In the Daily Report's latest roundup of newly elected partners, Alston & Bird; Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton; Boyd Collar Nolen Tuggle & Roddenbery; and Merchant & Gould have announced a total of 13 new partners in Atlanta.

This follows earlier announcements of 2020 partner promotions from Troutman Sanders, King & Spalding, Eversheds Sutherland, Morris Manning & Martin, Jones Day, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and other firms.

All promotions were effective Jan. 1.

Alston & Bird

Alston & Bird elected 17 partners firmwide for its 2020 class, including eight in its Atlanta headquarters. They are: Alexander Brown, Maki DePalo, Jonathan Parente, David Park, Amber Pelot, Andrew Sumner, Kyle Woods and Charles Yates III.

Brown is a commercial litigator focusing on antitrust, consumer protection and data privacy matters. DePalo, a member of the firm's privacy and data security group, advises clients on tech transactions, compliance issues and risk management. Parente handles commercial litigation and arbitration for high-stakes business disputes. He often enters a case before trial or for an appeal. Park represents financial institutions on corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, as well as regulatory and corporate governance issues.

Pelot, a real estate lawyer, advises clients on industrial, multifamily, office, mixed-use and retail projects. Sumner is a securities litigator, handling class actions, shareholder derivative suits and the like for companies, financial institutions, their executives and shareholders. Woods handles employee benefits law and executive compensation for domestic and international clients. Yates has a corporate and M&A practice.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton

Two of Kilpatrick's seven newly promoted partners are in its Atlanta headquarters. Michael Breslin is a business litigator and chairs the firm's fintech industry team. His focus is on tech-related litigation as well as blockchain and cryptocurrency, privacy and data security issues.

Brittany Summers, an M&A and securities lawyer, handles corporate and banking transactions, regulatory and corporate governance issues

Kilpatrick also has promoted Jeffrey Fisher and Maritza Winfunke to counsel. Fisher, a litigator, specializes in class actions and tech-related litigation, including matters involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or data breaches. Winfunke represents lenders, loan servicers and investors in financial market transactions.

Boyd Collar Nolen Tuggle & Roddenbery

Divorce and family law firm Boyd Collar Nolen Tuggle & Roddenbery has elected Michael Hodes and Amy Saul to partner. Both practice family law exclusively. In his practice, Hodes specializes in the financial aspects of divorce, including prenuptial, postnuptial and settlement agreements involving complex assets such as privately held businesses.

Saul's focus is complex divorce and custody litigation. She also handles legitimation, paternity, child support actions and works as a guardian ad litem, advocating for the best interests of a child in a divorce.

Merchant & Gould

National intellectual property firm Merchant & Gould has promoted Loretta Freeman to partner. She handles trademarks and patents, with particular experience in domestic and foreign patent prosecution in the mechanical arts. She also handles IP due diligence and advises companies on their IP portfolios.