Thomas Carlock (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

It’s been a busy August for Atlanta-based Huff Powell & Bailey.

Legendary trial lawyer Tom Carlock joined the firm on Aug. 1 from Carlock Copeland & Stair, the litigation defense firm he co-founded almost 50 years ago.

Separately, Huff Powell has opened a Raleigh office, its first outside of Georgia, with five lawyers from North Carolina litigation defense firm Cranfill, Sumner and Hartzog. Three partners, PK Shere, Katherine Hilkey-Boyatt and Joshua Hiller, joined last week with associates Barrett Johnson and Molly Pearce.

Carlock, who joined Huff Powell as of counsel, said he wasn’t ready to retire.  Since the beginning of the year, he said, he had been in “slowdown mode” at Carlock Copeland, which he and four other lawyers started in 1970. He officially retired on June 30.

But he said he didn’t like slowing down. “I like practicing law—and you can only play so much golf,” Carlock said. “I’m excited to cross the finish line with a little fresh blood in me.”

Carlock Copeland has changed its name to Copeland, Stair, Kingma & Lovell in recognition of the contributions of firm leaders Joe Kingma and Gary Lovell over more than 30 years. 

“Tom [Carlock] was a big part of this firm’s history, and for many years one of his talents was an ability to hire, train and retain great talent,” the firm said in a statement. “Our success in 2019 and beyond arises in substantial part from seeds Tom planted decades ago. We wish him well.” 

Carlock said his oldest friend, Weymon Forrester, whom he’s known since their first day of law school at Emory University in 1963, was the impetus for joining Huff Powell. Forrester and his law partner Jim Brim of Gainesville’s Forrester & Brim merged their firm with Huff Powell last year, and both joined as of counsel. Forrester suggested that Carlock do the same. 

“I’ve got a lot of mileage on me, but I think it’s pretty cool,” said Carlock, who estimated he’s tried about 500 cases over his career. “I love the people at my former firm, but sometimes you need to change.”

The Daily Report named Carlock a Lifetime Achiever in 2016 for his involvement in some of Atlanta’s most high-profile civil defense cases. Carlock represented NFL star Ray Lewis in civil litigation springing from a 2000 incident when Lewis and his entourage were involved in a fight that left two dead in Buckhead. He also handled lawsuits against Piedmont Center after day-trader Mark Barton killed nine and injured 12 more before killing himself in 1999.

Carlock said he focuses on medical malpractice defense these days, although he represents insurer Aflac nationally. 

“Tom is a legal legend in Georgia,” said Huff Powell co-founder Dan Huff.  “I’ve known him since my first day practicing law,” said Huff, who started his career at Carlock’s prior firm.

“He’s simply great to have around—as a friend, a person to run a case by or to have a serious legal discussion,” said Huff, who left Carlock Copeland in 2003 to co-found Huff Powell with R. Page Powell Jr. and M. Scott Bailey.  Their firm has a strong focus on health care defense, while also handling general liability litigation. 

Raleigh Expansion

Adding the five-lawyer medical malpractice defense team in Raleigh, as with Carlock, was a “people-driven” decision, Huff said, and not because of any geographical target.

Huff and PK Shere met at a conference earlier in the year and the two started talking about defending obstetrical cases, which led to dinner and then coffee the next day. 

“We hit it off and started talking about becoming partners,” Huff said, adding that the Raleigh lawyers share mutual clients, such as health care insurers MAG Mutual and Curi. As with Huff Powell, the Raleigh lawyers’ health care provider clients include teaching hospitals with big trauma centers that have their own unique issues. In Georgia, Huff Powell represents Emory Healthcare, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Grady Health System. 

The new hires give Huff Powell about 45 lawyers in Atlanta, plus outposts in Columbus, Gainesville and now Raleigh. That follows the firm’s May addition of five lawyers led by partners Craig Brookes and Karen Smiley from a smaller litigation defense boutique, Hanks Brooks, who defend long-term care facilities. 

Huff said his firm does not have any current plans to expand further, noting that the recent growth has been from adding like-minded health care defense lawyers. “I don’t expect us to open another office anytime soon. We’re not trying to become a Southeastern regional firm,” he said.

But he added, “We would expand for people we would like to practice with.”