Firm Watch
Jun. 18, 2002
Wilson Sonsini: GUNDERSON TWOSOME JOIN AUSTIN OUTPOST
Brian Beard and Tony Allen , corporate securities lawyers at Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian 's Austin, Texas, office left the firm May 31 to join the crosstown outpost of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati .
The defections follow a series of layoffs at Gunderson Dettmer, leaving five attorneys in the firm's Texas offices. Over the last seven months, Gunderson Dettmer has laid off 24 attorneys and 28 staff from its Texas offices and Menlo-Park headquarters.
Twenty Gunderson Dettmer lawyers are employed in Waltham, Mass., near Boston, and in New York. The recent defection leaves the firm with 110 lawyers.
Paul Tobias, managing partner of Wilson Sonsini's Austin office, says Wilson Sonsini may extend offers to Gunderson Dettmer's remaining Austin associates.
"The Texas market is an emerging market that has terrific potential," Tobias says. "We are going to continue to be opportunistic as a firm that will enhance our position in the [Texas] market."
Counting Beard and Allen, Wilson Sonsini employs 28 lawyers and 19 staff in its Austin office, which serves Texas clients National Instruments Corp., Introgen Therapeutics Inc. and Chiaro Networks Ltd.
Wilson Sonsini employs 700 lawyers firmwide. In addition to headquarters in Palo Alto and its Austin outpost, the firm has offices in San Francisco, Kirkland, Wash., MacLean, Va., Salt Lake City and New York City.
Staff Writer
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