Top 30 UK law firm Withers has bolstered its presence in Texas with the addition of Houston private client boutique Dossey & Jones’ four-strong team. 

The team is led by co-managing partners Jim Dossey and Paige Jones and includes senior associate Philip Black and associate Esteban Martinez.

Their arrival marks Withers’ return to having lawyers permanently based in Houston after private client and tax partner Kevin Keen, who had joined the firm in 2021 to launch the Houston office, left for Katten Muchin Rosenman last April. 

A Withers spokesperson said that in the interim Christina Cacchio, a senior associate in the firm’s private client and tax team, had been spending time on the ground in Houston as well as in the Los Angeles office. 

For its part Dossey & Jones has been representing high net worth clients in the Houston area since 1972 and partner Jim Dossey is the third generation of his family to work at the firm. The team advises clients on areas including estate and tax planning, probate matters and corporate and property transactions. 

“We're thrilled to have Jim, Paige and the team join Withers and integrate their deeply rooted and trusted practice into our wider US and international network,” said Withers CEO Margaret Robertson “The appetite for relocation to Texas has only increased since we set up here in 2021 and the Dossey team can provide all of the support that new arrivals need, as well as working with longer term residents on their tax, estate and transactional matters." 

Dossey added: “We see a bright future as part of the Withers team, in particular to grow our practice in Houston and to bring a whole new range of US and international services into play for our clients. The Texas market is booming, and Withers' full-service offering will deliver a huge amount of value to our clients.”

Withers said when it first opened in Houston back in 2021 that it was drawn to Texas’ attractive business climate and competitive tax rates compared to other states — two factors that lend themselves to drawing in ‘successful families’ to the area.

“As we increasingly see families and businesses relocate to Texas from states such as California and New York, our new presence allows us to bring high quality planning advice to those clients,”Jay Dinwoodie, chief executive of Withers’ global private client and tax division, said at the time. 

A number of other firms have targeted Texas' bustling legal market with office launches over the past few years, among them Ashurst, Kennedys, Latham & Watkins, O’Melveny & Myers and Kirkland & Ellis. 

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