London’s Womble Bond Dickinson expands US footprint with new base in Texas

Law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has expanded its US footprint with a new base in Texas.

Located in Houston, the office will enable London-headquartered WBD to grow its offering for the global energy, advanced manufacturing, technology and life sciences sectors.

It will initially operate with four partners supporting clients on transactional, intellectual property and litigation matters.

Jeffrey S. Whittle will serve as the managing partner of the Houston office, joining WBD from Hogan Lovells.

The other partners are Joshua Davis, who previously worked for Reed Smith; Paul B. Turner, also from Reed Smith; and Elizabeth LeVan Riley, an existing WBD partner, who will co-locate her practice between Houston and Raleigh in North Carolina.

More lawyers and professionals are due to strengthen the Houston team “in the near future”, WBD said.

The opening follows the launch of WBD teams in Boston, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Orange County last year.

Jonathan Blair, co-chair and UK managing partner of WBD UK, said: “WBD is located in many key areas for our clients throughout the US and the UK and we are always looking to build our presence where we can offer strategic support.

“Houston has long been on our radar due to its rapid growth and its importance to innovation in a wide variety of STEM fields, especially in energy.”

Paul Stockley, head of WBD’s UK energy sector team, commented: “WBD is among the leading law firms working in the energy sector in the UK from strategic locations including London and Aberdeen.

“Now with the addition of this office in Houston and our US energy lawyers, we are even better positioned to help and advise clients in all aspects of the energy market across the Atlantic and globally.”