Are you interested in making a lateral move to a firm in Texas? If you answered “yes,” then we have some good news for you. Lateral Link’s Placement Bonus is BACK! Here’s how it works: If a Lateral Link recruiter presents you to a Texas firm before Labor Day of 2019 and we ultimately place you from that introduction, Lateral Link will pay you $10,000 just for working with us!
Why Move to Texas?
Texas continues to remain a TOP destination with its low-cost of living and competitive salaries compared to other major markets. Over the last five years, more than forty AmLaw 200 firms have opened offices in Dallas, Austin and Houston. Some of the newest firms to the Texas market include Womble Bond Dickinson, White & Case, Kirkland & Ellis and Shearman & Sterling.
Texas has four major, bustling and diverse big city centers and is home to many Am Law 100 firms and high-end boutiques. The market is continuously evolving and thriving as a “place to be.” For the first time since 2016, Dallas has more growth in the associate market with 122 hires compared to 88 associate hires in Houston.
Dallas and Houston, similar to the Associate movement, are showing major upward trends in the Partner hiring market, as well.
Which Firms are Making Moves in Texas?
Reed Smith wins the award for the most growth in Dallas, this year, with the opening of its new office. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP and Winstead have also had significant hires in Dallas. In Houston, White & Case and Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP are leading the charts with the most hiring in 2019.
What are the Best Practice Areas in Texas?
The practice areas with the most hiring in early 2019 include Corporate and Finance, Litigation, IP, and Real Estate. Some of the highest Vault and AmLaw – ranked corporate practice groups reside in Texas. In particular, Kirkland, Sidley and Latham lead the way on headline Corporate and Private Equity transactions on an international scale. This year to date, Corporate and Finance had 72 new attorney hires in Texas. Within these practice areas, Corporate hiring has been primarily concentrated in M&A and, especially, in the Private Equity space. With regards to finance practice groups, debt-finance including syndicated and leveraged lending was the busiest finance hiring area.
Litigation has remained steady since 2018. With approximately 85 Associate hires thus far, there has been about the same amount of Litigation Associates hired in the first half of 2019 compared to the same time last year.
IP has started to ramp back up with hiring gains in 2019. Year to date, there has been 20 new Associate hires compared to only 10 in 2018. Texas hosts many of the top IP teams at both large Am Law-ranked and IP specialty firms. The IP teams in Texas handle sophisticated IP Litigation and Patent Prosecution matters for an array of top companies. Technology and IP transactions associates have also been in high demand in Texas.
Real Estate practice continues its upward trend in Dallas. These Associates handle a wide variety of sophisticated Commercial Real Estate transactions including purchases, sales, leasing, development, management and ventures. Since January 2019, major Am Law firms in Texas have hired over 20 Real Estate Associates.
In summary, the Texas legal market is flourishing, with available positions for associates of all practices and seniority levels. Law firms are very open and HAPPY to relocate worthy candidates. If you are interested in hearing more about the Texas market, please feel to reach out to me at .
