Focusing on growth, Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors has hired a Locke Lord litigation partner in Dallas to lead an aggressive hiring effort, and raised the starting salary for incoming first-year associates to $250,000, which is north of the Big Law scale paying $215,000.

Locke Lord partner Matthew Davis said he moved to Brewer because the firm handles intriguing, bet-the-company litigation, and is focused on expanding its team of lawyers.