Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP is gathering top immigration attorneys in Texas with plans to expand and open offices in Houston and Dallas.

Once assembled, more than 40 attorneys, paralegals and staff from Dallas-based Jenkens & Gilchrist will be part of the San Francisco-based corporate immigration law firm, giving it more than 200 employees in San Francisco, McLean Va., Dallas and Houston.

"Immigration compliance is a major issue for companies bringing foreign employees into the U.S., sending American employees abroad or transferring employees between countries outside the U.S.," said Warren Leiden, managing partner at BAL. "We now have a critical mass of senior-level professionals with the brainpower and strategic legal skills to help multinational companies manage an increasingly global workforce."

The Texas offices are scheduled to open on Feb. 12.

Shawn Orme will serve as managing partner of the Houston office, while Steven Ladik will be managing partner in Dallas.

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