Georgia Pulse


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    New Ga. State Judges Leader Says Bench Is Not About Power

    Law360 Pulse caught up with the new president of the Georgia Council of State Court Judges, Chief Judge Gregory V. Sapp of Chatham County State Court.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry ended May with another action-packed week as BigLaw firms expanded practices and attorneys took on new roles. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.

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    'Silent Majority' Of GCs Band Together To Protect Rule Of Law

    A few hundred general counsel have recently joined together in a private, bipartisan group, aiming to rally their collective power, from potentially gathering signatures for future amicus briefs to fielding questions about factors to consider when changing outside counsel, to preserve the rule of law in the wake of the Trump administration's executive orders against law firms.

  • Ga. Justices Nix Reprimand For Solicitor General Over Theft

    The Georgia Supreme Court has rejected former Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard's bid to receive a public reprimand after she pled guilty to stealing taxpayer dollars, finding that the suggested discipline is not enough.

  • Insurer Wants Firm's $2.6M Malpractice Coverage Suit Tossed

    Berkshire unit National Liability & Fire Insurance Co. called on a Georgia federal judge this week to throw out a law firm's claims that it was hung out to dry by its insurers in a malpractice case, arguing the suit is an impermissible attempt to convert a contract dispute into a negligence claim.

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    Kilpatrick Tech Ace Returns To Nelson Mullins In Atlanta

    Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has brought back a Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP partner to its Atlanta office, strengthening its corporate practice and its tech industry group with an experienced technology and privacy attorney, the firm announced Thursday.

  • Law Firm Real Estate Report

    May was a month of new markets for several firms as they made their first entries into a handful of notable U.S. cities. They include Carlton Fields, which expanded into Minnesota with a new Minneapolis office staffed by attorneys formerly with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. And a merger with a Seattle-based firm gave Dickinson Wright PLLC its first office in the Pacific Northwest.

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    Eversheds, William Fry Call Off Irish Merger Talks

    Eversheds Sutherland's Irish office will not go ahead with a discussed plan to merge with Dublin-based William Fry LLP, the two firms said Thursday.

  • Ga. Justices Uphold $1.75M Award, Despite Ex Parte Emails

    The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a $1.75 million arbitration award in a dispute between a medical provider and its contractor, finding the provider was not prejudiced by the contractor's ex parte communications with an arbitrator.

  • Ga. Bank Wins Appellate Review Of Claim Against Law Firm

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to review a dismissed portion of a bank's suit against law firm Stanley Esrey & Buckley LLP, after the bank argued it had sufficiently explained that it loaned millions of dollars to a woman who was later convicted of fraud based on the firm's "false assurances."

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    Emory Taps Former Georgia Chief Justice As Interim President

    Emory University has selected former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears to be its interim president later this year, turning to a legal trailblazer and Emory law alum who has been on the university's board of trustees for 15 years.

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    Morris Manning Healthcare Duo Joins Bradley Arant In Atlanta

    A little more than a month after hiring a 12-attorney intellectual property team from Morris Manning & Martin LLP in Atlanta, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on Wednesday announced the hires of an experienced healthcare partner duo from the same firm.

  • Ga. Lawyer Disbarred After Contract Forgery Probe

    A Georgia attorney was disbarred Wednesday for altering a contract at the heart of a commercial dispute in a failed attempt to deceive a trial court, as the state supreme court rejected his defenses for his "dishonesty, fraud, and deceit."

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    Former Ga. Labor Dept. CLO Among Pair Of Hall Booth Hires

    Hall Booth Smith PC expanded its Atlanta office with two former government attorneys, one most recently with the Georgia Department of Labor and the other with Crawford and Boyle LLC.

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    Rate Hikes May Be Masking BigLaw's Financial Vulnerabilities

    Revenue and profits have both been on a strong upward trajectory in recent years for large U.S. law firms, but those strides may not tell the whole story when considering factors like inflation and the role that aggressive rate hikes, which some say are unsustainable, have played in the increases.

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    Law Firms Slow To Adopt $225K Associate 1st-Year Salaries

    First-year associate salaries of $225,000 may make headlines, but they aren't yet the reality at most law firms surveyed for a new report by the National Association for Law Placement.

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    Gibson Dunn Helps 1st-Year Associates Connect With 'Pods'

    At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP launched a unique virtual program to connect first-year associates with other young attorneys in different U.S. offices. Five years later, the “New Associate Pods” program is still going strong.

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    Hamilton Miller Tops New Ranking Of Midsize Law Firms

    Miami-based Hamilton Miller & Birthisel LLP has topped the inaugural ranking of the leading 200 midsize law firms from legal software provider SurePoint Technologies, which scored firms based on factors such as gender and ethnic diversity, and attorney roster growth.

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    Ga. Attys Raise $714K For Food Banks In 14th Annual 'Frenzy'

    Georgia's legal community raised $714,936 for food banks — enough for nearly three million meals for children, seniors and families across the state — as part of the 14th Annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, with Habachy Law of Atlanta and Greenberg Traurig LLP earning the top awards, according to a recent announcement from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.

  • Ga. Firms Accused Of Misleading Client After Crash Suit Error

    A Georgia couple said two personal injury law firms wrongly left out the accused driver's employer — which had $2.5 million in insurance coverage — as a defendant and fraudulently convinced them to delay a legal malpractice claim.

