Steve Tyndall has joined A&O Shearman as a partner in the M&A and private equity practice in Austin. Tyndall, who spent the last four years at Morrison Foerster, said that the firm’s international footprint and expanding Texas offices were meaningful in his decision to join A&O Shearman.
“I’ve had clients recently ask for connections around the globe, and oftentimes that means introducing them to other firms,” he said in an interview with The Lawbook. “It is attractive to me to be able to introduce them to good lawyers within A&O Shearman, and to then monitor and care for that client globally.”
Dallas partner Alain Dermarkar is U.S. co-head of the M&A practice Tyndall is joining. Dermarkar said Tyndall can grow his practice to support his clients in new ways while expanding into new jurisdictions.
“Every one of our A&O Shearman offices is a full-service office … what we do in Dallas, we can do the same way in Bratislava,” Dermarkar told The Lawbook. “Steve is a seasoned practitioner who is extremely well known in the Austin legal community. His experience advising companies across the full transaction lifecycle, from early-stage financing through public company M&A, is highly complementary to our existing capabilities. His deep roots in the Texas legal community underscore the strength of his local network and his ability to originate and execute transactions in the market.”
Tyndall holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University, and in 1998 he earned a JD at the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Prior to his time with Morrison Foerster, Tyndall was an Austin partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman for nearly seven years preceded by more than six years at Baker Botts and a 2.5-year stretch at Fish & Richardson. He started his law career at Andrew Kurth before a stint at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, when he first worked with David Whittlesey, who is now a litigation partner in the A&O Shearman Austin office.
A&O Texas Managing Partner Thad Behrens said growing the firm’s offices in the state remains a key part of the overall growth strategy. There are about a dozen lawyers in the A&O Austin office, which is just a few blocks from the Texas Capitol.
In May, W. Andrew Lanius joined A&O Shearman’s Houston office as the head of U.S. energy and infrastructure finance. And the firm is also adding lawyers elsewhere. Germaine Gurr recently joined the M&A group in Los Angeles, drawn to the firm in part because of the same cross-border, international focus of the M&A practice that attracted Tyndall.
Behrens, who is also the firm’s U.S. co-head of commercial litigation, said an emphasis on high-end litigation and high-end transactional work continues to drive the firm’s growth.
A&O Shearman’s revenue in Texas rose 18.8 percent in 2025 to $101 million from $85 million a year earlier, according to The Texas Lawbook 50. London-based Allen & Overy officially merged with New York-headquartered Shearman & Sterling in May 2024. The global firm now has nearly 4,000 lawyers in more than 30 countries.
In March, Dermarkar told The Lawbook that he was busier than he’d ever been, and the Corporate Deal Tracker’s first-half rankings confirmed as much. For Texas‑led principal deal count — where lawyers represent buyers, sellers and targets —Dermarkar was one of three lawyers atop the list with 22 deals. A&O Shearman Dallas partner Kyle Park was fourth with 19 Texas‑led principal-represented deals.
Tyndall said he was drawn to the firm’s culture and encouraged by the projected growth in the Dallas, Houston and Austin offices.
Emily Westridge Black, the managing partner in the Austin office, said the firm’s technology and life sciences platforms are well-suited for Tyndall’s blue-chip clients.
“Texas is very good at spotting trends and running toward what’s next and embracing whatever that is” Westridge Black told The Lawbook. “This has helped keep the state on this hot streak that has stretched on for a few decades now.”
Westridge Black said A&O Shearman’s global reach from the Austin office builds on strong ties from London to Silicon Valley to provide counsel to clients from IT litigation to key sectors such as tech, life sciences and private equity.
“A&O Shearman’s platform offers something unique in the Austin market, which is the ability to connect clients to a truly integrated global network,” Tyndall said. “I’m excited to be part of building the firm’s presence in Texas and to leverage its global capabilities on behalf of my clients as they pursue increasingly complex transactions across sectors and borders.”