Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs has elected Harrison Roberts as the new managing partner for the 75-lawyer Atlanta business law firm. 

Roberts, who became Parker Hudson's leader July 1, is only the third managing partner in its 39-year history. He succeeds Wayne Hillis, who has returned to his litigation practice full-time after leading the firm for 12 years. 

"It's a real honor to be elected by this extraordinary group of lawyers," Roberts said. "I love the firm and its people. Wayne defines selfless, compassionate leadership and he's done an incredible job."

Roberts said his immediate initiatives are to continue Parker Hudson's growth and increase the diversity of its lawyers, particularly for partners, while maintaining a strong culture of client service and professional development during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have made strong strides in the diversity and inclusion area over the past 10 years, but there is always work to be done," Roberts said. "One of our biggest initiatives is attracting and retaining diverse and female attorneys, particularly at the partnership level."

A new diversity task force focused on the firm's partnership is finalizing its recommendations, he said, which will include an informal "Rooney rule" to ensure the firm includes diverse candidates among those interviewed for any open position. 

Parker Hudson also is considering ways to increase flexible work options, which are especially important to young mothers, Roberts said, noting that working from home has gone well during the pandemic. 

In keeping with Parker Hudson's previous leaders, Roberts will continue practicing while serving a five-year term as managing partner. Roberts, 48, has a commercial lending practice, representing banks and finance companies in loan transactions, which he said are mainly secured lending deals with operating companies to provide working capital. 

He joined Parker Hudson in 2001, soon after earning a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1997.

Growth and Culture

While Parker Hudson has grown to 75 lawyers, all 35 partners have equity status, Roberts said, so it is still closely held. The firm wants to keep growing, but "incrementally and organically," Roberts said—ideally by finding lateral partners in practice areas that fit with its current competencies.

Parker Hudson has its largest practices in health care law and commercial finance and bankruptcy, Roberts said, which have close to 20 lawyers each, as well as practices in litigation, corporate and tax, and real estate. 

It's too soon to say what additional practices might fit, he added: "We'll be looking at that over the next couple of years."

Roberts said one of the firm's strengths is a culture "that shares knowledge and one-on-one training," which he thinks can distinguish it in the lateral market.

"Our partners are working closely with associates at every level of a deal or lawsuit," he said. "I think that kind of training is attractive to all young attorneys—and it's something we can offer diverse attorneys that some other firms can't."

As managing partner, Roberts will be building on the more modern firm structure that Hillis put in place. Roberts said Parker Hudson was run entirely by consensus when Hillis became its leader in 2008, a strategy that proved "inefficient and unwieldy" as the firm grew.

Hillis established an executive committee and, more recently, a team of nonlawyer professionals, including a CFO and CIO, to help manage the firm. That includes the firm's longtime chief administrative officer, Dixon Dunavant. 

Hillis in a statement called Roberts "a proven leader and a brilliant and accomplished partner in our firm. With his extraordinary energy, vision, mastery over all aspects of the firm's business, and people skills, I am confident that he will lead the firm to even greater heights."

Roberts' first action as managing partner was aimed at maintaining culture while Parker Hudson is still on remote-work status, by asking people to connect once a week with someone with whom they don't work.

Parker Hudson has started a very gradual initial phase of office reopening for only a limited number of volunteers. Right now, there are only about 10 people per floor back in the office, Roberts said. The firm has two floors in SunTrust Plaza at 303 Peachtree St. N.E.

"We're not quite moving to phase two yet," Roberts said, adding that the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Georgia has delayed that step.

Roberts does expect the pandemic-related shutdown to increase work for Parker Hudson's bankruptcy practice. The pandemic didn't affect bank clients' borrowers very much in the first quarter, and Paycheck Protection Program loans helped mid-market and small companies in the second quarter, but he expects to see more bankruptcy activity in the second half of the year. 

"Our view is that banks will probably start to see lots of borrowers in default when they report their second-quarter results, and so the banks will have to decide how to proceed," he said. "This is not something we've seen before—with such a wide spectrum of borrowers in different economic sectors that may run into trouble at the same time."

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Wayne Hillis' name.