Ballard Spahr's Atlanta office has gained one lateral partner and lost another. Steve Park, who handles corporate securities and financing matters, joined the firm from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough while Ethan Cohen, a business litigator, has decamped for Holland & Knight.

Park spent more than nine years at Nelson Mullins before moving to Ballard Spahr. “Ballard Spahr is an exceptionally good fit for me. The firm has a national platform, an exceptionally strong banking practice, a group dedicated to EB-5 work, and a growing presence in the Southeast,” said Park in an announcement.

He handles commercial lending transactions, public and private securities offerings, and other corporate and M&A matters, with a specialty in transactions pertaining to the EB-5 visa investment program, also known as the Immigrant Investor Program. An EB-5 visa affords qualifying foreign investors and their families permanent green cards. In exchange, the visa-seeker must invest $500,000 in a project that creates 10 or more jobs in a rural or blighted urban area. In nonblighted urban areas, the investment must be $1 million.