Shook Trial Lawyers Team up With Atlanta Partners to Launch New Southeast Presence

ATLANTA, June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh off the addition of a new Los Angeles office, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. expands its geographic reach to Atlanta, home of many of its marquee clients. The Atlanta opening amplifies the firm's geographic footprint to 14 cities coast-to-coast and in London. Well-known Atlanta Attorneys Colin Kelly, Anna Sumner Pieschel and Josh Becker will join current Shook Partners John Lewis, Jr. and Leonard Searcy to start and grow the office. The move into the Southeast comes just as Shook marks its 130^th anniversary.

"Shook's entry into this region makes perfect sense," said Kelly, who will serve as Atlanta's managing partner and whose preeminent trial practice has attracted clients in the food and beverage, materials manufacturing, shipping and transportation, and technology areas, among others. "This combination creates a synergy to grow Shook's existing clients in Atlanta and allows our team to collaborate with some of the nation's finest trial attorneys whom we've known for a number of years. We are excited about the expansion into Atlanta."

Shook Chair Madeleine McDonough said the group represents the strategic evolution of Shook's national litigation platform. "With the addition of this team, Shook has brought aboard 30 lateral attorneys this year in areas of strategic value to our clients. Josh, Anna and Colin are a seamless fit with our product liability and commercial litigation focuses. Their combined trial experience—particularly in mass torts that demand a high level of industry-specific knowledge—deepens Shook's bench of litigators with strong health, science and technology backgrounds."  

"One aspect that stood out about Shook was its demonstrated commitment to furthering a diverse legal profession," Pieschel noted. "Half of the lateral partners announced by Shook this year identified as women or diverse. Nearly half the firm's leadership council are women or diverse. This culture is important to building the most talented trial teams for our clients as well as meeting the needs of companies competing in an increasingly global marketplace." 

"Colin, Josh and Anna are enthusiastic and dynamic and add positive energy to the practice," said Shook Partner and General Liability Litigation Practice Co-Chair Paul Williams. "Their clients, experience and practice complement Shook and leveraging Shook's resources and national platform, the Atlanta team can expand the services provided to clients and the work opportunities for the firm. They also extend our trial bench and bring an additional cumulative 48 years of trial practice acumen to the Shook team. A great fit for Shook and our clients."

In addition to his work as trial and national coordinating counsel for a variety of Fortune 500 companies, Kelly has been trial counsel for a diverse number of complex matters in 42 states over nearly 20 years of practice. Pieschel's practice focuses on mass tort and personal injury cases on behalf of medical device makers and the medical profession, while Becker handles mass tort and class action litigation on behalf of companies in a number of industries. The new team will join Shook Intellectual Property Partner Leonard Searcy, who will practice in Kansas City and Atlanta, and Business Litigation Partner John Lewis, Jr. who will divide his time between Houston and Atlanta.

"Shook has long-standing ties to the Atlanta business community," said Lewis, who previously served as litigation chief and global diversity officer for The Coca-Cola Company. "Since joining Shook earlier this year, I've been impressed with how effectively the firm has put its strategic vision into action. The firm is well positioned to leverage this high-caliber litigation team to the benefit of our clients."

Before entering private practice, Pieschel clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Firth Circuit. She received her law degree from Duke University. Becker previously served as deputy press secretary for U.S. Senator Bob Graham and graduated with his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Florida College of Law. He has served on the editorial boards of Product Liability Law360 and Environmental Law360, in addition to providing regular commentary on legal issues in national media. Named a two-time, U.S. Toxic Torts "Lawyer of the Year" by Lawyer Monthly, Kelly earned his law degree, Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers, from West Virginia University.  This year, Leadership Atlanta named Kelly to the Class of 2019.

To speak to a Shook attorney, contact Shook Media Relations Manager Heather McMichael, 816.389.0419, hmcmichael@shb.com

About Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Founded in 1889, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. has 14 offices in the United States and London, with attorneys and professional staff serving clients in the health, science and technology sectors in areas ranging from product liability defense and commercial litigation to intellectual property prosecution and litigation, environmental and toxic tort, privacy and data security and regulatory counseling.

SOURCE Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.