Alston & Bird

Alston & Bird LLP

Headquarters	One Atlantic Center Atlanta,Georgia USA
No. of offices	11
No. of attorneys	Approx. 800+
Major practice areas	Corporate and Litigation
Revenue	$730.5 million
Date founded	1893 in Atlanta
Company type	LLP
Website

Alston & Bird LLP is an international global law firm with over 800 lawyers in 11 offices throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. The firm provides a full range of legal services to domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwide. Alston & Bird advises major companies including Amazon.com Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Microsoft Corporation, Bank of America Corporation, Starbucks, Toyota, Dell Inc., UPS, and Nokia Corporation. For the past 18 years, FORTUNE has ranked Alston & Bird in the "The 100 Best Companies to Work For" list among other FORTUNE500 companies. Core practices include intellectual property, complex litigation, corporate and tax, with national industry focuses in energy and sustainability, health care, financial services and public policy.

In 2016, the firm reported a revenue increase of 6.2% reaching $730.5 million. Profit per partner increased to $1,810,000.00 while revenue per lawyer increased to $935,000.00. In March 2017, the firm boosted its west coast presence with the opening of its San Francisco office.

History

Founded in 1893, the firm has offices in Atlanta, New York City, Washington, DC, Brussels, Charlotte, Raleigh, Dallas, Los Angeles, Beijing, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. Through the roots of the Alston, Miller & Gaines’ predecessor firms, the merger with Jones, Bird and Howell formed Alston & Bird on December 1, 1982. Expansion beyond Georgia began with the establishment of an office in Washington, DC, followed by the 1997 merger with intellectual property-focus Bell Seltzer Park & Gibson (Charlotte and Raleigh), Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green in 2001 (New York), and Crews, Shepherd & McCarty LLP in 2007 (Dallas). In August 2008, the firm opened a Silicon Valley office with attorneys from the national firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The next month, Alston & Bird acquired the 100-lawyer strong Weston Benshoof Rochefort Rubalcava and MacCuish LLP, launching in Los Angeles and Ventura County to reach 9 offices nationwide. Legal publications report that the Atlanta-based firm is seeking to launch additional overseas offices in London and Germany.^[1] Legacy firm Walter Conston operated a Munich liaison office before it was acquired by Alston & Bird.^[2]

Today, the firm headquartered in Midtown Atlanta on West Peachtree Street, in One Atlantic Center, has more than 800 attorneys providing a full range of services to domestic and international clients conducting business all over the world.

The former managing partner, Benjamin F. Johnson III, was named on Atlanta Business Chronicles list of the 100 Most Influential people in Atlanta. (published June 28, 2007). In addition, he serves on the board of trustees for several notable Atlanta institutions, including the Carter Center, Emory University, and Woodward Academy.

Former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, is a Special Counsel at the firm's Washington, DC office.^[3]

Offices

As of March 2017, Alston & Bird has 11 offices across three continents, with its largest office being in Atlanta, Georgia with over 400 attorneys.

• Atlanta
• Beijing
• Brussels
• Charlotte
• Dallas
• Los Angeles
• New York
• Research Triangle
• San Francisco
• Silicon Valley
• Washington, DC

Compensation

In June 2016, Alston & Bird announced that it would raise attorney salaries to match market rates set earlier that month by the New York based law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Firm bonuses range from $15,000 - $100,000 depending on year and merit-based reviews.

Political contributions

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Alston & Bird was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.26 million, 53% to Democrats.^[4] By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats,^[4] while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans.^[5] Since 1990, Alston & Bird contributed $5.1 million to federal campaigns.^[6]

Notable mandates

• Counsel to German media group Bertelsmann AG (a long-time client of legacy firm Walter, Conston) with Clifford Chance and Slaughter & May as UK co-counsel in Bertelsmann's $2.74 billion acquisition of Zomba Music Group in 2002.
• Represented Cingular Wireless in its purchase of 34 wireless licenses from NextWave Media in 2003
• Advised Regions Financial Corporation alongside Sullivan & Cromwell in its purchase of Union Planters Corporation in 2004, a transaction valued at $5.8 billion.
• Issuer's counsel with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for Assurance Insurance in its $2.024 billion IPO in 2004.
• Represented Koch Forest Products Inc., a subsidiary of Koch Industries, alongside Latham & Watkins in its $21 billion purchase of the Georgia-Pacific Corporation in 2005
• Advised longstanding client IndyMac, its executives and directors the FBI investigation into the California bank's collapse in 2008. Alston also advised the bank on the transfer of its assets to government control under the auspices of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
• Representing Toyota in the economic loss class actions arising from the 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls.^[7]

References

External links

• Official website