The law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP is pleased to announce that Gary D. Compton has joined the Firm’s Austin office as a member of the Firm’s Oil and Gas Practice Group.

Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated (Cox Smith) today announced the addition of three experienced and well-known Austin attorneys in its Austin office. Keith Shuley, Phil Slinkard and Mary Schaerdal Dietz were previously partners in K&L/Gates’ Austin office.

Jackson Walker L.L.P. represented Austin-based PMB Helin Donovan in its recent merger with Dallas-based Vink Teague & Associates. The deal marks the latest development in PMB Helin Donovan’s plan to expand through strategic acquisitions into one of the nation’s top 100 accounting firms.

V&E served as counsel to long-time client BMC Software, Inc., in its $300 million acquisition of Numara Software, a leading global provider of integrated IT management solutions for the mid-market.

The Austin office of national labor and employment law firm Constangy Brooks & Smith, LLP is pleased to announce that it is expanding with the addition of partner Scott Agthe and associate Amy Ybarra.  Both were most recently with the Agthe Law Firm, P.C.  The pair will officially join Constangy when the Austin office relocates on February 13 to its new location at 8911 Capital of Texas Highway, Ste. 3350, Austin, TX 78759. The Austin office, opened in 2003, is headed by partner Mark Flora.

Jackson Walker is pleased to welcome back partner Bill Cobb. Mr. Cobb practices in the Litigation and Insurance groups in the Austin office.

Fulbright represented Skokie, Ill.-based EPN Group, in connection with a $1.4 billion deal to sell 47 shopping centers it owns across the US to a joint venture between New York-based Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Ohio-based DDR Corp.

Locke Lord announces that Bart Huffman has joined its Austin office as a Partner in the Intellectual Property (IP) Practice Group. Huffman headed his previous firm’s Privacy and Data Security practice, and his wide experience in this complex area of the law increases Locke Lord’s IP platform as it evolves to meet clients’ growing global needs.

Graves Dougherty is pleased to welcome David P. Smith to the firm’s Regulatory, Environmental and Real Estate practices.