Vanessa Morris, of Nelson Mullins. (Courtesy photo)

Real estate lawyer Vanessa Morris has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as a partner, arriving from Morris Manning & Martin. Morris handles multifamily real estate projects, representing developers, lenders and servicers on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae financing, low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds and other matters.

Morris “brings unique experience in agency lending (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae financing) and will enhance the services we provide to our clients,” said the co-leader of Nelson Mullins' real estate capital markets group, Brad Denson, who is also in Atlanta, in a statement. Her addition gives Nelson Mullins' real estate investment, finance and restructuring team 40 members.

With Morris, Nelson Mullins has 152 lawyers in Atlanta, which is the 800-lawyer Southeastern firm's largest office by attorney head count. Its Columbia, South Carolina headquarters is still its largest office by total head count.

Bankruptcy litigator Bryan Kaplan has moved to Fox Rothschild as a partner from Kitchens Kelley Gaynes, bringing Fox's Atlanta head count to 21 lawyers. Kaplan has extensive experience handling commercial creditors' rights matters before state and federal courts in Georgia and Alabama. He also handles commercial litigation matters. Kaplan has handled pro bono cases for Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation's clients, including landlord-tenant disputes and criminal record expungement.

The Philadelphia-based firm gained an Atlanta foothold in November when it acquired Smith Moore Leatherwood, a North Carolina-based firm that had an established office in Atlanta. The firm's chairman, Mark Silow, told the Daily Report in January that Fox aims to expand its new Atlanta location. Fox recruited Beau Howard from Freed Grant in May.

Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry has added tax lawyer Jeffrey Luechtefeld as senior counsel from KPMG, where he was a director for its tax controversy services practice in St. Louis, helping clients resolve disputes with the IRS. Luechtefeld started his career as a litigator with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, where he worked for more than seven years before joining KPMG.

Parth Munshi has joined Taylor English Duma as a partner from CKR Law, a global consortium of lawyers. A corporate and securities practitioner, Munshi has served as one of the primary disclosure and governance lawyers for The Coca-Cola Company and Molson Coors Brewing Co.

Newly independent plaintiffs lawyer Jeb Butler of the Butler Law Firm has hired an associate, Matt Kahn, from litigation boutique Fried & Bonder. Kahn is a 2015 graduate of Emory University Law and interned for Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Sara Doyle.

Christopher Collier, formerly an associate at Williams Teusink handling real estate and commercial litigation, has become corporate counsel and executive vice president for Cartersville-based Ely Corp., which operates mining, construction, real estate development and clothing subsidiaries.

Fincher Denmark, a Jonesboro boutique specializing in local government law, has hired two new associates: Michael Huening and Zalak Raval. Huening was a staff attorney for the Georgia Vocation Rehabilitation Agency after earning a J.D. in 2016 from Georgia State University. Raval came from Singh Law, where she practiced securities litigation. She earned a law degree from Emory University in 2018.

Burr & Forman has hired Kevin Stone as a litigation associate from Freeman Mathis & Gary. He graduated from law school at the University of Florida in 2014.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton has hired three associates. Caitlin Smith, on the firm's trademark and copyright team, arrived from Alston & Bird. Jessica Nwokocha, on the government enforcement and investigations team, left Balch & Bingham. Tony Glosson, who joined the tech, privacy and cybersecurity team, came from Drinker Biddle & Reath in Washington, D.C.