King & Spalding has announced plans to open an office in Dallas with the hire of trial lawyer Veronica Moyé from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

The Dallas office will be the firm’s third in Texas and will be spearheaded by Moyé and recent arrivals Sean Royall, global head of the antitrust and consumer protection practice, and intellectual property lawyer Alfonso Chan. Moyé joins as a partner and will sit in the firm’s business litigation practice, where she will focus on litigation matters spanning antitrust, IP, class action and commercial disputes.

Robert Hays, King & Spalding’s chairman, said: “Veronica is a star first-chair trial lawyer with valuable in-house experience and a passion for mentoring and developing the next generation that aligns with our commitment to clients and associates.”

He added: “While our firm has long-term relationships with a number of key clients in Dallas, the critical mass of talent we now have there internally solidified our decision to commit on-the-ground resources in this important market, which is home to many of the country’s top corporations. Veronica is a terrific anchor hire for the office, and we are confident it will expand quickly with additional talent.”

Moyé spent 12 years at Gibson Dunn, where most recently she was co-chair of the firm’s global litigation practice group and sat on its executive committee. Prior to that she spent almost six years as a partner at Vinson & Elkins.

She said: “King & Spalding has a collaborative, team-oriented approach to client and practice development that has clearly paid dividends in terms of growth without sacrificing a strong sense of esprit de corps and a one-firm culture.”

King & Spalding’s Dallas launch adds to its offices in Houston and Austin, where it has been located since 1995 and 2008 respectively. The new Dallas office – its 24th office globally – will focus on corporate, finance and restructuring, business litigation, government investigations, real estate, investment funds and product liability and mass tort work.

Royall joined King & Spalding last August after just under two years at Sidley Austin, having also had a two-year stint as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Prior to that he spent more than 16 years with Gibson Dunn in Dallas. Chan, meantime, joined the firm back in December from McKool Smith, having previously spent 18 years at Shore Chan. The trio will be joined in Dallas by roughly a dozen associates, with more expected to join later in the year.

Just over half the top 100 law firms in the US have an office in Dallas, according to research by Pirical. Recent arrivals include Blank Rome, which announced its launch there in July 2023. 

Largest Am Law 100 Law Firms in Dallas by Number of Lawyers

Source: Pirical