Frost Brown Todd is continuing its recent growth in Dallas with the addition of former Texas Rep. Jason Villalba, Bobby Majumder and Ed McQueen.
Frost Brown tapped three different law firms in this recruiting wave. Villalba was previously at Foley, Majumder was the co-managing partner of Reed Smith’s Dallas outpost and Ed McQueen practiced at Bell Nunnally.
“Frost Brown Todd has prioritized the Dallas office as one of its growth offices. We are looking for lawyers that have deep contacts in the North Texas business and philanthropic communities,” Eddy Moore, member-in-charge of the 25-lawyer Dallas office, said.
“The lawyers we have hired recently meet those standards.”
In September, Frost Brown brought on securities litigator Brad Foster and real estate attorney Clay Pulliam from Hunton Andrews Kurth and Fishman Jackson Ronquillo, respectively.
Moore said the goal is to double the size of the Dallas office from Jan. 1, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2024. He says the firm prioritizes three key things when recruiting lateral hires: increasing market share, raising the firm’s community profile and finding good fits with the business of Frost Brown.
Villalba certainly raises the firm’s community profile. The former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 114 and Dallas native now focuses his practice on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures for public, private and middle-market companies, along with financing transactions for emerging growth and tech companies.
“It was clear to me upon meeting with the firm’s leadership that Frost Brown Todd is steadfastly committed to building a robust and growth-oriented presence in Dallas, and all of Texas,” Villalba said. “The team I will be joining in Dallas is agile, ambitious, smart, dedicated and imminently capable of providing a comprehensive and effective legal solution to companies in the underserved middle-market of Texas.”
Majumder advises both public and privately-held companies in securities offerings and domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, plus a variety of private equity and venture capital needs. Prior to helping spearhead Reed Smith’s Dallas expansion, Majumder led the Dallas office at Perkins Coie for a couple of years.
“At a certain level, all large law firms have smart lawyers, do work for notable clients and have sophisticated transactional and litigation experience. Cultures differ, however,” Majumder said. “In choosing to come to Frost Brown Todd, I found a group of really talented lawyers with whom I am comfortable and where the culture is fantastic.”
McQueen is a finance and lending attorney who represents financial institutions and businesses in connection with commercial and real estate finance matters and transactions.
The Cincinnati-based law firm also said summer associate Asia Wright has joined the firm as a first-year.