Latham Officially Opens in Austin

Latham & Watkins made its Austin arrival official last week, tapping veteran dealmakers Samer Zabaneh and Jenifer Smith from DLA Piper and Scott Craig from Wilson Sonsini.Zabaneh will serve as managing partner of Latham’s second Texas outpost. The firm’s Houston office – whose 2010 opening launched a decade-long transformation of the Texas legal market – reported $140.8 million in revenues in 2020, according to the Texas Lawbook 50.Samer ZabanehCharles Ruck, global chair of Latham’s corporate department, said trio of emerging companies specialists is a perfect fit for three reasons: 1) clients and practices; 2) deep ties to the dynamic Austin region; and 3) the people.“We talked with important clients about where they want us and what they need from us and they identified these three lawyers as people they trust,” Ruck said. “We feel incredibly lucky we found the group that we did.”Latham is the latest prominent out-of-state firm to expand into Austin this year, joining Kirkland & Ellis, Gunderson Dettmer, O’Melveny & Myers, Quinn Emanuel and Balch & Bingham. The Los Angeles-based firm, in its official announcement, said it anticipates that current partners with strong ties to Texas will either permanently relocate to Austin or spend significant time in…