Powell & Leon Opens Houston Office, Hires Two Laterals
The new office is the fourth in Texas for the Austin-based firm, which specializes in Education Law.
November 21, 2017 at 03:14 PM
2 minute read
Geneva Taylor
The Austin-based law firm Powell & Leon, which specializes in education law, has opened an office in Houston and has hired lateral partner Geneva Taylor to manage it.
Taylor, who left the Houston office of Thompson & Horton, started work at Powell & Leon on Nov. 21. The firm also announced that it had hired senior associate Michelle Alcala in Austin. Alcala previously practiced at Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody in Austin.
Taylor said Powell & Leon has an excellent reputation in education law, and she is excited to help the firm build the Houston office. Taylor focuses on special education law.
Michelle AlcalaAlcala, who has focused on employment law, said she looks forward to using her employment law and litigation expertise for education clients. “It's a great move for me,” she said.
Taylor declined to discuss any work she brought with her to Powell & Leon, and Alcala said she did not previously do work for clients in education.
Powell & Leon managing partner Blake Powell said the firm decided to open an office in Houston because it has a growing number of clients in the area. Clients of the 13-lawyer firm include nearly a quarter of all public school districts in Texas.
While Powell & Leon grew by two lawyers and one office this week, the firm, which has offices in Tyler and Corpus Christi as well as in Austin and Houston, recently lost two associates to the Underwood Law Firm in its new Houston office.
Peter Kennedy, a shareholder at Graves Dougherty, Alcala's former firm, said the firm was “sorry to lose Michelle and hope that she will continue to blossom in her career and do well in her new firm.”
Thompson & Horton partner Janet Horton said Taylor practiced with her firm for about two years. She added that she understands that Taylor saw the move to Powell & Leon as a career opportunity.
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