Law firms, in-house legal departments and others scrambled to collect money in the final hours of the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, which was slated to end at midnight Friday.

At 3:42 p.m., the total for the Atlanta Community Food Bank stood at $267,267, or 89% of organizers' $300,000 goal.

Teams in the Atlanta competition poured in the donations, resulting in a healthy lead for defending statewide champion Joe S. Habachy PC and a tight contest between Troutman Sanders and King & Spalding for the No. 2 spot.

The statewide event raises money to buy meals for families that don't have enough to eat—819,000 people in the Atlanta area, including 1 in 5 children. Every $1 buys four meals due to the food banks' efficiencies.

The leaderboard looked like this just before 4 p.m.

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  • Joe S. Habachy PC (captain Joe Habachy), $23,950;
  • Troutman Sanders (James Stevens), $16,395;
  • King & Spalding (no captain listed), $15,993;
  • Georgia Institute of Technology Office of Legal Affairs (captains Susann D. Estroff and Kate Wasch), $13,060;
  • Baker & Hostetler (Emily Spiller), $12,440;
  • Alston & Bird (Cheryl Naja), $8,800;
  • Squire Patton Boggs (Deborah Lempogo), $7,998;
  • Serta Simmons (Lynn Carrico), $7,575;
  • Office of Attorney General (Katelyn Byrd), $7,562;
  • Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton (Karen Robinson-Salley and Jennifer Deal), $7,060;
  • Arnall Golden Gregory (Winifred Rice), $5,760;
  • Lueder, Larkin & Hunter (Cynthia Hodge), $5,523;
  • Taylor English Duma (Jonathan Boros), $5,291;
  • Hunton Andrews Kurth (Rie Steinbrenner), $4,390;
  • Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele (Leslie Neubauer), $4,070;
  • Kutak Rock (Natoshia Coleman), $3,905;
  • Dentons (Suneet Sidhu), $3,735;.
  • McGuireWoods (Elizabeth Arnettt Buckley), $3,680;
  • Hudson Parrott Walker (Laura Desautel), $3,670;
  • Chick-fil-A, (Holly Buth), $3,550.

(If you don't know which team to support, the Daily Report team will gladly accept your donations here.)