© 2018 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(May 9) – Chicago-based Katten Muchin Rosenman announced Wednesday that it has added five new lawyers to its young Dallas office, including former U.S. District Chief Judge Jorge Solis of the Northern District of Texas.
Katten opened its Dallas office in February and now has 19 lawyers in multiple practice areas. The firm also has 11 attorneys in Houston and four in Austin.
The new additions include corporate transactions partner Greg Hidalgo; securities litigation partners Barrett Howell and Brandon McCarthy; tax law special counsel Aaron Pinegar; and Judge Solis, who will serve as special counsel in various litigation-related matters.
“These are highly respected and talented lawyers joining our new office, and this demonstrates the significant investment Katten is making in Dallas,” said Mark Solomon, who is managing partner of Katten’s Dallas operation. “We are excited. We are only getting started, as we are actively talking with a few other groups.
“It is a great time to grow a law firm in Dallas,” said Solomon.
Katten Chairman Roger P. Furey, in a written statement, said the five lawyers bring “a wealth of knowledge and deep ties to the Dallas business community that will help us continue to boost our profile in Texas and bolster our capabilities in handling a wide range of client matters.”
In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Solomon credited Dallas-based executive legal recruiter Randy Block, founder of Performance Legal Placement, with identifying the new Katten lawyers and helping convince them to make the move.
“Randy understood our strategy and the kind of legal talent the firm seeks and he did his homework and made these moves possible,” Solomon said. “Randy understands that we are building an office and building practice groups that will be with us for a long time – not just hiring lawyers who have books of business.”
Hidalgo, a former M&A partner at McDermott Will & Emery, has represented a private equity-owned long-term acute care hospital system in its sale, a public hospice provider in its acquisition program and eventual $1 billion merger, a public commercial real estate services company in its $2.2 billion merger and a public diversified industrial company in its largest acquisition to date.
Howell, who joined from Bracewell, focuses his practice on white-collar criminal defense, specializing in investigating and litigating complex civil and criminal cases. He advises clients in whistleblower lawsuits, government investigations and enforcement actions involving allegations of securities and health care fraud, bribery and corruption.
Howell said he is excited to help build Katten’s legacy in DFW.
“Katten…has unparalleled expertise in the areas of white collar criminal defense and healthcare. I am honored to have the opportunity to become a Katten partner and member of the Firm’s White Collar, Investigations, and Compliance group,” he added.
McCarthy, also a former partner at Bracewell, is a former federal prosecutor who specializes in defending individuals and businesses in fraud and white-collar criminal cases and investigation.
President George H.W. Bush appointed Judge Solis to the U.S. District Court in Dallas in 1991. During his 25 years on the federal bench, he presided over several high-profile cases, including deciding that the city of Irving’s at-large election system illegally diminished the voting power of Hispanic residents. He sentenced former NFL wide receiver Sam Hurd to prison for his role in a cocaine and marijuana distribution conspiracy and sentenced five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development to prison after they were convicted on charges of providing financial support to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Judge Solis retired in 2016.
Pinegar, who practiced at Baker Botts, specializes in transactional tax planning practice. He counsels clients with respect to federal income taxes on a wide variety of transactional and planning matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, spin-offs, debt and equity offerings, joint ventures and bankruptcies. These transactions include taxable and tax-free structures and range in size from $30 million to several billion.
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