Mark Bryce (clockwise from bottom left), Sean Ditzel, Jeremy Abernathy and Jordan Hendrick of Abernathy Ditzel Hendrick Bryce. (Courtesy photo)

Abernathy Ditzel, the Marietta family law firm that Jeremy Abernathy and Sean Ditzel started almost two years ago, is growing. The firm is adding two name partners—Jordan Hendrick from Sandy Springs firm Stout Kaiser and associate Mark Bryce, whom they are promoting to partner—and becoming Abernathy Ditzel Hendrick Bryce on Jan. 1.

Business had been good, Ditzel said, so he and Abernathy in August bought an office condo right off the Marietta Square at 319 Atlanta St., which gave them more space. That prompted them to think about expanding. Ditzel said he'd known Hendrick for several years from handling cases against each other, and the two had become friends.

The four partners, ranging in age from 30-year-old Bryce to 40-year-old Hendrick, are part of the next generation of family law attorneys in Marietta.

“Marietta is changing. There's a need for a younger generation of family law attorneys,” Ditzel said. “We're young, but we're thinking like we're in it for the long haul.”

The partners have plenty of connections to Marietta, where they live. Ditzel and Abernathy went to middle school together in Cobb County and then reconnected through the Cobb Bar Association. Abernathy also is a pastor on Sundays at Noonday Missionary Baptist Church, where Bryce plays in the church band. The church has a more than 180-year history in Marietta.

While they are rooted in Marietta, Ditzel said, they take cases all over the state, adding that most of their business is through referrals.

Ditzel and Hendrick have exclusively family law practices while Abernathy and Bryce also handle some plaintiffs, probate and juvenile law work.

Abernathy secured a $3.2 million Fulton County jury verdict in a wrongful death case in July with lead plaintiffs attorney Thomas Reynolds and Isaac Tekie of Reynolds Law Group. They represented the family of a disabled veteran, Antoine Hendrix, who was strangled to death when his motorized wheelchair went through a bottom railing on his Villa Rica apartment's patio, pinning him by the throat to the top railing. The plaintiffs had collected the policy limit of $1 million from the apartment complex's primary insurer, and the trial was over additional damages from the complex's excess coverage carrier. The $1 million was deducted from the verdict.

BRIEFLY

Another family law firm in Cobb County, Hedgepeth Heredia & Rieder, has shortened its name to Hedgepeth Heredia, because former partner Rebecca Rieder has become a Fulton County Superior Court Judge. Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Rieder, who was sworn in Nov. 7, to replace retiring Fulton Superior Court Judge Doris “Dee” Downs.

Aaron Lipson, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's associate regional director for enforcement, is leaving the agency after a 14-year career there, the SEC has announced. Lipson supervised a staff of more than 60 attorneys, accountants and other personnel in his role. He was a litigation associate for Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs before joining the SEC as a staff attorney in 2004.

Berman Fink Van Horn has beefed up its real estate practice with three new associates. Katherine Silverman, who joined from Hartman Simons & Wood, handles business and commercial real estate litigation. Henry Bailey Jr., who joined from Ulmer & Berne in Cleveland, handles commercial real estate, zoning and land use matters as well as general corporate work. He holds a masters degree in city and regional planning from Clemson University and a B.A. in urban studies from Morehouse College in addition to a law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Ashley Bowcott is a 2018 graduate of the Georgia State University College of Law and clerked for Berman Fink during law school. She is handling business and real estate litigation as well as labor and employment matters.

In another real estate law hire, Burr & Forman has added associate Greg Belatti to its real estate practice from Troutman Sanders. Belatti represents national cellular companies in leasing rooftop, tower, ground and building space for their communications facilities.

Atlanta managing partner Erich Durlacher said Belatti's “knowledge regarding public utilities and real property rights is in direct response to client needs and will enhance our firm's real estate practice group in that arena. Additionally, his work with franchisees and quick-service restaurants will augment a growing segment of our commercial leasing practice.”

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has promoted two lawyers in Atlanta to partner, Angelia Duncan and Tiffany McKenzie, out of 23 new partners firmwide. Duncan is a litigator, handling business disputes, employment matters and unfair competition. McKenzie advises on estate and family wealth tax transfer planning and fiduciary litigation.

The American Bankruptcy Institute has tapped Jonathan Edwards, a partner in Alston & Bird's restructuring group, as one of its “40 Under 40″ honorees this year. Its other local pick was Nick Campbell, the managing partner of turnaround firm Meru, who is not a lawyer.

Harry Dixon III of Taylor English Duma has been elected a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Dixon, who handles business litigation and white collar defense, co-chairs the ABA's Anti-Money Laundering Committee and is the programming co-chair for the Atlanta chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.