Austin bucked the statewide trend by experiencing an increase in litigation filings last year. But it may take more than that for law firms to open up shop in Texas’ smallest major metro or hire on litigators.

Civil case filings increased significantly in Travis County in 2019—up 13% over 2018. While the Austin market has seen a few targeted group moves in recent weeks, leaders of other firms say they don’t see a pressing need to launch in Austin simply because case filings grew at a faster clip in Austin than in other large Texas metro areas.