Jason W. Cook, managing partner of McGuireWoods's Dallas office.

Jason Cook, the first lateral hire in McGuireWoods' Dallas office, is now managing partner of that office, succeeding original leader Akash Sethi.

Cook, an intellectual property litigator who joined McGuireWoods shortly after it opened in Dallas with a group of six partners from Patton Boggs, moved into the office leader role on Tuesday. He said he was already involved in recruiting for the office, and is intrigued and excited to expand that responsibility as managing partner of the 42-lawyer office.

Initially, Cook said, he will seek to hire laterals in the energy and health care practices, which are two of the five areas on which McGuireWoods has focused its strategic plan. The others are private equity, financial institutions and high-stakes litigation.

Starting along that lateral hiring path, the firm recently added energy M&A partner Patrick Knapp in Dallas, Cook noted.

But McGuireWoods, which moved into Texas in 2011 with offices in Houston and Austin, is looking to grow all of its Texas offices because business is booming in the Lone Star State, Cook said.

"Prior to the Dallas office opening up, McGuireWoods was well-known on the East Coast, but slowly and surely we are getting our name out there in the western portion of the country," he said.

Sethi, a private equity partner, said litigator Cook brings a new perspective to the managing partner role.

"I'm really excited to see what new ideas Jason will have," he said.

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