Maynard Cooper & Gale, which has more than 275 attorneys across nine offices and is the largest law firm based in Alabama, has announced that it now operates in Texas.

The firm opened a new Dallas office staffed by three local real estate attorneys: Matt Hudnall, Karen Cowden and Allan Katz, formerly practicing with Dallas-based Hudnall P.C.

"We think Dallas is a great market and obviously it's a hot market right now with a lot of activity as more law firms come to the city—the sixth largest legal market in the country," Jeff Grantham, Maynard Cooper's managing shareholder, said.

The three Dallas-based attorneys focus their practices in the areas of representation of landowners, investors, developers in land acquisition, development, entitlement enhancement, dispositions, commercial leasing, financing, joint ventures and fund formation. The group is also longtime counsel to Stratford Land, where Hudnall served as general counsel, and will continue that work at Maynard Cooper, according to a press release by the firm.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area has a rapidly growing population and a vibrant economy comprising a broad range of diverse companies and industries, said Matt Hudnall, who serves as managing shareholder of Maynard Cooper's Dallas office.

"At our three-person Dallas shop, we've had so many great opportunities here but we haven't had all the resources to really capitalize on some of those opportunities," Hudnall said. "Maynard's platform gives us the opportunity to collectively work together and expand our client base here—particularly with real estate initially, but ultimately by being thoughtful about how we progress—by adding other practice areas."

"With our 75 years of collective experience in real estate law between the three of us, we've done everything you can imagine in the real estate spectrum, and I think we offer a lot of expertise for Dallas and the greater DFW Metroplex," Hudnall said. "Dallas has a dynamic and ever-growing real estate market, as do several other cities in Texas: Austin, San Antonio and Houston, for example."

Hudnall said he and his team will, at least for now, continue to work in the same office space they occupied as Hudnall P.C.

"We do have office space office space here—we currently have five or six offices for future expansion if we decided to do so, or we may go into a different building, but our plan right now is to stay where we are currently located, which is in Preston Center," he said.

In addition to its new presence in Dallas, Maynard Cooper has offices in Alabama (Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery), California (Los Angeles and San Francisco), New York and Washington, D.C.

Maynard Cooper's real estate practice represents clients in the following areas: portfolio and single-asset acquisitions and dispositions, ground-up development, public-private partnerships, commercial leasing, joint ventures, public and private offerings, real estate fund formation, and financings.

Grantham said Maynard Cooper brings a value proposition to Dallas the firm has seen in other large markets like California and New York: delivering great service with a high level of expertise for a really good value in the market.

"That's the success we've been seeing and will continue to push for in the Dallas market," Grantham said.

Hudnall concurred, saying that partnering with Maynard is a great personality fit because of the culture the firm exemplifies.

"They're a great fit culturally because they take a team approach to client service," Hudnall said. "A lot of firms say they take a team approach but Maynard actually does."

The reason this is important, says Hudnall, is it creates the best work possible for the client.

"Obviously they are a nationally recognized firm with a very strong real estate practice, so I know with all the resources across the firm, especially in real estate and real estate practice groups like fund formation and things like that, which is a lot of what I had done at Stratford Land, our practices really meshed up very well," Hudnall said. "And they just have a strong group of resources in different practice areas to help us grow and accomplish what we want to do in Dallas. Giving all three of us the opportunity to help a firm establish a footprint in Texas from the ground up is very appealing."

Grantham is also excited about Hudnall and his team working with his firm at their Dallas office.

"I think for Maynard, what we would love to see for Matt and his team is for them to synergize with the real estate attorneys we have and form a great team in Dallas and beyond by continuing to grow the practice out in both clients and possibly attorneys," Grantham said.

According to Hudnall, the situation his team is entering into with Maynard Cooper is a win-win for both sides.

"For us, having been a small firm, and now having the resources of a bigger firm at our disposal, is very helpful for us in developing our practice locally," Hudnall said. "And from the firm's perspective, the firm has a number of real estate clients already doing deals in Texas and they now have local counsel on a number of different matters."

"So for us serving the firm overall we're kind of helping to build and expand different client relationships into Texas by handling the work those clients have here while at the same time telling our local client base we now have sources in the firm which will help us expand, but ultimately this a win for the client who's getting better service," Hudnall said.