Annie Caiola has left Decatur firm Slotkin & Caiola to start a new boutique a few blocks away, Caiola & Rose, with a focus on serving franchisors.

She is partnering with bankruptcy lawyer Elizabeth Rose, who joined Slotkin & Caiola two years ago after serving as a law clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Grace Diehl. They brought on Meredith Barnes, who focuses on transactional and compliance issues, as senior counsel and Brittany Conklin as an associate. Marcy Sperry, a trademark lawyer, joined as of counsel from her own solo practice after 12 years at Womble Bond Dickinson (formerly Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice).

Clients include Huddle House, Church's Chicken, Tropical Smoothie Café and Focus Brands, which owns Moe's Southwest Grill, Cinnabon, Schlotzky's, McAlisters Deli, Arby's, Carvel and other restaurant brands. All of them are headquartered in Atlanta; Huddle House opened its first restaurant in Decatur in 1966.