Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC is increasing its footprint in Austin, Texas, this summer to accommodate a larger roster and meet the growing demands of clients looking for both value and top-notch legal work, the office leader said.

James R. Ray II, managing shareholder of Munsch Hardt's Austin shop, said, "The market is pushing folks toward us," noting that the regional Texas firm "can be more flexible in terms of rates while still delivering high-quality legal work."

"I think the word is spreading in the various cities where we're located throughout Texas that we care about our clients and that we're committed to the communities in which we work," Ray told Law360 Pulse. "That is certainly true here in Austin."

In addition to Austin, the firm has Texas locations in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.

The expansion at the firm's Hartland Plaza location in Austin should be finished near the end of the summer, increasing the space to more than 10,000 square feet. The firm is adding seven offices and making upgrades to the breakroom and kitchen areas, as well as outfitting three conference rooms with the latest technology, Ray said.

Law360 Pulse recently sat down with Ray to talk about the client demand driving the need for more space at the Austin office. The responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about the demand the firm is experiencing in Austin.

Demand across our firm has been high over the past couple of years. Our litigation section, in particular, has been really busy.

In Austin, we have every section of the firm represented. Bankruptcy, litigation, real estate, corporate; we have really generated a lot of momentum. The demand has remained strong and has hammered us from a litigation perspective. That's driving us to bring on more folks, and we're looking to round out some of the practices here.

Right now we're at nine full-time lawyers in Austin and we need more.

What do you think is driving the demand?

I think there are a number of things in the market dynamics. I think folks are looking to get a good bang for their buck. and clients get tremendous value from our firm.

I also think [artificial intelligence] might be a particularly big driver behind all that demand. We have all the technology and tools that the largest firms in the world have in terms of AI. We can leverage that and deliver legal services efficiently. Our rate structure and the depth of our bench means we offer a lot of value for the money clients are spending.

What are your plans for expanding the Austin roster?

My goal is to get to about 15 over the next 12 months or so. We've got a litigator with an appellate practice coming on in the next few weeks who has an appellate practice and can handle everything from start to finish.

This fall we're hoping to have two or three more lawyers join us, but we don't have anything finalized yet.

We are definitely looking for litigators, and we'd like to build out a regulatory practice so we can get tied into the capital a little bit more than we currently are.

And then from the transactional side, if we could find an M&A person, I think that would do really well for us. So we've got our eyes on several folks we're hoping can join us around the same time as the construction completion.

It's not a matter of just adding people. We're doing it the right way and I think our goals are feasible.

What do you look for in a new attorney hire?

Other than whether they have proficiency in a needed practice area, I'm looking for someone I want to spend time with.

Everyone is expecting the same 10 to 15 questions, and they've thought about the answers. It can feel a little robotic and rigid, so I try to get out and go for a walk with them, get them to let their guard down a little bit.

I look for genuine connection and the ability to be a good teammate. I think that is critically important. Is this going to be somebody who's willing to do what it takes to help everybody move forward? The most important thing to me is whether we're going to be able to work well together as a team.

Tell me about the work currently being done in Austin.

In Austin, we have a pretty strong focus in three areas. One is intellectual property. Austin has such a cool and vibrant tech and startup community.

They're very savvy and see the benefits in investing in the protection of their intellectual property, whether its trademarks, patents or something else.

We also have a solid real estate litigation practice that has been pretty busy. My practice in particular focuses on some environmental litigation both in terms of dealing with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality enforcement and in representing landowners to make sure that if their property has somehow been contaminated, they can do something about it, get compensated and take care of it.

Another big focus for Austin is our eminent domain and condemnation practice, with the infrastructure expansion not only north and south with Interstate 35, but east and west out of Austin with Highway 290 reconstruction.

There are also toll roads being constructed that have contributed to the amount of demand in Austin. It required us to develop a bench in that area.

The people we have in this office, and really across the firm, are not only excellent lawyers but great people who care deeply about their clients. Our Austin office is probably the youngest it's been in the history of the firm; we've been in Austin for 30 years.

With that comes a lot of energy, enthusiasm and attention that pays dividends for clients. I can't wait to see what the next five to 10 years look like in Austin.

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