David Hall, left, regional managing partner of the Birmingham, Alabama, office of Wilson Elser, and Steve Kennedy, regional managing partner of the firm's new Jackson, Mississippi, office. (Courtesy photos)

Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker is furthering its southern expansion with a new office in Mississippi and new hires in its Birmingham, Alabama, office, the firm announced Thursday.

A team of eight lateral attorneys has moved from Baker Donelson to Wilson Elser to bolster the New York-based firm's presence in the Southeast. Two partners and three of counsel attorneys will join the firm's existing Birmingham office. Three other new partners are based in Jackson, Mississippi, where they will launch Wilson Elser's 38th office.

In a statement, Wilson Elser chair Daniel McMahon pointed to the firm's recent growth strategy. “This is an exciting time for the firm,” he said. “Since opening our Atlanta office in 2017 with the goal of expanding throughout the South, we have opened four additional offices—Birmingham, Nashville, Mobile and now Jackson—and expanded our New Orleans office with a lateral group from Fowler Rodriguez. Together with our existing offices in Texas, Kentucky and Florida, this solidifies our foothold in the region and enables us to better service our clients across all of our practices.”

David Hall will lead the Birmingham office as managing partner. William Waudby will join as partner, and Charles Grimes, Andrew Walsh and John Hundschied will join the office as of counsel.

In the new Jackson office, Stephen Kennedy will join as managing partner, and additional partners Cable Frost and Robert Walker will also join the firm's new location.

The team of eight will focus primarily on the transportation sector, the firm said, although their practice expertise also includes product liability, commercial maters, construction, data breaches, cybersecurity, trust and estate disputes and more.

Jeffrey Melcher, managing partner of the firm's Southeast region, said the additions bolster two of Wilson Elser's bread-and-butter practices: transportation and its 24-hour response team.

“These are two of our more active practices firmwide, and the new team gives us an even deeper bench of skilled attorneys and greater geographic coverage,” he said. “We are thrilled to have them on board.”