Two of Atlanta’s biggest law firms announced major decisions about their office spaces Friday: One will stay and one will go.
McKenna Long & Aldridge said it will stay downtown in 11 floors near the top of Atlanta’s second tallest building, SunTrust Plaza.
The firm, which has 307 employees in those offices, has been in the building since 1993.
Morris Manning & Martin, on the other hand, will leave its 25-year home in Buckhead’s Atlanta Financial Center for an aging and mostly vacant office building in Midtown.
About 300 of the firm’s employees will move into the Campanile’s top six floors next summer, after renovations.
The 20-story tower was built as the ritzy headquarters for BellSouth in 1987, but it was mostly vacated in 2007 after the merger with AT&T.
Midtown developer John Dewberry bought the building last year for $36 million out of distress. The largest tenant is Georgia's Own Credit Union.
Ridr Knowlton, director of office development for Dewberry Capital, said the Morris Manning deal will bring the building to 60 percent occupied from 30 percent now.
“It’s great news for us and for Midtown,” Knowlton said of the deal.
Frank Bazzel, a partner at Morris Manning, said the firm looked for a year before picking the Campanile.
“We were able to get, no doubt, a better deal than we might have gotten a couple years ago or a couple of years from now.”
The location at Peachtree and 14th streets was a big lure, as well as nearby eateries and city life, he said.
Dan Sherman, an attorney with DLA Piper, said he wasn’t surprised that McKenna -- which has a strong governmental affairs practice -- would stay downtown.
“People have grown to associate that firm with the [John] Portman [designed] building,” said Sherman. “And I think it’s one of the nicest places I’ve ever seen.”
