Meredith Hobbs

October 16, 2007 | Law.com

In an interesting blur of fiction and reality, popular NBC sitcom "The Office," which purports to document the actions of fictional characters who work in a company that sells office paper, has spawned a blog that estimates what the real-world consequences would be if employees of "The Office" actually sued. The blog's author, labor and employment lawyer Julie Elgar, acknowledges that the show is over the top, but believes that it abounds with teaching moments.

By Meredith Hobbs

8 minute read

February 09, 2007 | National Law Journal

Holland & Knight; Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker; and Morris, Manning & Martin all announced they are bumping associate pay $15,000 in Atlanta. "Holland & Knight has just completed the best year financially in the history of the firm -- and our associates are a large part of this achievement," says Holland & Knight partner Adolfo Jimenez. The pay hikes follow announcements earlier this week that Jones Day, King & Spalding and Alston & Bird will raise associate salaries in Atlanta.

By Meredith Hobbs and Jonathan Ringel

3 minute read

May 07, 2007 | Law.com

A large chunk of the real estate firm McCalla Raymer has broken off to form a new firm, Dickenson Gilroy, led by Jennifer Dickenson and Monica Gilroy, who were joined by 15 other lawyers and 80 support staffers. Dickenson Gilroy will handle residential and commercial real estate closings and litigation. The two founders say that Dickenson Gilroy is one of the largest -- if not the largest -- female-led law firm in Georgia. "Hopefully, we'll be an encouragement to other women," Gilroy says.

By Meredith Hobbs

4 minute read

December 01, 2005 | Law.com

This year Powell Goldstein has lured 14 new partners, counsel and of counsel to its Atlanta office, as well as seven lateral associates -- and four or five more partners are expected to be added this month to the Atlanta and Washington offices. The firm retrenched and thinned its ranks at the start of this year, but is now focusing on "bringing people in who can have an impact," says managing partner James J. McAlpin Jr.

By Meredith Hobbs

4 minute read

June 22, 2011 | Law.com

The day after Weinstock & Scavo shut its doors, its landlord sued to lay claim to its assets and collect more than $7 million for the eight years left on its lease. Correspondence reveals that the 26-year-old firm's inability to renegotiate its lease after a group of lawyers left in December led to its dissolution six months later.

By Meredith Hobbs

10 minute read

November 28, 2006 | Law.com

The number of big firms with a full-time lawyer coordinating pro bono efforts has shot up in the past few years. Debbie Segal became Kilpatrick Stockton's first full-time pro bono lawyer almost six years ago. Since then the firm's annual pro bono hours have almost tripled, from 7,900 hours in 2000 to 27,500 hours last year. Some big-firm lawyers worry that devoting too much time to pro bono work could hurt their firm economically, but Segal says just the opposite has happened at Kilpatrick.

By Meredith Hobbs

8 minute read

June 26, 2007 | Law.com

Womble Carlyle's Guanming Fang is carving out a niche with Chinese companies setting up shop in the United States. But when she started practicing law in 1998, she had no idea China would become so hot. "There is a much better opportunity for people like me who understand Chinese businessmen and can provide hand-holding for exploiting this market," says Fang, who majored in English lit at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, her hometown, and covered the United States and Europe as a journalist in Beijing.

By Meredith Hobbs

12 minute read

July 27, 2006 | The Legal Intelligencer

Alston & Bird has raided two partners from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman to establish a global sourcing practice � but rumors that Alston might open offices in London or Germany are premature, said the firm�s managing partner, Ben F. Johnson III.

By Meredith Hobbs

3 minute read

June 06, 2007 | Law.com

In the midst of a competitive Atlanta market for intellectual property talent, an IP group has decamped from general practice firm Carlton Fields for IP boutique Woodcock Washburn. Wendy A. Choi, who leads the Woodcock office, said the firm is expanding beyond its traditional strengths in patent prosecution and IP litigation into transactional work, and that the firm plans to keep expanding its Atlanta office.

By Meredith Hobbs

5 minute read

September 05, 2007 | National Law Journal

More law firms have capitulated in Atlanta's second round of pay raises this year. Jones Day will raise starting pay to $150,000, and Sutherland Asbill and Paul Hastings will go to $145,000 -- an increase of $15,000 at each firm. Since the raises don't go into effect until January, firms have time to see how salaries play out before addressing pay beyond the first year. Some firms have announced across-the-board raises for associates, while others have announced only an increase in first-year salaries.

By Meredith Hobbs

2 minute read