A nine-partner Norton Rose Fulbright team has left the firm's Houston office to join Baker Botts in the city.

The nine transactional partners, all of who work in the energy sector, include David Peterman, head of Norton Rose Fulbright's US M&A and securities practice; Robert Phillpott, former head of the firm's US tax practice; and Efren Acosta, former head of its Houston corporate, M&A and securities practices.

The other six partners are Edward Rhyne, Ned Crady, Daniel Mark, Natasha Khan, Ron Scharnberg and Dan Tristan.

Rhyne, Peterman, Acosta, Khan and Tristan are joining Baker Botts' corporate practice, while Crady and Mark join the firm's global projects group, and Phillpott and Scharnberg join the tax practice. Each joined Baker Botts as of 20 February or earlier.

Baker Botts managing partner Andrew Baker (pictured) said the lateral hires are "outstanding lawyers" who give the firm greater depth in finance, private equity, M&A and tax. He described them as "people whose DNA matches ours" and their decision to move from one large firm in Houston to another shows how attractive Baker Botts is for energy and transactions work.

Baker said the firm has been working on this lateral deal for years, but negotiations intensified last autumn. "This is not a response to the six-month uptick in energy," he said.

This is not the first time Baker Botts has recruited a large group from Norton Rose Fulbright. In July 2013, shortly after Houston-based Fulbright & Jaworski combined with UK firm Norton Rose, a group of eight legacy Fulbright partners in the Middle East left to join Baker Botts.

Rhyne said he has practised in Houston since 1986, always respected Baker Botts because of its strength in areas such as corporate, technology, tax and energy, and could not pass up the opportunity to join the firm.

He said the nine partners are a "pretty tight group" who have worked together for years.

Rhyne said there was nothing specific at Norton Rose Fulbright that led to the timing of their departures. "It wasn't about a problem with Norton Rose Fulbright. It was more of an opportunity at Baker Botts," he said.

Rhyne declined to identify the group's clients but said they include his private equity clients and clients in energy and tax. He added that he expects some associates the partners have worked with closely to join them at Baker Botts.

John Porter, the partner-in-charge in Houston for Baker Botts, said in a statement that the firm's new partners "recognise the importance of collegiality, professional excellence, integrity and world-class client service".

Norton Rose Fulbright did not immediately provide a comment on the departures.

The firm is currently in merger discussions with Chadbourne & Parke, a deal that would significantly boost its New York presence and add around $250m (£200m) to its top line.