Shearman & Sterling is to open in Dallas, adding a third office in the Texas Triangle megaregion.

The launch will follow the firm’s arrival in Texas in 2018 when it hired teams from several firms, including Jones Day and Baker Botts, to open offices in Austin and Houston.

The Texas triangle is a region of more than 20 million people encompassed by Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio and was last year identified by CityLab as one of 29 megaregions that power the global economy.

Shearman’s senior partner, David Beveridge, confirmed the move in a statement today (7 Feb), although the firm would not comment on a report by Law.com that it was hiring a team of corporate lawyers from Jones Day.

The office will be the New York-based firm’s seventh in the US: its national network of 500 lawyers are focused in three regions – New York; San Francisco and Menlo Park; and Texas – along with its presence in Washington DC.

Beveridge said the Dallas launch marked the latest stage of the firm’s US expansion strategy, which he articulated in February last year when he said it was pursuing a plan to maximise growth in the US and UK. 

He added: “This new office will also position us on the ground in a fast-growing market – the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area is home to dozens of Fortune 500 companies spanning the energy, transportation, technology, telecommunications and healthcare industries. The city is also quickly becoming a major private equity hub, with hundreds of firms headquartered there.”

The firm’s two existing Texas offices have grown to nearly 50 lawyers since their launch. 

However, the firm has also been active on the international stage. Last year it opened in Seoul while it expanded its Middle East presence in 2015 by opening in Dubai.

In February 2019, the firm reported a 4% rise in revenue during 2018 to $955.5m.

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