There seems to be a carousel happening in Atlanta’s legal community.
Atlanta law firm Taylor English Duma has lost three groups of attorneys in recent weeks to rivals, including national and international firms establishing offices in the city.
Taylor English had eight senior lawyers leave in July to open the Atlanta office of international firm Clark Hill. Those attorneys — Bob Goldberg, Allen Nelson, Ryan Owens, Kent Webb, Manori de Silva, Steven Whitehead, Mark Florak and Christina Moore — specialize in corporate, real estate, international and employment law.
On Aug. 6, national law firm Buchalter announced it had opened an Atlanta office with six intellectual property lawyers from Taylor English as well as a real estate partner from McGuireWoods’ Atlanta office.
The same day, Burr & Forman, which has 350 attorneys in Georgia and seven other states, announced that it has added five corporate lawyers from Taylor English to its Atlanta office.
Many of the lawyers who just departed Taylor English spent more than a decade at the firm, which has about 140 attorneys nationwide.
Taylor English said it is committed to “the reinvigoration of our firm culture” as part of a strategic plan, while competition within Atlanta’s legal market grows. The firm said the loss of attorneys who represented “a small percentage” of its revenue “does not affect our bottom line.”
“While we will miss them, their departure presents an opportunity for us to continue evolving and strengthening our firm,” Taylor English said. “In the legal industry you often see teams move around so while we are sad to see them go, this is not an uncommon situation.”
Taylor English has added seven attorneys to its roster since the start of the year, and welcomed 13 lawyers in 2023. It said there are “a number of talented attorneys in the recruiting pipeline.”
Buchalter president and CEO Adam Bass said Nicholas Dancey from McGuireWoods and the Taylor English attorneys — Seth Trimble, Coby Nixon, Russell Dunlap, Amanda Hyland, Austin Vining and Cory Mull — are highly respected and have “the right business and cultural fit for Buchalter.”
Bass said the firm has immediate plans to continue its expansion in Atlanta and the Southeast.
“Atlanta represents a vibrant legal market, and there is no better group to start this office,” Bass said.
Trimble, a patent and trademark specialist who spent more than 13 years at Taylor English, will lead Buchalter’s Atlanta office. Nixon, who worked more than a decade at Taylor English, will head the litigation practice.
Buchalter said Trimble and Nixon served as defense counsel in more than 15% of patent infringement cases filed in Georgia’s federal trial courts since the start of 2016, which is more than any other firm.
Hyland, at Taylor English 14 years, will chair the intellectual property group in Buchalter’s Atlanta office. The office also includes litigator Jeffrey Melcher who is transferring from Buchalter’s Nashville location that opened in 2023. The firm, which boasts about 500 lawyers, also has offices in California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The Taylor English attorneys joining Burr & Forman — Al Hill, Nida Rizvi, Linda Yang, Andrew Keen and Josie Wall — specialize in mergers and acquisitions.
Burr & Forman also added litigator Robert Thomas to its Atlanta office in July. Thomas was previously at the Atlanta law firm Andersen, Tate & Carr.
Buchalter, Burr & Forman and Clark Hill aren’t the only law firms adding attorneys in Atlanta.
California-headquartered firm Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian announced on Aug. 1 that its first Atlanta-based attorney is Jason Cummings, who spent more than 14 years at Atlanta law firm Morris Manning & Martin before a brief stint at investment firm Arthur Ventures.
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