Texas Legal Market Expands
In the past year, several prominent law firms have entered Texas, increasing competition across major markets, according to Bloomberg Law.
In January 2026, Dechert opened offices in Dallas and Houston, bringing more than 20 partners from McDermott Will and Schulte Roth & Zabel, signaling increased corporate, M&A, and complex litigation work in Texas.
Offit Kurman opened its first Texas office in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in October 2025, focusing on corporate restructuring and bankruptcy.
Energy-focused growth has accelerated. Sullivan & Cromwell began preparing for a Houston expansion in early 2026, targeting Texas’s energy sector and reinforcing Houston’s status as a national hub for energy and complex transactions.
Paul Hastings has expanded significantly, adding more than 20 partners in Dallas and Houston over the past two years through late 2025, showing long-term confidence in the Texas market.
King & Spalding set the stage by opening a Dallas office in early 2024, focusing on intellectual property and litigation. Its presence continues to influence competition in North Texas.
Hiring Strategy and Speed Matter with Strong Employment and Limited Supply
This expansion comes as legal employment remains tight. Reuters reports that U.S. legal employment reached a record high in late 2025, with over 1.2 million people working in legal services.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 4% growth in lawyer employment over the next decade, spurred by increased business activity, regulatory complexity, and litigation demand. In the short term, this growth does little to ease the competition for experienced attorneys in Texas.
Firms are competing for attorneys who are selective, well compensated, and often considering multiple opportunities, rather than for unemployed candidates.
Speed now defines the Texas legal hiring market. Firms that act quickly secure top talent, while those that hesitate often miss out.
Highly qualified attorneys rarely remain available for long. Many are not actively searching. Instead, they become open to change quietly and briefly, often triggered by leadership shifts, client changes, or misalignment with long-term goals. By the time a role is publicly posted, the strongest candidates are often already engaged in conversations elsewhere.
Consistency gives firms an advantage. Firms partnering with Collier Legal Search gain early, inside access to the market. Our established relationships allow us to alert clients to talent before a formal job search begins, giving our partners a strategic lead in securing the most sought-after attorneys.
Speed is about preparation, insight, and decisive action. Collier Legal Search provides firms with current candidate expectations, internal alignment strategies, and informed guidance. Our process helps firms minimize risk, avoid drawn-out searches, manage counteroffers, and secure top talent ahead of competitors.
Competing Beyond Compensation
Remaining Competitive within a Crowded Market
To compete in Texas’s legal hiring market, firms should focus on these priorities:
- Plan ahead by anticipating growth, succession, and client-driven hiring needs.
- Move decisively with streamlined interview processes and empowered decision-makers.
- Differentiate clearly by communicating culture, leadership, and long-term opportunity.
- Work with an experienced legal recruiter like Collier Legal Search. With over 20 years of experience, we have relationships with top talent.
Firms entering and expanding in Texas are acting deliberately and quickly. Those seeking to compete must do likewise.
Texas remains one of the nation’s most thriving legal markets. Firm expansion, strong employment, and sustained client demand indicate that competition for talent will remain intense.
A Strategic Partner in Texas
In 2026, Collier Legal Search marks 23 years in business. Over more than two decades, our success has been guided by a simple yet powerful principle: recruiting is most effective when rooted in relationships, local insight, and a deep understanding of a firm’s business objectives.
Led by native Houstonians, Collier Legal Search brings a uniquely local perspective to a rapidly evolving Texas legal market. Our owners’ deep-rooted connections to Texas law firms and legal professionals shape how we engage with clients, particularly as national and international firms expand into Houston and other key Texas markets.
As firms enter Texas, successful hiring requires more than market knowledge alone. It requires an understanding of leadership vision, growth strategy, and how a firm intends to position itself in a highly competitive environment. We spend time meeting directly with firm leadership to understand their business approach, practice priorities, and long-term goals. That insight allows us to align hiring strategy with where the firm is headed, not just where it is today.
Our team’s long-standing presence in the Texas legal community gives us real-time market intelligence that compounds over time. Combined with a clear understanding of firm-specific goals, this allows us to identify the right talent early, assess fit accurately, and guide firms through growth with confidence.
We know that effective legal recruiting is not simply about knowing the market. It is about understanding the firm behind the hire. By pairing deep local ties with a consultative approach focused on leadership priorities and strategic growth, Collier Legal Search continues to deliver meaningful results for firms building and expanding their presence in Texas.