Editorial: Commercial Litigation in Georgia

01 April 2007

Interviewees spoke in glowing terms of Chilton Varner, who is “excellent for GM and tobacco work”, and has served as lead trial and appellate counsel for some of the biggest names in the automotive, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. In 2004, she was appointed to the Federal Civil Rules advisory committee, and has participated in the recent drafting of amendments concerning electronic discovery. Senior litigation partner Joseph Loveland has been active in both state and federal courts on behalf of Coca Cola, Imperial Tobacco, Texaco, Miller Brewing, WellCare of Georgia and Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance, among others, and continues to enjoy “a fantastic reputation”. In addition to highprofile insurance disputes, Michael Russ has also represented Coca Cola, Brown and Williamson Tobacco and Sprint Nextel. “No who’s who of the state would be complete without Gordon Smith”, who has considerable experience handling product liability cases in several jurisdictions. Both Smith and Varner also appear in the product liability chapter of this book. The fifth representative of the firm is Daniel King, who heads the business litigation group in Atlanta, and focuses his practice mainly on tax and bankruptcy disputes.

Next, both in terms of numbers and of votes received for each individual, we recognise litigation boutique Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP. The firm is home to “a superior set of attorneys”, led in our research by the “superb” Emmet Bondurant, who practises primarily in the areas of dispute resolution, antitrust, business tort and whitecollar criminal defence. Recent highlights from over 30 years’ trial experience include Re: Southeast Banking Corp and Ameripride Distribution Inc v Wallmart Stores Inc. Jeffrey Bramlett, who also scored highly in our research, adds expertise in securities fraud, professional liability, RICO and trademarks, and frequently represents Fortune 100 companies and legal professionals in complex disputes. He has also been elected by his peers to serve on the Georgia State Bar’s board of governors. Partner Lamar “Mickey” Mixson is “very highly thought of ” as both plaintiff ’s and defence counsel, from jury and judge trials to arbitral proceedings. His specialties include business tort, corporate governance and partnership and fiduciary disputes. Completing the team from Bondurant Mixson & Ellmore is John Floyd, brought to the attention of researchers for his “excellent work and great scholarly credentials”. Floyd is the author of a book and frequent chapters and articles concerning RICO law: his area of expertise. 

Two firms provide three nominees for this chapter. From Alston & Bird, former co-chair of litigation Randall Allen was warmly praised as “quite the authority on antitrust litigation”, having recently represented Mohawk, the carpet manufacturer, in a nationwide grand-jury investigation into price fixing. He also has an active practice in relation to FTC merger investigations. Partner and co-coordinator of the firm’s litigation group Peter Bassett was mentioned for securities and class action litigation. John Stephenson served on the Enron Examination’s executive committee, which identified more than $5 billion in potential claims relating to Enron’s financial institutions, directors and officers and accountants. Corporate governance and financial fraud are listed among his areas of expertise. At Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Stephens Clay came highly recommended. A past chair of the Georgia State Bar’s antitrust division, Clay has experience in contract and other commercial litigation, business tort actions, antitrust and patent infringement. Recent matters include acting for Raytheon in construction disputes and ensuing insurance and indemnity claims in several US states and European jurisdictions, and DuPont in hundreds of federal and state contract and tort cases in connection to agricultural products. In over 30 years at the firm, as a past chair of litigation and a member of the executive committee, Susan Cahoon has built up “a considerable reputation in the field”, focusing on patent and securities litigations, and corporate governance disputes among others. She is a trained mediator and arbitrator, and a member of the AAA’s Georgia-Alabama Complex Case Panel. William Boice also appears in these pages, capping a strong performance by Kilpatrick Stockton. His strengths include patents and trade secrets, business tort, securities and employment litigation. As part of his patent litigation practice, he has represented Lockheed Martin, Delta Air Lines and the Weather Channel. 

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP is another firm with more than one representative in these pages, with the added distinction that these two nominees were among the highest-ranking lawyers in our research. John Fleming was described as “excellent – very experienced in a broad range of matters”, including business, franchise, IP, insurance, banking and tax litigation. John Chandler brings expertise in insurance securities, RICO and health care cases; he has represented all “Big Four” accountancy firms, as well as several leading insurers and partnerships. Together, they were described as “talented and dependable – part of a really great team”. 

Four other highly respected firms provide lawyers for our list. Chief among these professionals is John Dalton of Troutman Sanders LLP. “An outstanding trial lawyer”, Dalton has taken part in high-profile cases such as AFC v Arthur Andersen, US v CNN, Lewis v Turner Broadcasting and Turner Entertainment co v Degato. From Holland & Knight, Harold Daniel was singled out for commendation, with several sources mentioning his standing in antitrust. C B Rogers, one of the founding partners of Rogers & Hardin, was said to be “a legend of the State Bar”, with an equal reputation for helping to build the firm to its present stature, both nationally and internationally. He is also a member of the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference’s lawyers advisory committee. Finally, we recognise Richard Hines from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, a senior litigation partner with more than 30 years’ experience across a spectrum of legal practice areas in state and federal courts.

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