Attorneys follow Atlanta law firm founder out the door

“We’re not trying to get a large footprint of in-house attorneys all over,” she said Friday. “We’ll probably have some folks we bring on in other states nearby. I can’t see us ever getting more than 50 attorneys.”

In addition to the five Taylor Duma lawyers, Ardis Law is starting with several other attorneys and licensing professionals. Their more than 200 clients include RaceTrac, restaurateur Ford Fry and his Rocket Farm Restaurants group, Tin Lizzy’s and the nonprofit Giving Kitchen.

Stumpe, who spent almost 20 years at her former firm, said she has a lot of gratitude and appreciation for the people there. She said the move was motivated by the opportunity to be uniquely positioned and “get back to basics” with clients, some of whom she’s had for decades.

“There aren’t many firms that fill the niche that we do,” Stumpe said. “For us and for our model, it’s a great time.”

Ardis Law is designed to offer the structure and support of a large firm with more flexibility, Stumpe said. She said the firm will be small enough for attorneys to maintain close relationships with clients.

Stumpe said Ardis DR just won an international award for its innovative mediation practices in East Africa.

“We are excited to build Ardis Law with a talented team who share the same values and spirit of collaboration that inspired our vision for Ardis DR,” she said. “Our expertise ranging from the litigation practice of Ardis Law to the dispute resolution and mediation offerings of Ardis DR gives us the opportunity to support a full spectrum of clients with many different needs.”

The group’s departure from Taylor Duma is the latest in a series of lawyer movements at that firm, which has more than 120 lawyers in nine states and the District of Columbia.

In July 2024, eight attorneys left the firm to establish an Atlanta office of international law firm Clark Hill. The following month, national law firm Buchalter announced it had opened an Atlanta office with six intellectual property lawyers from the Taylor firm as well as a real estate partner from McGuireWoods’ Atlanta office.

Burr & Forman, which has around 350 attorneys in Georgia and several other states, added five corporate lawyers from Taylor English Duma to its Atlanta office. And in October 2024, three senior lawyers who specialize in election-related litigation left Taylor English Duma to join their former colleagues at Clark Hill’s new Atlanta office.

English, who established the firm in 2005 with attorneys Scott Duma and Marc Taylor, left in April 2025 to lead the new Atlanta office of Offit Kurman, a firm with more than 280 attorneys in 10 states and Washington.

Many of the lawyers who left the Taylor firm had spent more than a decade there. The firm’s leaders said in April 2025 they’re proud of their team and excited about what lies ahead, having added 10 lawyers since the start of the year.