Alston & Bird, one of Atlanta’s oldest law firms, has grown well beyond Georgia into a global legal player. The firm recently announced the election of 27 new partners, of whom more than half are based in its Midtown office. It’s something the firm’s leader says reflects the firm’s commitment to and continuing growth in Atlanta.

Alston & Bird, established in Atlanta in 1893, is one of the largest law firms in Georgia, with more than 350 attorneys based at its Midtown office. It also has offices in California, Texas, North Carolina, New York, the District of Columbia, China, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

Fourteen of the firm’s new partners, announced at the top of the year, are Atlanta-based. Each were promoted within the firm. They collectively specialize in intellectual property, securities, financial services, corporate transactions, employment law and litigation.

“We anticipate that we will be very busy in the coming year,” Richard Hays, the firm’s chairman and managing partner, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Georgia, in particular, has seen tremendous growth and investment in recent years, and that momentum isn’t going away any time soon.”

Alston & Bird isn’t the only international law firm bolstering the ranks of its Atlanta-based partners. In December, King & Spalding announced 28 newly promoted partners, of which seven work from the firm’s flagship office at the corner of Peachtree and 14th streets. And Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton elevated nine attorneys to partnership at the start of January, including five in Atlanta.

Hays credited Alston & Bird’s expansion in large part to its successful collaboration with Georgia clients, including Coca-Cola and flooring giant Mohawk Industries. He said the firm’s growth beyond the Peach State “reminds us that every step forward begins with a foot firmly planted in the past.”

“We are extraordinarily fortunate to have those roots firmly planted in Georgia,” Hays said. “In many ways, our success is simply a reflection of the success that clients in Georgia have experienced within and beyond the state.”

Credit: cour

Credit: cour

Alston & Bird lawyers are defending Coca-Cola in proposed consumer class actions alleging a fraudulent bottle cap rewards program and the presence of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Simply beverage products. In November, a New York judge granted Coca-Cola’s request to arbitrate the bottle cap case, and Coca-Cola’s bid to dismiss the PFAS case is pending.

Hays said the firm also represented Atlanta-headquartered packaging businesses Veritiv Corporation and Graphic Packaging International in Veritiv’s $2.3 billion deal with a private equity firm in August and Graphic Packaging’s $262.5 million acquisition of folding carton company Bell in September.

Embattled Marietta-based biotechnology company MiMedx Group, which in recent years saw its CEO convicted of federal securities fraud, beat an investors’ securities class action in federal court in July with help from Alston & Bird attorneys. The firm’s attorneys also represented Mohawk Industries in its 2023 public offering of $600 million in senior notes, Hays noted.

“Every day, I focus on the challenge of inspiring and retaining our talented family of lawyers, so that our clients continue to receive the very best service,” he said. “This year’s newly elected partner class reflects that we are well-positioned to assemble teams of lawyers to serve in the areas where our clients have the greatest needs.”

Credit: court

Two of the Atlanta-based elevated partners, Emily Welch and Tyler Pate, will be tasked with boosting the firm’s work in intellectual property litigation and corporate health care transactions, respectively.

Courtney Quiros, another Atlanta-based Alston & Bird attorney just promoted to partnership status, said the firm is “a uniquely supportive environment where my aspirations to have a robust, national securities litigation practice were attainable.”

Credit: court

“I have really grown up — both professionally and personally — at the firm,” Quiros said. “My first position at Alston & Bird was at 22 years old before attending Stanford Law School, and now I’m in a partner office with framed pictures of my kids on the walls.”