O’Melveny snags Locke Lord’s capital markets co-chair in Austin

The O’Melveny & Myers legal offices in Washington, D.C., U.S. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) – O’Melveny & Myers said Monday that it has hired Michelle Earley, former co-chair of Locke Lord’s capital markets group, as a partner in Austin, Texas.

Earley, who spent almost 24 years at Dallas-based Locke Lord and was a member of the firm’s executive committee, will join five other Locke Lord partners who jumped to O’Melveny in Texas earlier this year.

The group, which included Whit Roberts, former deputy managing partner of Locke Lord’s Dallas office, joined the Los Angeles-founded firm in Dallas in January.

O’Melveny said it now has 44 attorneys working in Texas and 11 in Austin, after opening in both Dallas and Austin in June 2021.

At least seven large law firms, including Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, O’Melveny & Myers and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, opened in Austin last year. Morrison & Foerster entered the Texas capital in March.

These firms followed major corporations like Apple Inc, Tesla Inc and Oracle Corp, which moved into the city over the past two years.

Earley agreed that Austin continues to be in “growth mode,” as tech companies flock to the city, but said her practice won’t focus on just one sector.

“I’ve worked across all sorts of industries: energy, technology, outdoor media, insurance, retail, and so I’m looking forward to continuing to have a diverse array of clients,” she said.

O’Melveny said Earley advises on securities offerings, M&A deals and corporate governance.

A spokesperson from Locke Lord said the firm wishes Earley well.

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