Munsch Hardt is expanding its litigation capabilities with the addition of Dallas trial lawyer William Toles from Fee Smith.
Toles, who officially joins the firm on September 13, is also bringing with him associates Kelly Wise and Peter Hogue and two paralegals. He said the opportunity crystallized earlier this year over drinks with litigator and friend Jamil Alibhai, who joined Munsch Hardt in March 2020.
“We talked about the culture of the firm and how fun it would be for us to try cases together,” said Toles, who is the president-elect of the American Board of Trial Advocates Dallas Chapter.
“Once I met Phil Appenzeller and the dialogue progressed with the firm, I became more and more excited about the opportunity to practice with good friends and also expand my practice in areas that I have been growing the last few years. Working at Fee Smith the last 9 years was a blessing and I am excited about the move to Munsch Hardt.”
Toles, who has tried more than 60 civil jury trials to verdict, focuses his practice on tort litigation, ranging from negligence and transportation matters to complex premises liability, Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), as well as commercial and contractual dispute litigation.
“We are really excited whenever we can bring on a partner that has the trial skills and experience that William does. He knows his way around a courtroom,” Appenzeller, CEO at Munsch Hardt, said. “He is also bringing in a new mix of clients which we are excited about and we are looking forward to introducing him to our existing clients.”
In particular, Appenzeller pointed to Toles’ retail, restaurant and transportation relationships as fitting nicely with the firm. Toles’ clients include FedEx Ground, USAA, Kimberly-Clark, Sprouts, ClubCorp, Michaels, The Cheesecake Factory and the State Fair of Texas.
Munsch Hardt – which has offices in Dallas, Houston and Austin – has added 25 lawyers this year, says Appenzeller, and 55 lawyers over the last three years. The firm generated $75.5 million in revenues in 2020, according to the Texas Lawbook 50.
“It is a really unique time to be practicing law in Texas,” said Toles. “Munsch’s focus on Texas exclusively made it attractive to me.”