Thompson Coburn LLP issued the following announcement on March 3.
The national law firm Thompson Coburn is proud to announce the firm’s new office in Dallas, its sixth nationwide. The office will be managed by nationally recognized litigator Nicole Williams, formerly of Thompson & Knight in Dallas. Nicole is launching the office with fellow partners Elizabeth Myers and Jennifer Ecklund from Thompson & Knight, and Katharine Battaia Clark from Hedrick Kring.
The firm plans to bring in additional top-flight attorneys with the goal of growing the Dallas office to 40 attorneys or more within the next few years, according to Thompson Coburn Chair Tom Minogue.
“We’ve been looking to expand into the Dallas market for several years to meet client needs and grow our Firm,” he said. “But before making a move, we wanted to find the right people to help us grow roots in Dallas. We believe we’ve found the perfect partners with Nicole and this entire group of exceptional litigators.”
“Not only are they nationally recognized practitioners,” he said. “They are also deeply connected to the legal and civic communities in North Texas and passionate advocates for pro bono and social justice causes. These attorneys truly embody Thompson Coburn’s values and our total commitment to our clients, our people and our communities.”
Nicole Williams is a trial lawyer who represents clients before federal and state courts and in regulatory investigations and proceedings involving antitrust, advertising, RICO, and other complex business litigation, commercial disputes and class actions. Nicole has held leadership positions in the antitrust sections of the ABA, the Federal Bar Association, the Dallas Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas. She also serves as vice-chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the City of Dallas.
“We’re thrilled to join Thompson Coburn and honored to take on the task of building the Dallas office of this outstanding national firm,” said Nicole. “We have been so impressed with Thompson Coburn’s commitment to growing the right way with the right team here in Texas. This Firm is focused on client service, diversity, transparency and financial stability — for all of those reasons and more, it’s the perfect fit for our group.”
Elizabeth Myers represents clients in the health care and oil and gas industries in high-stakes litigation in state and federal courts around the country, including commercial disputes and product defects, consumer fraud and securities class actions. Elizabeth is a member of the Board of Directors of Equality Texas Foundation, which works to secure full equality for LGBTQ Texans through education and community organizing.
Jennifer Ecklund represents clients in complex commercial litigation and white-collar fraud matters in both the civil and criminal contexts, primarily in health care. She was previously a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division. She is on the Boards of Directors of the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center and Café Momentum.
Katharine Battaia Clark represents clients nationally in bankruptcy and insolvency litigation, including representation of banks, court-appointed fiduciaries and creditors in Chapter 11, 7, 15 and 13 bankruptcies. She received the 2017 Turnaround of the Year Award from the Turnaround Management Association for her work on the first successful bankruptcy reorganization of a life settlement company. Katharine is on the Board of Directors of Junior Players, a non-profit that provides youth services steeped in the arts and is celebrating its 65th year of enriching the lives of Dallas area youth, and International Student Foundation, which helps youth who have been orphaned or aged out of foster care pursue a college education.