Showing that Texas remains a hot destination for out-of-state firms, Shearman & Sterling is continuing its rapid expansion in the state, building a new Dallas office.

Shearman, which opened in Austin and Houston in 2018, is expected to launch the Dallas office with an M&A group from Jones Day, according to three legal recruiters and a former Jones Day lawyer. The group includes at least three partners, two sources said.

The Am Law 50 firm confirmed its plans to open a new location in the city, but a spokeswoman for Shearman declined to discuss any hiring for the new office, or details on timing.

Shearman's advance into Texas is another example of intense interest among Big Law firms in the state's legal market. Close to half of all Am Law 200 firms that were not founded in the state have at least one Texas office. Jones Day was among the first non-Texas firms to establish a foothold in the state in the 1980s.

Five M&A partners in Jones Day's Dallas office did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the planned move. A spokesman for Jones Day also did not immediately respond.

In a statement, David Beveridge, senior partner at Shearman, said the Dallas office is the latest step in the firm's U.S. expansion strategy.

"This office will complement our teams in Texas and work seamlessly with our broader transactional teams in New York, the Bay Area and globally," Beveridge said.

He added that having a presence in Dallas positions the firm "on the ground" in a fast-growing market, where dozens of Fortune 500 companies in the energy, transportation, technology, telecommunications and health care industries are headquartered. Dallas is also home to many private equity firms, he noted.

Shearman moved into Texas in March 2018, when it added a group of Austin lawyers from Andrews Kurth Kenyon, which soon afterward merged with Hunton & Williams. Two months later, it launched in Houston with lawyers from Baker Botts, Thompson & Knight and Jones Day.

Jack Newsham contributed to this report.

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Consider This: Nearly Half of the Am Law 200 Have at Least 1 Texas Office