Reed Smith's growth in its new Dallas office continues.

In its most recent additions, the firm tacked on labor and employment partners Paulo McKeeby and Michael Correll from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, and former Barnes & Thornburg litigation partner Elizabeth Brandon.

McKeeby and associate Amanda Brown made the move from Morgan Lewis on July 8, while Correll and Brandon joined in June.

With the recent hires, Reed Smith now has 26 lawyers in the Dallas office, which opened in early May.

Correll said he and McKeeby see impressive cross-selling opportunities at Reed Smith because of the practices already represented in Dallas including real estate, transactional, aviation and transportation, and restructuring.

“It's all great synergies for labor and employment,” he said.

McKeeby said he was attracted to the energy and excitement at Reed Smith's Dallas office, and the mix of attorneys in a variety of core practices who had joined the firm in its first weeks.

“It just struck me that they were doing it the right way,” McKeeby said.

Correll said he also likes that the firm is open to “new ways of doing things” and is transparent in the sense that all of the partners have the same information about the firm's work, client contacts and the nature of the relationships.

Brandon said Reed Smith provides the attributes she is looking for—global reach, an “old-school mentality,” and reasonable rates for clients. A former Vinson & Elkins lawyer who joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner in 2016, Brandon said she was familiar with what Reed Smith has done in Houston since that office opened in 2013, and she decided she could not pass up the opportunity to join the firm in Dallas.

Reed Smith opened its Houston office in 2013, and added an office in Austin in 2018. It launched the Dallas office with 16 lawyers from three firms.

Brian Mitchell, a co-managing partner in Dallas, said Brandon is a “huge add” because she is well-known in Dallas and brings a lot to the firm's commercial disputes team. He said her clients include Toyota, Eli Lilly and Co. and Targa Resources.

Reed Smith wanted a labor and employment team in Dallas, Mitchell said, and McKeeby, Correll and Brown are a “top-notch” addition. He said their clients include Southwest Airlines.

In a response to a request for comment on Brandon's departure, a spokesperson for Barnes & Thornburg said the firm wishes her the best.

A spokesperson for Morgan Lewis said the firm wishes the former lawyers well.

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