St. Louis Firm Expands into Texas with Four Dallas Litigators

St. Louis Firm Expands into Texas with Four

Dallas Litigators

Thompson Coburn, the largest law rm based in

St. Louis, opened a Dallas oce on Tuesday with

a trio of litigation partners from Thompson &

Knight and one from litigation boutique Hedrick

Kring.

The 375-lawyer rm’s sixth outpost in the U.S.

will be led by Nicole Williams, who had spent

her entire 17-year career at Thompson & Knight.

Williams is joined by an all-female team that

includes fellow T&K partners Elizabeth Myers

and Jennifer Ecklund and Hedrick Kring partner

Katharine Battaia Clark, who practiced and

made partner at T&K before moving to the Dallas

litigation boutique last year.

Williams, who developed co-counsel

relationships with several attorneys at

Thompson Coburn on Texas cases, says she and

her team weren’t looking to change rms, but

a “unique opportunity” presented itself when

she worked on a big case last fall with a Chicago

partner at Thompson Coburn. She learned of the

management committee’s signicant interest

in launching a Dallas oce and was attracted

by the rm’s focus on litigation and client list,

which includes Enterprise Rent-A-Car, United

Van Lines and US Bank.

It was also a chance for Williams to “build

something from the ground up.”

“I’m one of those strange people who nds the

management side of a law rm interesting,” she

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

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(From left to right in back) Elizabeth Myers, Jennifer Ecklund and Katie Clark with

Nicole Williams (seated)

says. “Finding the right people and the right

team to provide great client service becomes a

little bit easier when you have the chance to do

that from the beginning.”

Thompson Coburn Chair Tom Minogue says

rm clients in Texas and outside of Texas had

been wanting it to have a presence in the state

for at least two years. The rm also has oces

in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and

Belleville, Illinois.

“We are big believers that when expanding into a

new market we need the right people,” Minogue

says. “The opportunity came up serendipitously.

It was obvious to us from a cultural and practice

perspective that this litigation group was

the exact way to start. They are outstanding

lawyers in their eld who are connected to the

community and involved in civic activities.”

Minogue is hoping to replicate the success the

rm has had with its Chicago and Los Angeles

openings. The Chicago oce, with about 65

lawyers, has grown to be the rm’s second largest.

Over the next few years, Thompson Coburn

leadership wants to build out the Dallas outpost

to more than 40 attorneys in the following key

areas: commercial litigation, product liability

litigation, healthcare, labor and employment,

corporate and energy.

With its rst Dallas hires, Thompson Coburn

is bringing on attorneys with diverse litigation

expertise and extensive relationships in the

community.

Williams focuses her practice on antitrust,

advertising and RICO matters. She is the vice-

chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission

for the City of Dallas and is involved with leading

the advocacy program at the UNT Dallas College

of Law. She also serves on the board of Rainbow

Days, which aims to serve children and youth in

adversity build coping skills and resilience for

positive futures.

Myers represents healthcare and oil and gas

clients in litigation relating to commercial

disputes, product defects, consumer fraud and

securities class actions. She is a member of the

Equality Texas Foundation’s board of directors.

Ecklund, a former attorney for the U.S.

Department of Justice’s Tax Division,

concentrates her litigation practice on white-

collar fraud, primarily in healthcare. She sits on

the boards of directors of the Dallas Area Rape

Crisis Center and Café Momentum, a Dallas

restaurant and culinary training facility that

seeks to transform lives by equipping at-risk

youth with life skills, education and employment

opportunities.

Clark, winner of the 2017 Turnaround of the

Year Award from the Turnaround Management

Association, focuses her practice on bankruptcy

and insolvency litigation. She is on the board

of Junior Players, which provides life skills and

mentorship opportunities to youth through

participation in the arts.

Thompson Coburn’s temporary Dallas address is

at 1919 McKinney Ave.

Nicole

Williams

Tom

Minogue