An alarming number of departures from Atlanta law firms by leading attorneys wanting to take their practice elsewhere is bringing to the city outside firms eager to establish a presence in what they see as the gateway to the Southeast.
In the last year, dozens of practice heads and senior lawyers have ended long stints at prominent Atlanta firms to establish local offices of national and international firms with plans for expansion. Others have taken their clients and colleagues to different firms in the city, and some have launched new firms.
The pace and type of change is unusual for Atlanta’s legal market, said Christina Moore, who left local firm Taylor Duma after more than a decade to establish the Atlanta office of international firm Clark Hill in July 2024. She said you typically see small groups of three to five lawyers moving among firms in the city, not several large national or global firms opening offices in a short time span.
“I’ve never seen what’s happening right now in Atlanta happen before,” said Moore, who moved to Atlanta from Chicago in 2008 and co-chaired Taylor Duma’s real estate practice. “The legal market, I don’t think, in Atlanta or Georgia has seen a shake-up like this until now.”
For established lawyers like Moore, firms that can offer greater resources and collaboration are attractive.
“It’s not just money,” she said.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Attorney moves shape tumultuous year
Moore’s departure from Taylor Duma with seven colleagues kick-started a series of similar moves. Taylor Duma, founded in Atlanta in 2005, lost more lawyers to the new Atlanta office of national firm Buchalter and the local office of Burr & Forman before its leading election law attorneys and a couple of construction lawyers also joined Clark Hill.
Taylor Duma’s co-founder Joe English left in April to start the Atlanta office of Offit Kurman, which has since nabbed an employment partner from Taylor Duma and a tenured intellectual property lawyer who had his own business. Several senior partners from Taylor Duma then started their own firm, Ardis Law.
Timothy Lynch, the president of Offit Kurman, said the firm usually doesn’t start a new office around one lawyer, but he was confident it would work in Atlanta with English, a top employment attorney. He said he expects the new office to grow steadily, though there is no rush to reach a certain number of lawyers.
“Do I see us being able to be 50 or 60 lawyers in Atlanta? Sure,” Lynch said. “The response that we’ve had in the marketplace has been terrific. We’ve had lots of interest from lawyers, interest from firms that want to talk to us about the possibility of joining Offit Kurman.”
Another Atlanta law firm that has recently lost a significant number of attorneys is Morris Manning & Martin, which just announced a merger with national firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister. Around 100 lawyers — including about 10 practice heads — left Morris Manning in the past year, roughly halving the size of the firm, which began in Atlanta in 1976.
In January, international law firm Reed Smith opened an Atlanta office with 32 Morris Manning attorneys, including 13 partners, and several lawyers from Greenberg Traurig. Cindy Davis, who led Greenberg Traurig’s banking and finance practice, is now the interim managing partner of Reed Smith’s Atlanta office. She said it will have more than 50 lawyers by the end of the summer.
“To see a large, true international firm come into town and hand-select the right teams, that was what really got my attention,” Davis said. “And, you know, we’re getting a lot of calls from others. I think it is getting the attention of a lot of others in the legal community since it was so unique.”
Seyfarth Shaw’s Atlanta office recently took around 20 lawyers from Morris Manning, including the leaders of corporate, tax, employment and hospitality practices. It also recently added a patent partner from Baker & Hostetler and a senior investment adviser from DLA Piper.
Lorie Almon, the chair and managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw, said Atlanta is important to the global firm because it is important to the firm’s clients. She said competition is to be expected in Atlanta’s legal market, which tends to reflect the robustness of the local business community.
“We see competition as healthy because it keeps you laser-focused on continuous improvement, and we’re always striving to be better and more attractive,” Almon said.
A five-lawyer real estate team also recently left Morris Manning for Barnes & Thornburg, which said its Atlanta office has grown by more than 300% in six years.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Large law firms that opened Atlanta offices in recent months include Gunderson Dettmer, which took technology law pioneer John Yates from Morris Manning, where he had spent more than three decades. And in July, Maynard Nexsen announced that it had merged with Atlanta-based real estate firm Miller Lavoie.
Changes bring new opportunities for attorneys
While the recent rate of law firms opening offices in Atlanta may ease, opportunities remain for lawyers open to switching firms.
Firm leaders said they are looking for talented lawyers to join their new offices in Atlanta as they work to expand their services in the Southeast.
Robert Hicks, the chairman and managing partner of Taft, said its merger with Morris Manning should see the combined firm’s Atlanta office more than double in size in the next five to 10 years. He said Atlanta is the epicenter of the Southeast and where the firm will lead its presence in the region.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Moore said Clark Hill’s Atlanta office now has about 30 lawyers and plans to grow. She said firms that have just started building a presence in the city will be looking to add partners and practice groups.
“It is a really good time for a lawyer who is a bit of a free agent,” she said. “The national law firms that came in are offering more reach, expertise and support.”
Julie Hardin, Reed Smith’s managing partner for the Americas, said the firm intends for its Atlanta office to offer a full range of legal services, having made a strong start in private equity, finance and technology. She said the latest hires include two senior white-collar defense partners from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton and a seasoned trial lawyer from Squire Patton Boggs.
“We just have found such incredible talent in that market,” Hardin said of Atlanta. “And with the business community being so vibrant and growing, it’s just an obvious place for us to be.”
Law firm growth isn’t limited to new players in the local market.
Josh Kamin, the managing partner of King & Spalding’s flagship Atlanta office, said the 140-year-old firm has managed to meet its ambitious goal to grow every year while maintaining its collegial and collaborative culture.
Kamin said Atlanta’s economy is strong and the local business sector has not reached a saturation point “by any means,” so there are ample opportunities for law firms to grow, particularly across industries like logistics, financial services, technology, health care, real estate, entertainment and energy.
“We see the robust Atlanta economy as an enhancer, growing the opportunities for us locally that have impact in Atlanta and far beyond,” Kamin said.
The talent and demand for services in Atlanta’s legal market are attracting attention from a variety of outside firms.
Glen Frost, founder of a national tax-focused law firm with about 40 lawyers, recently expanded into Atlanta by acquiring the tax controversy practice of Alyssa Whatley, whose work includes breaking down complex IRS issues to her almost 100,000 followers on TikTok. Frost and Whatley said there is high demand in Georgia for tax-related legal services, and they expect Frost Law’s Atlanta office to grow quickly.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
As she oversees preparations for Clark Hill’s expanded office space in Buckhead, Moore said it is an interesting and exciting time to be part of Atlanta’s legal market.
“I’m hoping all these firms are successful in planting their feet in Atlanta,” she said. “It’s a positive thing.”
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