Midwest firm Spencer Fane, which has offices in Dallas and Plano, moves into Houston as 19 lawyers from Zimmerman, Axelrad, Stern & Wise joined the firm Thursday.

Zimmerman Axelrad is a full-service firm and practice areas include alternative dispute resolution; banking; civil, commercial and appellate litigation; corporate; construction, employment, estate planning, trusts and estates; family law; insurance, internal investigations for educational institutions; real estate, securities and business; tax; and trademark.

William Morfey and Brian Zimmerman join Spencer Fane as partners. Name partner Alvin Zimmerman and 14 others join as counsel and two join as associates.

Alvin Zimmerman is a former municipal and state court judge who takes special judge assignments in addition to mediation and arbitration. He said his firm has talked on and off with several others about potential combinations, but never found a reason to engage in serious talks until Spencer Fane came along. He said he had been concerned about legacy issues at 35-year-old Zimmerman Axelrad, and the ability to maintain enduring relationships with clients.

“We felt as a group that to have a national presence with Spencer Fane would be an optimum situation for us. We appreciated the professionalism and their integrity, the way they handle clients. It seems like a natural fit,” he said.

He said several lawyers from Zimmerman Axelrad are “getting into their more senior years” and the firm’s size in the Houston market has hindered its ability to recruit younger lawyers. Joining forces with Spencer Fane solves that issue, he said.

Also, Zimmerman said, many of the 15 lawyers practice all around the country, so being part of a larger firm with 16 offices is an advantage.

Pat Whalen, managing partner of Spencer Fane, said in a press release that the firm’s clients will benefit from the addition of an office in Houston and the services provided by Zimmerman Axelrad lawyers.

“This combination is driven by a similarity in our cultures and our shared focus on collaborative and responsive legal services centered on a client’s business interests,” Whalen wrote.

Spencer Fane opened its Dallas office in 2016 and its Plano office in 2018.  In an interview earlier this year, Whalen said Texas is one of the areas the firm is targeting for growth.

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Midwest Firm Spencer Fane Opens Second Texas Office

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled William Morfey’s name.