Jose Villarreal, who helped Perkins Coie open its Austin office in 2020, has moved to Baker Botts as a partner in its intellectual property department, as the firm rebuilds its patent team in the Texas capital.

The hire comes after McDermott Will & Emery hired a number of Baker Botts IP lawyers to help launch an Austin office this summer, including a group of eight partners who gave notice in June and three IP litigators who moved in July.