[6] The firm also identifies her as a longtime member of the leadership committee of 50/50 Women on Boards Houston.[6]
That program connects her experience advising directors and special committees with preparation for women legal professionals who want to take on board responsibilities.[6] It gives younger lawyers and others considering their next professional role something specific to examine: how expertise developed in practice can be applied in the boardroom. The award announcements do not specify how judges weighed this work, so it is best understood as part of her professional background rather than a stated reason for her selection.[3][5]
Service beyond corporate transactions
Holmes's pro bono work has focused on supporting women who have experienced domestic violence and helping nonprofit organizations with governance and growth, according to Gibson Dunn.[6] She previously chaired the firm's Houston Pro Bono Program and served on the boards of Houston Volunteer Lawyers and the Houston Bar Foundation.[6]
Her current community roles include serving as vice chair on the board of EMERGE and as a board member of Harrison's Heroes and the Sam Houston Area Council of Scouting America.[6] Her educational background includes a Duke University bachelor's degree in public policy studies and women's studies, in addition to her Penn law degree.[6]
For readers following women's leadership in law, Holmes's career offers a specific example of practice leadership alongside board preparation and legal service outside commercial matters. The documented work is more informative than a general claim about influence: it identifies the positions she holds, the clients and institutions she advises, and the professional activities she has helped organize.[6]
Readers can explore the Influential Women in Law™ honor or find more reporting in the journal.
Reporting note: This article draws on Gibson Dunn's award announcement and professional biography, together with the publicly accessible portion of Texas Lawyer's October 2 report. It does not summarize the subscriber-only interview.
Sources
[3] https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2026/10/02/texas-influential-woman-of-the-year-hillary-holmes-gibson-dunn — Texas Lawyer: Texas Influential Woman of the Year, Hillary Holmes (October 2, 2026; public introduction) [5] https://www.gibsondunn.com/gibson-dunn-wins-six-awards-at-law-com-texas-legal-awards-2026 — Gibson Dunn: Texas Legal Awards 2026 (October 1, 2026) [6] https://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyer/holmes-hillary-h — Gibson Dunn: Hillary H. Holmes, official professional biography