Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough opened a Houston office Monday with partners from King & Spalding, Foley & Lardner, Frost Brown Todd, Hicks Thomas, and Platt Richmond.
In total, 10 laterals are launching the South Carolina-based law firm’s second Texas outpost, and one D.C.-based lawyer will relocate to bring the total footprint to 11.
The office will be led by Craig Dillard, who officially joins Nelson Mullins later this month from Foley, where he served as that firm’s Houston litigation chair and head of its oil and gas team. Also coming over from Foley are litigators Mike Rahmn and Jason Sharp.
The rest of the team includes corporate partner Mitchell Moore from King & Spalding; litigator Kasi Chadwick from Hicks Thomas; corporate partner J. Patrick LaRue and healthcare partner Darren Skyles, a former vice president for legal affairs at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, from Frost Brown Todd; tax partner Nima Farzaneh, fund formation partner Audra White, and of counsel Brittany Cox from Platt Richmond.
“With corporate, tax, employment, and litigation experience, our new Houston office is a full-service location from day one,” Jim Lehman, Nelson Mullins’ managing partner, said in the announcement. “We expect additional attorneys to join the office in the next few weeks.”
Nelson Mullins entered the Texas market in 2022 via Dallas with nine partners from Bowman & Brooke. The firm’s total Texas headcount is up to nearly 50 attorneys with the Houston additions.