Gibson Dunn

Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst name partner John T. "Trey" Cox III joined Gibson, Dunn Crutcher as a partner in Dallas on Wednesday, as he seeks a larger firm where he can grow a national practice.

Trey Cox

"I've had several clients over the last few years tell me there would be better opportunities to work together if I had a larger platform," said Cox, who spent 23 years at litigation boutique Lynn Pinker.

Cox said he was on the trial team defending Purdue Pharma from litigation filed by the state of Oklahoma over the nationwide opioid crisis, but the pharmaceutical company and the Oklahoma attorney general agreed to a $270 million settlement in 2019.

The settlement averted a trial, but Cox said his involvement in that Purdue Pharma litigation convinced him he'd like to do more large national matters, such as MDLs in multiple venues.

"That's the sort of thing that I will be able to have much more, and have much more capacity to handle," he said.

Over the years, Cox said, he's tried a variety of litigation including securities, fraud, pharmaceutical, intellectual property and commercial cases.

Robert Walters, partner-in-charge of Gibson Dunn's Dallas office, said he's followed Cox's career for many years, and "by any measure … he's among the handful of really great trial lawyers, commercial trial lawyers of his generation."

Litigation is a key practice in the Dallas office, comprising about two-thirds of the head count, Walters said.

Gibson Dunn chairman and managing partner Ken Doran said in a press release that expanding the firm's presence in Texas with lawyers of Cox's skill is a priority for the firm.

Cox and Mike Lynn, a partner in Lynn Pinker, each said the departure is amicable. Lynn said Cox is a "good guy" and a "good lawyer" who will be missed by the firm. But he is gratified that trial lawyers like Cox are sought after by national firms.

"It shows that our competitors are recognizing that we have superior lawyers, which is the only reason why they are coming in and offering lots of money to hire them away," Lynn said.

He said the firm will announce its new name in the near future.

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