Latham & Watkins Plans to Open in Dallas, Hires Two Partners (1)

Latham & Watkins plans to open a Dallas office, joining Big Law rivals that have raced to the area for tech, health care and litigation work, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Latham hired Kirkland & Ellis litigation partner Taj J. Clayton to lead the new office, according to two of the people. Latham in a statement Tuesday acknowledged hiring Clayton and Winston & Strawn litigation partner Scott Thomas, who like Clayton has worked out of Dallas. The statement made no mention of a new Dallas office.

“Taj and Scott are exceptional additions to our firm, and their arrival enhances our distinguished Texas and global litigation capabilities,” Rich Trobman, chair and managing partner of Latham, said in the statement.

The firm’s expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth mirrors efforts from rival firms that have sought to tap into a rapidly expanding corporate legal market in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the US. Baker Botts, Vinson & Elkins, Haynes Boone, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Kirkland are among those with Dallas offices.

Latham and Kirkland did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Texas Law Book earlier reported that Latham was expected to announce a Dallas office opening.

Clayton, who joined Kirkland in 2020, represented the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks against a lawsuit alleging negligence and vicarious liability. He also defended “the Los Angeles Rams and its owner, E. Stanley Kroenke, in a multi-billion dollar breach of contract and fraud lawsuit arising from the relocation of the Rams football club to Los Angeles,” according to the Kirkland website.

Thomas’ practice includes commercial litigation, securities litigation, and white collar matters in federal and state courts, including Texas, New York, and California, according to Latham’s statement.

New Location

A Dallas office will mark Latham’s third in the state, after opening in Houston in 2010 to grab energy-related work and in Austin in 2021 to represent emerging companies in technology, life sciences and venture capital.

The Dallas area welcomed the New York Stock Exchange’s digital Texas venue last year. It is expected to host the arrival of the Texas Stock Exchange as an alternative option to listing and trading in mid-2026.

Latham’s move into the Dallas-Fort Worth metro “is about aligning with where capital, talent, and demand for complex legal services are converging,” said Kent Zimmermann, a principal at law firm consultancy Zeughauser Group.

The region in North Texas has become a “major hub for outside investment” across sectors that are both capital-intensive and generate a lot of transactional and litigation work for law firms, including related to private equity, energy, infrastructure, tech, healthcare services, and increasingly financial services and insurance, Zimmermann said. Those trends translate directly into opportunities for law firms.

“Firms that establish a strong Dallas presence are positioning themselves close to decision-makers, sponsors, and boards driving that activity,” Zimmermann said. Additionally, Dallas has a “growing talent pool of partners with national practices” who can serve clients at a national level.

Last year, Latham managed to dethrone Kirkland to become the most successful M&A adviser, according to Bloomberg Law’s data. Latham guided $786.7 billion worth of M&A deals, defeating top competitors in Kirkland ($743.3 billion), Watchell Lipton Rosen & Katz ($621.2 billion), Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom ($549.7 billion) and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett ($403 billion).

A mixture of Big Law and boutqiue firms have also launched Dallas practices to increase their intellectual property amid the rising tech hub within a relatively short distance of the Eastern District of Texas, a prominent venue for handling IP cases in the US. In January, the Houston-based AZA Law opened a small Dallas post to increase its IP and patent work.