D Magazine dubbed it "The Good Ol' Girls Club" when some of the city's most talented big-law-firm attorneys(who happened to be female) got together and hung a shingle back in 2008. Wrote D Magazine at the time: Even in 2008, a woman-owned firm in the male-dominated Dallas legal landscape is notable. The ladies' new venture is one of only a handful of women-owned firms in the state and an anomaly locally.

Who knew what was on the economic horizon for new businesses in 2008, but Taber Estes Thorne & Carr charged through 2009, steadily adding new attorneys and clients along the way. The firm reached an important milestone this month - with the addition of associate Kevin Muenster, Taber Estes is no longer a law firm composed solely of female lawyers. Firm co-founder Jessica Thorne says Muenster's arrival should be a surprise considering they've been committed to diversity from the start.

A graduate of Sam Houston State University and Baylor Law School, Mr. Muenster previously served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Anne Gardner of the Second Court of Appeals of Texas in Fort Worth. He also worked at two respected Dallas-area firms prior to joining Taber Estes Thorne & Carr. "We know that great lawyers come in all different shapes, sizes, genders, colors, nationalities and backgrounds, and we never intended this to be an all-female firm," says Thorne.