via
Shutterstock)
Fennemore
Craig
is
officially
packing
its
boots
and
heading
to
Texas.
The
Am
Law
200
firm
announced
a
merger
with
San
Antonio
labor
&
employment
boutique
Schmoyer
Reinhard,
bringing
all
11
of
the
boutique’s
attorneys
into
the
fold
and
boosting
Fennemore’s
office
tally
to
23.
The
move
marks
the
latest
step
in
Fennemore’s
growth
strategy.
CEO
James
Goodnow
said
the
firm’s
expansion
spurt
made
one
thing
painfully
clear:
their
labor
and
employment
practice
wasn’t
keeping
pace.
“We’ve
had
success
in
growth,
but
as
we’ve
done
that,
we
realized
that
there
were
some
practice
areas
that
we
needed
to
fortify,”
Goodnow
explained,
noting
that
while
Fennemore
already
has
strong
L&E
talent,
“we
didn’t
see
the
labor
and
employment
bench
growing
at
the
same
clip”
as
the
rest
of
the
firm.
Enter
San
Antonio’s
labor
&
employment
firm,
Schmoyer
Reinhard.
Not
only
are
Shannon
Schmoyer
and
Christine
Reinhard
bringing
their
specialized
expertise,
but
they’re
also
bringing
a
client
roster
stuffed
with
national
corporations.
“The
majority
of
our
client
base
is
large,
nationwide
corporations,
and
we’ve
just
been
super,
super
fortunate,”
Schmoyer
said,
clearly
aware
that
in
Biglaw,
nothing
says
“match
made
in
heaven”
quite
like
a
stacked
client
list.
Reinhard
highlighted
a
different
advantage
for
her
team:
joining
a
firm
with
the
tech
horsepower
to
push
forward
on
innovation.
“With
technology,
the
advent
of
AI
and
being
able
to
do
that
ethically,
responsibly
in
the
way
we
should,
that’s
what’s
exciting,”
she
said.
“That’s
not
something
that
you
can
necessarily
do
as
a
small
firm
—
at
least
not
easily.”
Translation:
AI
is
great,
but
it
costs
money.
Fennemore
has
money.
Sold.
The
merger
also
reflects
a
deliberate
strategic
move
into
Texas
—
a
state
that
has
become
the
hottest
legal
market
in
the
country
for
firms
trying
to
plant
flags,
rack
up
revenue,
and
maybe
get
a
decent
plate
of
brisket
along
the
way.
“Texas
has
been
at
the
top
of
our
potential
expansion
markets
for
some
time
now,”
Goodnow
said.
“And
you
look
within
Texas
and
you
see
that
San
Antonio,
in
fact,
is
one
of
the
fastest
growing
cities.
And
if
you
look
even
deeper
than
that,
you
see
that
San
Antonio
doesn’t
have
the
same
level
of
Am
Law
200
firms
in
it,
so
it’s
not
as
saturated
as
a
Dallas
or
a
Houston.”
In
other
words:
ripe
for
the
picking.
With
this
move,
Fennemore
continues
its
transformation
from
regional
mainstay
to
national
player,
and
if
Texas
is
any
indication,
the
firm
has
no
plans
to
slow
down.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].