In a major move to shore up its Texas transactional practice, Dykema announced Monday that it is doubling the headcount of its Houston office with the lateral addition of five attorneys from Kane Russell Coleman Logan and two from Hirsch & Westheimer.
This expansion bulks up the firm in such transactional practices as energy, bankruptcy and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, business taxation and planning, corporate and finance, labor and employment, and business immigration.
The hirings raise Dykema’s Houston headcount to 16 lawyers and 139 lawyers in Texas overall.
“Our expansion in Houston exemplifies our strategic commitment to growth in key markets that matter to our clients,” said Len Wolfe, Dykema’s chair and CEO. “The legal landscape in Texas — particularly in Houston — continues to evolve as a hub for energy, finance, and corporate transactions, drawing national and international attention.”
The Dykema hires include:
Arthur Nathan — member, is an M&A attorney who specializes in taxation issues. Nathan earned his JD from University of Texas School of Law in 1975 and prior to his nearly seven-year tenure at KRCL worked at Jones Day and Haynes Boone.
Michael Durrschmidt — who spent nearly four decades at Hirsch and Westheimer, will become senior counsel in bankruptcy and restructuring. Durrschmidt is a graduate of SMU’s Dedman School of Law.
William Hotze — after graduation from SMU Dedman in 2013, Hotze practiced briefly at Snow Spence Green and Diamond McCarthy before joining Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Houston as a bankruptcy attorney. He joins Dykema as a member in the restructuring and bankruptcy practice.
Kim Lewinski — member, will join Durrschmidt in Dykema’s bankruptcy and restructuring practice. Lewinski earned her JD from Houston Law Center in 2015 and spent four years as an associate at Westheimer before becoming a shareholder just last month.
Kari Lutringer — member, corporate finance, spent almost three years at KRCL after a 10-year tenure at Wadler, Perches, Hundl & Kerlick and a four-year term with Locke Lord in Houston. She earned her JD from the University of Houston in 2007.
James Prappas — is a 1980 graduate of Davidson College who studied at the London School of Economics and graduated in 1985 with a JD from the University of Houston Law Center. A board-certified immigration attorney, Prappas supported a solo practice for 12 years before joining Jackson Walker in 2002. He spent seven years at KRCL, but will join Dykema as a business immigration specialist in the firm’s labor and employment practice.
Michael Twomey — is a board-certified labor and employment lawyer and joins Dykema as a member in that department after three years at KRCL. He is a 2009 graduate of South Texas College of Law with an undergraduate degree in economics from UT Austin. Before joining KCRL in 2022, Twomey spent more than six years at Scott Patton after a stint of less than two years at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.
Dykema, or Dykema Gossett as it was known before branding, was founded in Detroit in 1926. The firm, which has 14 offices nationwide, opened its Houston office in 2022, having already opened offices in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.