John C. Sawyer, Taylor English Duma, Atlanta

Taylor English Duma continues to grow with the addition of two partners, tax practitioner Jack Sawyer from Alston & Bird and entertainment lawyer Sandra Brown, who had her own firm for almost a decade.

Sawyer advises clients on wealth planning and asset protection and represents them in contentious estate or trust-related litigation. He represents landowners and land trusts in implementing bargain sales and conservation easements.

Sawyer also serves as pro bono general counsel for the Georgia Planned Giving Council. He is a fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a former chair of the State Bar of Georgia's fiduciary law section.

Brown advises on entertainment contracts including licensing, production, sponsorship and endorsement agreements. Before starting her own firm in 2007, Brown worked in the entertainment and media group at Greenberg Traurig. She started out in entertainment law as associate director of business and legal affairs at Jermaine Dupri's companies, So So Def Recordings and Artistic Control Management. Brown is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Taylor English, which has about 150 lawyers, recently added another partner to its entertainment, sports and media team, Alan Clarke, from his own shop, The Entertainment Law Group, Alan S. Clarke & Associates.

BRIEFLY

Jennifer Coalson has rejoined Parks, Chesin & Walbert, this time as a partner. Coalson left the litigation boutique, known for its plaintiffs employment practice, three years ago to clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten Sr. of the Northern District of Georgia. Coalson's civil litigation practice focuses on representing individuals in civil rights, employment, personal injury and wrongful death cases. She also handles business litigation.

Roger Kirshenbaum has moved his trusts and estates practice to MendenFreiman, joining as a partner after 22 years of managing a solo practice as of counsel to Wagner, Johnston & Rosenthal. Kirshenbaum, who holds a J.D. and an LL.M. in tax law from Emory University, is on Emory's Gift Planning Advisory Council and is a past chair of the Atlanta Bar Association's estate planning and probate section. MendenFreiman handles trusts and estates and business law. Kirshenbaum's addition gives the boutique 10 lawyers.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton has added Vita Zeltser to its global sourcing and technology team as counsel from Locke Lord. Zeltser handles information security, privacy, e-commerce, outsourcing and tech licensing matters.

Kevin Bond has joined Krevolin & Horst as an associate in the corporate and technology practice. After earning a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2014, Bond spent his first two years of law practice in Tokyo at Morrison & Foerster, and he speaks Japanese. His practice focuses on venture capital, private equity and other transactions.

Burr & Forman has hired two first-year associates in Atlanta, Adelyn Boleman in the litigation practice and Talia Davis in the lending practice. Both are 2017 graduates of Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law.

Bryan Cave has promoted two lawyers to partner in Atlanta, Kenneth Achenbach and Amy Taylor Wilson, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Achenbach focuses on compliance and governance issues for the financial services industry. Wilson represents public and private companies in transactions.

Intellectual property boutique Johnson, Marcou & Isaacs has promoted Nichole Engle to partner. Engle focuses on trademark prosecution and portfolio management as well as electrical and mechanical patents.

Erica Mason, a partner with labor and employment firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, is the new president of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Mason has served as the group's national finance director, co-chair of its Latina Commission and representative to its inaugural Collaborative Leadership Bar Academy. The group named her one of its Top Lawyers Under 40 in 2016. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Douglas Burrell, a partner with Drew Eckl & Farnham, was re-elected secretary-treasurer of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar at the group's annual meeting in Chicago. With 22,000 members, the DRI is the largest professional organization in the country for litigation defense lawyers.

Kilpatrick partner Ted Davis has received the 2017 President's Award from the International Trademark Association. The annual award is for exceptional contributions to the group and its mission of trademark and intellectual property protection. Davis has co-authored “The Trademark Reporter's United States Annual Review” for the past 17 years and drafted a number of amicus briefs for the INTA. He has served on the group's executive board since 1991.