Hurshell Brown joined Hudson Cook as a partner in Fort Worth, along with counsel Curtis Linscott and associate Andrea Cottrell. Brown and Cottrell came from Brown & Cottrell, where they had practiced since October 2016 after leaving Fort Worth-based Cash America International, which merged a year ago with First Cash. Linscott, former executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Cash America, also left the company a year ago.

Hudson Cook chairman Michael Benoit, a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, said the 20-year-old firm has been eying an office in Texas for several years.

“The challenge was finding the right people. You just can't parachute people in. We wanted people familiar with the state … who have connections in the area, and you also want people with the background and expertise,” Benoit said. “The stars just aligned with Hurshell and his crowd.”