Andrew hurley paul hastings

A dozen years after first opening an office in Houston, Paul Hastings is making a concerted effort to expand its presence in Texas.

The 1,100-lawyercorporate firm announced Monday three new capital markets partners — David Elder, Christopher Centrich and Patrick Hurley — have joined its Houston outpost from Akin Gump.

The addition of Elder, Centrich and Hurley comes six months after Paul Hastings hired complex commercial litigator Paul Genender away from Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Paul Hastings has seen its lawyer headcount in Texas grow from 25 to 36 during the past 18 months.

“I’ve worked with Pat and Chris on just about everything I’ve done in recent years,” Elder said in an interview with The Texas Lawbook.

“We are a very cohesive team. We are co-dependent on each other. Outside of work, we are very close friends.”

Elder said he and his two partners — all three are University of Texas Law School alumni and two are former certified