Citing client conflicts, Clay Long, one of the founders of McKenna Long & Aldridge, has started a solo practice rather than join Dentons, which swallowed his former firm last month.

At his new firm, CC Long Law, Long joined forces with another ex-McKenna lawyer, David Brown, now at Baker Hostetler, to work on the giant merger of three Coca-Cola bottlers that will form Coca-Cola European Partners.

They advised the Franchise Relationship Committee of Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), Long's client for many years. Based in Atlanta, the publicly held Fortune 500 company is The Coca-Cola Co.'s bottler in Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg and Monaco.