By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
Polsinelli, the fastest growing law firm in the country according to American Lawyer, added corporate and transactional attorney Gemma Descoteaux to its Dallas office last week.
Descoteaux, who spent the past 13 years at Akin Gump, says her practice won’t change much at her new firm.
“I will continue to focus on complex transactions (acquisitions, divestitures, strategic alliances and outsourcing deals) in manufacturing, technology and healthcare,” she said. “With the Polsinelli healthcare strength, I expect to be able to offer my healthcare clients a deep bench of healthcare expertise.”
The 1998 SMU Dedman School of Law graduate also has worked for several major technology firms, including Texas Instruments as a contract negotiator and EXE Technologies, Inc. as associate general counsel. While at EXE Technologies, Inc., she was involved with the company’s initial public offering.
Descoteaux says privacy, data security and management of big data are critical issues for her clients as more companies are moving to the cloud. But she says the biggest legal issue her clients continue to face is how to do more with less.
“Corporations continue to be budget conscious and are challenged to reduce overhead—being more creative and efficient with their legal spend can be part of the solution,” she said.
In addition to her private corporate and transactional practice, Descoteaux’s pro bono portfolio includes representing the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition in their corporate matters. According to its mission statement, Tigers for Tigers is devoted to improving the status of tigers, both captive and wild.
With the addition of Descoteaux, Polsinelli’s Dallas office is up to 19 attorneys after opening in 2011 with three.