Willkie Farr, Greenberg Traurig, McKool Smith, Munck Wilson, Perkins Coie, Blank Rome, Womble and Eversheds Sutherland announced new lateral partner hires this week in their Texas offices. The nine lawyers on the move came from Baker Botts, King & Spalding, Winstead, Norton Rose Fulbright, Gray Reed, Shore Chan and in-house.
McDermott Opens in Austin
Chicago firm McDermott, Will & Emery has opened an Austin office with the hiring of eight intellectual property partners from Baker Botts. It’s the firm’s third office in Texas and 22nd worldwide.
Alana Matthews Leaves Dallas Stars to Be Pioneering Entrepreneur
Last month, Matthews left the Dallas Stars to pursue another deeply-held passion: creating a business that focuses exclusively on custom-made luxury workwear for professional women.
AZA IP Lawyers Spin Off into New Firm
Seven intellectual property lawyers have left the Houston litigation boutique Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing to practice law at a spinoff firm, Alavi Anaipakos, Natalie Posgate reports. The group departure follows the exit of former AZA name partners Demetrios Anaipakos and Amir Alavi, who left at the end of March.
Gibson Dunn Adds Another PE Partner from Willkie
After only 16 months at Willkie, Jesse Myers has moved to Gibson Dunn. He joins former Willkie colleague, Michael De Voe Piazza, who made the move to Gibson in March. He also joins a cadre of transactional partners who have left Willkie in the past several months. Claire Poole has the details.
Two Energy Deal Lawyers Boomerang to Norton Rose Fulbright
The firm has brought back two former Fulbright lawyers from Baker Botts and Winston & Strawn.
TX GC Forum Honors Mary Kay’s Julia Simon for Ethics and Law
Last week, the Texas General Counsel Forum honored Mary Kay Chief Legal Officer Julia Simon with its Robert H. Dedman Award for Ethics and Law. Kimberly-Clark Deputy GC Shonn Brown introduced Simon, calling her “a fierce advocate for justice and equity.” Simon said she accepted the award “knowing it’s my job to strive to live up to standards this award represents every day. I accept it knowing it’s not just for what I have done in the past but what I intend to do, now and in the future.” The Texas Lawbook has the exclusive details.
Capital Markets Pro Michelle Earley Moves to O’Melveny
With the move, Michelle Earley is rejoining former Locke Lord colleagues who joined O’Melveny in January. Earley was on the executive committee and was a diversity and inclusion leader at Locke Lord.
Former Texas SG Kyle Hawkins Exits Gibson Dunn for Lehotsky Keller Litigation Boutique
Former Texas solicitor general Kyle Hawkins is joining the litigation boutique Lehotsky Keller as head of its Texas appellate practice group. As Texas SG Hawkins argued four times before the U.S. Supreme Court. Hawkins had been with Gibson Dunn since he left as solicitor general last year.
Christopher Peponis Leaves White & Case for Latham
One of the project partner’s recent notable deals was advising Vitol on a 10-year, $12 billion contract to buy LNG from Houston-based Tellurian.