After losing a bunch of practice leaders to other law firms this year, Atlanta’s Morris Manning & Martin is joining a larger national firm with plans to double its presence in the city.
Morris Manning, which peaked at around 180 lawyers after starting in Atlanta in 1976, is merging with Taft, a national law firm with more than 1,000 attorneys. The merger takes effect Dec. 31.
Once the firms have combined, Taft will have more than 1,200 lawyers in 25 offices across the country with projected combined revenues of more than $1 billion, the firms said.
Robert Hicks, the chairman and managing partner of Taft, said the combined firm will rapidly expand in Atlanta, where Morris Manning currently has around 80 attorneys. Slower growth is planned in Washington, D.C., where the other 25 or so Morris Manning lawyers are based.
“You’re going to see us aggressively growing in Atlanta,” Hicks told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “Lawyers will probably more than double in the next five to 10 years.”
Hicks said this is Taft’s ninth merger since 2008 and part of a planned expansion into the Southeast, following a merger in Florida. He said the Morris Manning lawyers will lead the combined firm’s Atlanta office, which will initially carry both the Taft and Morris Manning brands.
Simon Malko, the managing partner of Morris Manning, said the merger brings stability and excitement for the firm’s lawyers after a rocky six months.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be on the elevator going up with one of the fastest-growing firms in the country,” Malko told the AJC. “This merger and Taft’s comprehensive national platform create new opportunities to serve our clients with broad service offerings throughout the United States.”
Credit: Courtesy Taft
Credit: Courtesy Taft
Malko confirmed in July that Morris Manning was eyeing a merger with a top national firm when 22 of its lawyers, including corporate, tax, employment and hospitality practice leaders, joined Seyfarth Shaw’s offices in Atlanta and Charlotte.
At the start of the year, 32 lawyers from Morris Manning, including 13 partners, left to help launch the Atlanta office of international law firm Reed Smith. Those partners had led Morris Manning’s work in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, finance and technology.
Malko said he has been exploring ways to accelerate the firm’s growth for some time. He said Taft is the right match in regard to firm culture, core values, client service and strategic vision.
Both Hicks and Malko were adamant the merger is not an acquisition or a takeover. Hicks said the Morris Manning lawyers in charge of the Atlanta office will have an equal say in Taft’s governance.
The combined firm’s Atlanta office will move in the fall of 2026 to the Two Alliance Center in Buckhead. Until then, the local lawyers will stay in Morris Manning’s office nearby on Peachtree Road.
Taft, founded in 1885, has expanded beyond its Midwest roots and says it is now the 79th largest firm in the country. Hicks said Atlanta is the epicenter of the Southeast, where Morris Manning has built a stellar reputation.
“This strategic combination continues our successful tradition of merging with highly respected, established firms in new markets for Taft that bring exceptional lawyers interested in growing their firm and practices together with us,” he said.
Morris Manning isn’t the only Atlanta law firm to have recently lost a large number of senior attorneys to other firms. Taylor Duma has had several practice leaders leave in the past year, including co-founder Joe English.
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