Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock)

National labor and employment firm Fisher & Phillips has made its Nashville debut official, signing a long-term lease in the city. 

The new location gives the Atlanta-based firm 36 offices and continues the firm's investment in broadening its U.S. footprint. In December, Fisher & Phillips announced a Detroit office, acquiring a 13-lawyer labor and employment boutique there. The firm also expanded its Washington, D.C., office last year by acquiring another boutique and opened a Pittsburgh office.

Two Fisher & Phillips partners, Joe Shelton and Courtney Leyes, relocated from Atlanta and Memphis, respectively, to open the Nashville office, which started operating in July in temporary space. The firm officially announced the office on Monday after it secured a lease for a 4,000 square feet in Nashville's West End at 3310 West End Ave.

Fisher & Phillips' chairman, Roger Quillen, said it established the Nashville office in response to client demand. "We have been experiencing a growing demand for trusted employment counsel in Nashville, and in order for us to truly fulfill that need, we realized that it's important to be physically present and embedded with clients in that market," he said in a statement.

"A Nashville location expands our foothold in a key region as part of the firm's goal to better serve our clients and the industries in which they operate," Quillen said. 

Among other national labor and employment firms, Littler Mendelson; Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart; and Ford Harrison all have offices in both Memphis and Nashville. Jackson Lewis has one in Memphis but not Nashville.

Shelton, who has spent his 24-year legal career at Fisher & Phillips, will serve as local managing partner. He has an employment law practice, handling discrimination claims, trade secrets, noncompete agreements and other issues at the state and federal level. 

Leyes handles employment law, particularly for discrimination, harassment and wage and hour claims, as well as labor law for clients in Tennessee and Mississippi.

Fisher & Phillips said it plans to grow the office. "We hope to attract other lawyers who share our goal of practicing labor [and] employment law at a high-level while being good individual and corporate citizens in this dynamic city," said Shelton in the announcement.