Latham & Watkins has officially opened its new Dallas office by hiring prominent litigators Taj Clayton and Scott Thomas as partners, the firm announced Tuesday.
The move, first reported by The Texas Lawbook on Feb. 6, significantly strengthens Latham’s trial team in Texas and across the country, adding two nationally recognized litigators with deep experience in high-stakes commercial, securities and white-collar disputes.
Clayton, who will serve as the firm’s Litigation & Trial Department chair in Texas, comes over from Kirkland & Ellis, where he had been a partner since September 2020. Prior to that, he was a partner at Winston & Strawn, where he was brought over to open the firm’s Dallas office with an all-star legal lineup that included Tom Melsheimer (who decamped for King & Spalding last week) and his new Latham colleague Thomas from Fish & Richardson in 2017.
Thomas had been with Winston since then, and prior to that, had been with Fish & Richardson since September 2005. Now he reunites with at Latham with Clayton, who multiple legal sources told The Lawbook was offered a multi-year contract that pays $20 million annually.
“Taj and Scott have sophisticated practices that intersect seamlessly with our strengths across not only litigation but also M&A, capital solutions, and private equity, further enabling us to quickly assemble and deliver the right team of legal advisors for our clients’ most important and challenging legal and business matters,” said Nick Dhesi, the managing partner of Latham’s Houston office, in a news release Tuesday. “Bringing Taj and Scott on board reflects our connection and commitment to the vibrant Texas market and our laser focus on strategic growth that aligns with the market’s changing and expanding needs.”
Clayton received his JD from Harvard Law School in 2005 and his BA from Harvard College in 1999. Thomas received his JD from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2004, his MA in taxation from Baylor University in 1999 and his BBA in accounting and finance from Texas Christian University in 1998.
In 2024, Latham recorded $318.4 million in Texas revenue, an increase of 12 percent from the previous year, according to the Texas Lawbook 50. That placed the firm at No. 10 in the Lawbook 50 rankings by revenue generated by its Texas lawyers last year.
Latham ranks No. 14 in the Lawbook 50 in terms of headcount, with 163 Texas lawyers in 2024, an increase of almost four percent from the previous year.