Kirkland & Ellis, the highest-grossing U.S. law firm, is opening its third outpost in Texas in seven years, planting a flag in Austin for an office that will initially be home to more than 20 lawyers, the firm said Monday.

The Lone Star State has grown in importance to the Chicago-founded firm since it first arrived there in 2014 to capitalize on energy sector deals. Kirkland's Texas ranks now include nearly 300 lawyers between its original Houston office and a Dallas location that opened in 2018.

In announcing its Austin office Monday, Kirkland touted its dealmaking success in the state, saying it was "involved in more M&A transactions representing Texas-based companies than the next two firms combined." Austin is also home to the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, a longtime Kirkland client.

Four partners who are relocating to Austin to help launch the office -- Marc Browning, Stephen Butler, Kim Hicks and Doug Tedeschi -- all have significant transactions experience. Browning and Hicks are corporate partners who both kept offices in Houston; Browning also worked out of Kirkland's Bay Area office. Butler is a tax partner from Houston while Tedeschi is a debt finance partner from Chicago.

Right now, there are 10 Kirkland lawyers working out of Austin, said Andrew Calder, a partner and member of the firm's executive committee. Within the next five to six weeks, Calder said he expects that number to grow to over 20 attorneys.

Opening an office in Austin allows Kirkland "to be a part of a growing and vibrant city that many attorneys want to live in," Calder said.

"We get access to that talent pool that want to be in Austin, whether it's lateral recruits, other Kirkland attorneys that want to relocate, or law students coming out of the University of Texas that want to stay in Austin," he said.

The city is also an attractive destination for technology and energy clients, Calder said. Oracle Corp and Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced in December they were each moving their headquarters to Austin after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a broader shift to remote work.

"There are some great local clients there that are focused on the next generation of technology, both more broadly but also in the energy industry," said Calder, who took his energy sector-heavy M&A practice from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett to Kirkland in 2014 to help launch its Houston office.

Other law firms have been making moves in Austin. Earlier this month, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati expanded its Austin office when it added a technology and life sciences-focused partner from Shearman & Sterling.

In February, Duane Morris announced a third location in Texas, opening in Dallas with a four-lawyer team from Barnes & Thornburg.

(NOTE: This story has been updated to include comments from Kirkland & Ellis partner Andrew Calder.)