Dykema expands presence in Texas with Austin office

Dykema announced this week that it is expanding its platform with a new office in Austin, the firm’s second in the state. The office will be in the Chase Bank Tower, 221 West Sixth Street, in downtown Austin.
The lawyers establishing Dykema’s Austin office include Kimberly L. Kiplin, an attorney in the firm’s Government Policy Group and former Texas Lottery Commission General Counsel; Drew McEwen and Kevin Oldham, tax attorneys who join from their Austin firm, McEwen Oldham, LLC; and Erin B. Dempsey, a real estate attorney from Dykema’s Dallas office.

Dykema’s Austin presence will be augmented by two Dallas-based Dykema lawyers: David J. Schenck, a member of the Litigation Department and former Deputy Attorney General for the State of Texas, and Bill Finkelstein, who will direct Dykema’s Texas offices.

According to Bill Finkelstein, director of Dykema’s Texas offices, “Our expansion into Austin is driven by our single-minded dedication to serve our clients’ needs. As Texas is the second most populous state in the nation, and Austin the center of state government, opening an office here makes strong strategic sense.”

Peter Kellett, Dykema’s chairman and chief executive officer adds, “The opening of our Austin office is the latest example of the firm’s continued expansion into strategically important business markets, enabling us to add highly regarded and accomplished practitioners, whose focus on client service and business values mirror our own.”

“Austin is not only one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, it has become a center for business and legal activity,” added Kim Kiplin. “I’m eager to help foster the firm’s growth within this dynamic marketplace.”

The new lawyers bring practices that are highly complementary to Dykema nationally, while giving the firm an established presence in Austin. McEwen and Oldham in particular, have more than 25 years of combined tax and legal experience in the Austin market, and see tremendous opportunity to take advantage of Dykema’s national platform, particularly within the areas of tax controversy and litigation.

“Austin is a growing economy, and tax controversy, litigation, and planning services are becoming extremely valued by oil and gas companies in Texas given the many state and local taxes that apply to their business. As the needs of our clients have continued to evolve, Kevin and I were looking for a platform where we would be able to serve our client’s needs from cradle to grave,” said McEwen. “Dykema has a number of talented litigators in the Dallas office and across many of the firm’s other offices, and having direct access to this network will allow us to handle not only local and state tax controversy and litigation matters, but also federal matters. We look forward to having the opportunity to drive this exceptional value to clients.”

The Austin office, which is Dykema’s 13th nationwide, is the latest step in bolstering Dykema’s growth in the Texas market. Dykema opened the Dallas office in 2007, and during 2013, the firm has added ten new attorneys to the Texas offices.

The Austin announcement follows the firm’s recent expansion into Minneapolis, Minnesota and Charlotte, North Carolina. The firm’s national presence also includes offices in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

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