Shawn Cleveland, partner at Baker & Hostetler in Dallas.

Baker & Hostetler, which planted a flag in Texas in 1990 in Houston, has expanded to Dallas by hiring white-collar litigator Shawn Cleveland as a partner, though the firm has not opened a brick-and-mortar office in the city.

Cleveland, who joined Baker & Hostetler on Sept. 5, comes from Winston & Strawn's Dallas office. He is one of 21 lateral partners who launched that office in February 2017.

Cleveland said he will be based in Dallas, although his firm biography currently lists his office as Houston. He said he will be working closely with the firm's Houston office.

A firm spokeswoman and Cleveland each declined to comment on plans to hire additional lawyers in Dallas, but both said the firm is looking to expand in Texas. The spokeswoman noted that the firm has many clients in the Dallas area.

Cleveland said the firm's commitment to north Texas impressed him when he was considering his move. He said he also was drawn to the firm's "sophisticated capabilities" in the white-collar defense practice and in other areas including complex commercial litigation, M&A and data privacy and security.

"My clients need all of those and I think those are important practices as we expand in Texas," he said.

Cleveland declined to identify clients but said he's worked within the energy, financial services, health care, technology and data and defense contracting industries. He said his practice is national because many internal investigations involve the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission or federal prosecutors in various jurisdictions.

He has defended clients from investigations that include alleged securities fraud, government program fraud, the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and immigration laws. At Baker & Hostetler he is part of the white collar, investigations and securities enforcement and litigation team.

W. Ray Whitman, chair of the firm's national litigation group, said in a press release that Cleveland has the "right mix of strong litigation and investigation credentials along with a keen business-oriented approach."

Bryan Goolsby, managing partner of Winston & Strawn's Dallas office, was traveling and not immediately available for comment on Cleveland's departure. A firm spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Baker & Hostetler's Houston office had 82 lawyers in 2018, according to the Texas Top 100 ranking of firms with the most lawyers in Texas.

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