best of the atl law blog 2016

THE BESTOF THE

ATL LAW BLOG

Wilbert GroupThe

Wilbert Group brings you the biggestnews of 2016 from Atlanta’s biggestlaw firms, as first reported onatllawblog.com

January

Freshly minted partners from dozens of

ATLANTA LAW FIRMS assume their new titles.

Jonathan Eady succeeds Glenn Hendrix as managing

partner of Arnall Golden Gregory. Hendrix becomes the

firm’s new chairman.

A Sutherland team led by Dorothy Black Franzoni represents

Consolidated Edison Development with its $227 million purchase of Alamo 7.

KING & SPALDING advises TSYS on its acquisition of

TransFirst for $2.35 billion.

February

Charlotte-based Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein opens an Atlanta office by recruiting a

McGuireWoods team.

Sutherland partners

THOMAS BUNDY III and

ALLEGRA LAWRENCE-HARDY bolt to start their own litigation

firm, Lawrence & Bundy.

OGLETREE, DEAKINS elects

C. MATTHEW KEEN as managing shareholder.

Leah Ward Sears, the (then) Schiff Hardin partner and former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme

Court, is mentioned as a possible candidate

for the high court vacancy following

Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.

Morris, Manning & Martin ranks as the top Atlanta-based firm – and sixth in the nation – based

on the percentage of attorneys honored by Chambers USA.

March

A trio of firms –

TROUTMAN SANDERS, JONES DAY

and

GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER – provides counsel to Southern Company

on its planned acquisition of PowerSecure International.

King & Spalding advises Douglas Emmett on the acquisition of four office

buildings in West Los Angeles for approximately $1.34 billion.

Lewis Brisbois partner

SCOTT MASTERSON leads the successful defense against a man who said his

exposure to asbestos included in Union Carbide products

caused his mesothelioma.

King & Spalding counsels Carmike Cinemas’ definitive merger agreement with AMC Entertainment

in a $1.1 billion deal.

Long-time Troutman Sanders partner

CHARLIE HAWKINS sets up his own law firm, The Hawkins Firm LLC.

Former Sutherland partner Bennett Kight pleads not guilty

to charges of stealing over $2 million from elderly clients.

April

Fisher Phillips opens an office in Sacramento; hires

STEVE MAURO as chief operating officer.

King & Spalding advises credit card processor

Total System Services on the sale of $1.5 billion in senior

notes to underwriters.

Troutman Sanders counsels Snyder’s-Lance in its $1.9 billion merger with Diamond Foods.

ALSTON & BIRD secures a major win for client

GENUINE PARTS in the Delaware Supreme Court.

May

SMITH, GAMBRELL & RUSSELL

represents SASCO Chemical Group in its acquisition by Arsenal Capital Partners.

W. HUNTER HOLIDAY, a longtime corporate and

securities partner at Alston & Bird, is named

general counsel of North Highland Co.

Holland Knight’s Robert Highsmith opens Game 3 of the Eastern Conference NBA semifinals by singing the national anthem.

Bryan Cave’s C. Scott Greene

becomes a fellow of the American College of

Trial Lawyers.

KUTAK ROCK announces that

Atlanta public finance partner

DAVID AMSDEN has been elected as the firm’s

new vice chair.

Fisher & Phillips ditches the ampersand

and rebrands as Fisher Phillips.

ARNALL GOLDEN GREGORY

joins the ranks of Atlanta-based Am Law 200 firms for the first time.

June

Ogletree Deakins is named by Law360 as the No. 1 firm for

black attorneys.

IP firm Finnegan relocates its Atlanta office to

Atlantic Station in Midtown.

DLA Piper’s Ceasar Mitchell announces he’s

running for Mayor of Atlanta.

SMITH, GAMBRELL & RUSSELL

serves as legal counsel to

HERITAGE GROWTH PARTNERS

in a growth recapitalization of East West Manufacturing.

DLA Piper advises ClearView Group in its

acquisition of Ebony and Jet magazines from Johnson

Publishing Company.

Associate pay jumps $20,000 at several of

Atlanta’s largest law firms.

July

KILPATRICK TOWNSEND leads Atlanta-based firms in

The American Lawyer’s annual pro bono ranking of the

200 top-grossing U.S. firms.

Dentons recruits Edward Lindsey, former majority

whip in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Fisher Phillips opens an office in New York City.

Greenberg Traurig’s Joel Katz and Bobby Rosenbloum

are recognized by Billboard magazine as two of the music

industry’s top lawyers.

King & Spalding beefs up its

national public affairs capabilities through a strategic alliance with former Washington mayor Anthony Williams.

August

Smith, Gambrell & Russell advises Cherry Street Energy

on the first solar energy procurement agreement

under HB 57.

KING & SPALDING advises Post Properties on its $3.88 billion acquisition by Mid-America Apartments

Communities.

Jones Day advises Randstad on its $429 million acquisition of

Monster Worldwide.

FISHERBROYLES adds a team of five lawyers

from Lewis Brisbois.

Baker Donelson senior managing

shareholder Linda Klein is

named president of the American Bar Association.

Robert “Bo” Strauss and Morris Little of

TAYLOR ENGLISH DUMA advise a Russian freight airline

consortium on an $8 billion deal.

September

Sutherland represents Rockland Capital and affiliate

Redback Power in acquiring the Victoria Power Station.

PAUL HASTINGS advises Carey Watermark Investors 2 in its acquisition of the Renaissance Atlanta

Midtown Hotel.

TROUTMAN SANDERS counsels Canada’s

Cynapsus Therapeutics in its $624 million sale to

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals.

Polsinelli moves to

larger digs at One Atlantic

Center.

SMITH, GAMBRELL & RUSSELL

lures Leah Ward Sears, former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court,

from Schiff Hardin.

Dentons announces Jeff Haidet

will become U.S. chair.

October

Alston & Bird advises RREEF Management on its

purchase of the Las Olas City Centre office property in Fort Lauderdale

for $220 million.

KING & SPALDING represents EndoChoice Holdings

with its acquisition by Boston Scientific for $210 million.

BakerHostetler recruits Ron Gaither and his clients, including the

Atlanta Braves, from Schiff Hardin.

DON’T MISS THE REST OF 2016 ON THE ATL LAW BLOG

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