Locke Lord has expanded its public finance practice in Texas with three Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers in Austin, fulfilling a long-held goal to add lawyers who represent bond counsel in offerings.

Adam Harden joined Locke Lord on Wednesday as a partner, along with senior counsel John Hall and Justin Rodriguez. They came from Norton Rose's San Antonio office, but they will be based in Austin at Locke Lord.

Kevin Twining, a co-chair of Locke Lord's public finance practice group, said the firm has been interested for several years in adding bond counsel to go along with its established team representing issuers or underwriters in municipal bond offerings.

"It's an exceptional group. They are all relatively young and hard-working. We've known them for some time. It's the right fit for us," said Twining, a partner in Dallas.

Stephanie Massey, a co-head of the practice who is based in Boston, wrote in a press release that expanding the public finance practice puts the firm in a good position to take advantage of expected growth in public infrastructure when the economy rebounds as the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

Harden, who focuses on federal tax aspects of public finance and infrastructure transactions, said he was attracted to Locke Lord because of its commitment to the public finance practice in Texas and nationally, and the opportunity to expand his bond counsel practice. He declined to identify the group's clients, but said they represent school districts, housing authorities and underwriters, and issuers.

Twining said Locke Lord's public finance clients include the North Texas Tollway Authority.

In 2019, Locke Lord brought on Eric Johnson, the Dallas mayor who joined as a public finance lawyer.

Norton Rose did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the departures.

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