(Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)

K&L Gates has seen its head count dwindle by 220 lawyers since 2015. But you wouldn't know it by looking at the firm's offices in Texas lately. The Pittsburgh-based global giant has been busily expanding its claim in the second-most populous state in the union, with nearly a dozen additions in the last five months.

This week brought another five new Texas hires, including Houston energy attorney Jon Vicklund and Austin's Stewart Mesher, who led the litigation group at Texas IP boutique Conley Rose. 

Vicklund was a part of the energy team at Winstead, which also saw five lawyers leave for K&L Gates in March. The move reunites Vicklund with his former colleagues: partners Jeff King, Jamie Bryan, Chris Brown and Elizabeth Tiblets and counsel Mitchell Murphy.

All but Tiblets had previously worked at K&L Gates, and they cited the growth of their energy practice to areas outside of Texas as the reasoning for their return to the firm.

“It became apparent that while you can still do that at a regional firm, [moving] allows yourself to be better-suited at a place that has a broader reach,” King told Texas Lawyer in March. 

On Tuesday, meanwhile, K&L Gates announced the addition of a four-person IP team to its Austin office. Consisting of Mesher, who served as the chair of Conley Rose's litigation practice group, and fellow partners Darlene Ghavimi and Henry Pogorzelski and counsel Adam Stegge, the group reflects what K&L Gates described as an evolving business climate in the state.

“With the technology and energy sectors continuing to grow in the state, K&L Gates is focused on enhancing our skill sets to reflect the direction of the Texas economy,” Jack Erskine, managing partner of K&L Gates' Austin office, said in a statement.

Erskine said that although he wasn't sure if the firm would be able to continue its current pace of growth in Texas, he did say that if it can “find the right talent and the right culture fit” that it eyes expansion for the foreseeable future.

“Austin used to be cattle, oil and gas,” he said. “Now it's technology, aerospace, petrochemical, you name it.”

Mesher's group was brought in specifically to beef up the local IP presence around technology, Erskine said, but he added it would have a long tail that could help in a variety of different areas as the firm looks to take advantage of Texas' ever-expanding economy.

Mesher said that, based on what has transpired since the group arrived at the firm, he anticipates the lion's share of their clients to move with them.

Other K&L Gates moves in recent months include the addition of partner Bart Turner in Houston from Andrews Myers, and the departure of John Garda, who had been managing partner of K&L Gates' Dallas office, for litigation funder Longford Capital.

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