Jackson Walker, the largest Texas-only law firm, expanded its reach—and its profits—by building working relationships with a number of Big Law firms seeking assistance with bankruptcy, real estate and litigation work.

"A large part of our success has been that the market is stratifying in ways [that are] less about geography, but more about what you do in the marketplace," Wade Cooper, managing partner of the Dallas-founded Am Law 200 firm, said. "It's interesting to me, having been in this 40-something years, to see the market realigning itself."