Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr has expanded its construction practice in Houston by hiring three lawyers from Houston-based Coats Rose, including shareholder Mason Hester.

Hester joined Munsch Hardt on Sept. 25. Associate Tiffany Harrod made the move in September, along with associate Teia Kelly in June. The firm announced the hires on Monday.

Munsch Hardt has added  a number of construction lawyers in Houston over the last two years, including shareholder Tom Barber, another former Coats Rose lawyer who joined Munsch Hardt in 2015 after a bout with cancer.

Hester said he joined Munsch because of the caliber of its construction attorneys, and also because of the "great family environment" at the firm and its range of practice areas. He said he and Wheatley, the managing shareholder in Austin, both were recently in the first class of lawyers to be board certified in Construction Law, a specialty first offered by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 2016. He said few firms in Texas have more than one certified construction lawyer.

Hester declined to identify his clients, but he said his include a large municipality, a Fortune 500 company, and various contractors and subcontractors. 

Phil Appenzeller, chief executive officer of Munsch Hardt, said the lateral hires bring a lot of experience to the firm's construction practice, and that enables the firm to "reach new milestones for our construction team and clients."

When asked to comment on the departures, Richard Rose, managing shareholder of Coats Rose, said,  "We wish them well in the next phase of their legal careers."

By: Brenda Sapino Jeffreys