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    Why Training Partners To Supervise AI Is Now A Priority

    As law firms integrate generative artificial intelligence into their operations and teach attorneys to use it, some are getting their partners up to speed by training them specifically in how to supervise the use of these tools.

  • Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

  • Ga. Judge Acted As 'Jury And Executioner,' Ethics Panel Told

    A Georgia woman told a state judicial ethics tribunal Friday that she was "humiliated" by a Fulton County judge's decision to lock her in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing, recalling that she felt the judge had claimed for herself the additional titles of "jury and executioner," while the woman's father came to the judge's defense.

  • Ga. Bar OKs Real Estate Deals Via Video

    The State Bar of Georgia has adopted a formal ethics opinion allowing attorneys to close real estate deals via video conference, finding that the remote appearances satisfy lawyers' duty to be "present" at closings.

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    Atlanta Bar Elects Hawkins Parnell Atty As President

    The Atlanta Bar Association installed its new president at the more than 4,000-member voluntary group's annual meeting, selecting a Hawkins Parnell & Young LLP partner who helped launch the organization's first leadership academy that begins in the fall.

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Expert Analysis

  • Making Legal Cents: Firm Culture Is The New Game Plan Author Photo

    Law firm culture is often dismissed as a soft factor — merely platitudes on a website that seem disconnected from the bottom line — but by intentionally embedding a strong culture into day-to-day operations, law firms can achieve sustainable success, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5 Questions Firms Must Ask For Successful Lateral Integration Author Photo

    To ensure that lateral partners effectively integrate their books of business, firms should design a structured transition plan based on a few fundamentals, from tracking the right data to implementing meaningful incentives, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Goldilocks Solution: Why The 4-Day Office Week Is Just Right Author Photo

    As law firms continue to wrestle with return-to-office policies, many are being pulled toward one or the other of two extremes: the rigidity of a five-day in-office schedule and the laissez-faire approach of a flexible three-day hybrid model — but a four-day in-office workweek may be the sweet spot, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • As Attys Adopt Generative AI, 3 Elements Should Be Cardinal Author Photo

    As the legal world increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence, lawyers and firms must develop and utilize strong prompting skills, keep a pulse on forthcoming tech evolutions, and remain steadfast to ethical obligations, say Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi and Marty Robles-Avila at BAL.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises Author Photo

    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Prioritize Connections Author Photo

    One reason business development in the legal industry seems so mysterious is because human relationships are so complex, but lawyers can reorient their thinking in two important ways to drive the process of connecting with new colleagues and contacts, say Jamie Lawless and Angela Quinn at Husch Blackwell.

  • Overcoming US Law Firms' Hesitancy To Enter Indian Market Author Photo

    Successful private equity exits with strong returns have solidified India's buyout market as an increasingly attractive destination for future investments, offering compelling reasons for the U.S. legal community to overcome its caution on the country's markets, says Vaishali Movva at Eimer Stahl.

  • Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Make A Plan For The Year Author Photo

    While firms are busy allocating resources and assessing client demand, individual attorneys should use the start of the year to slow down and create a personal business plan, which can be accomplished with a few steps, say Elizabeth Gooch, Teri Robshaw and Chris Newman at McDermott.

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    Talking Mental Health: Caring For Everyone As A Firm Leader Author Photo

    Reid Phillips at Brooks Pierce discusses how he manages the pressure of running a law firm, how sources of stress in the legal industry have changed over the past decade, and what firm leaders should do to help manage burnout and mental health issues among employees.

  • How Firms Can Use LinkedIn To Aid Marketing Efforts In 2025 Author Photo

    LinkedIn has several features law firms can use to showcase their capabilities and thought leadership to reach prospective and existing clients, including the Event and Live features, says Sofia Millar at Reputation Ink.

  • Talking Mental Health: Managing Emotions In Trauma Cases Author Photo

    Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm discusses what motivates her to represent victims of catastrophic injuries, how she copes with the emotional toll of such cases, and what other attorneys taking on similar cases can do to protect their mental well-being.

  • Strategies For Successful Law Firm Mergers In 2025 Author Photo

    Law firms are expected to continue consolidating in the year to come, and because these mergers require a different kind of playbook, firm leaders must carefully consider office culture nuances, professional services economics and talent retention strategy before any merger, say directors at FTI Consulting.

  • Making Legal Cents: Winning More Work In A Crowded Market Author Photo

    In a market where clients have more options, tighter budgets and higher expectations, firms must figure out how to differentiate themselves without discounting their rates, and several practical strategies for pitching, pricing and early-engagement communication can help, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • Best Practices For Implementing Firm Revenue Cycle Roles Author Photo

    Law firm revenue cycles are becoming more complex and time-consuming, but hiring dedicated revenue cycle personnel can help streamline the process and reduce the burden on attorneys, says Christine Indiano at Harbor Global.

  • Tips For Constructing Your Small-Law Exit Strategy Author Photo

    By initiating planning and processes to evaluate personal retirement goals and firm value early, longtime solo practitioners and small-firm owners can unlock a range of possibilities and potential buyers, setting up for a profitable exit and a rewarding transition, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

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