Wm. David Cornwell Sr., a prominent litigator in the sports world with a stable of all-star clients, is leaving Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani for Barnes & Thornburg.

The move comes nearly three years after Gordon Rees absorbed DNK Cornwell, the Atlanta-based firm founded by Cornwell, a former in-house lawyer at the National Football League and general counsel for trading card company Upper Deck.

“Having been at the forefront of some of the biggest precedent-setting cases in professional and amateur sports, David's credibility and recognition in the market will be tremendous assets for growing our sports and entertainment platform, both in the Southeast and nationally,” said a statement by Jason Karlov, chairman of the entertainment, music, media and sports group at Barnes & Thornburg, a firm that went through a leadership change last year and earlier this month also hired a new nonlawyer executive director from Chicago's SmithAmundsen.