ATLANTA (April 17, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Lawsikia J. Hodges has joined the Firm as Counsel in the Jacksonville office and a member of the Real Estate Group. Ms. Hodges will also be leading the Jacksonville office’s Governmental Affairs practice. Ms. Hodges previously served as the Deputy General Counsel of the Government Operations Department for the City of Jacksonville, where she provided government operations and transactional counsel to the mayor’s office, the 19 member Jacksonville City Council, executive branch department directors and chiefs, constitutional officers, independent authorities, and City boards and… Read more

ATLANTA (February 27, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to share that in a criminal environmental prosecution in a two-week jury trial defended by SGR, among others, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granted a judgment of acquittal on the Clean Water Act conspiracy charge and one other substantive Clean Water Act charge at the close of the Government’s case. Before trial, the trial court dismissed a third Clean Water Act charge following a Daubert hearing on a motion in limine. After three days of deliberations, the Jury found SGR’s client… Read more

ATLANTA (February 15, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Intellectual Property Partners James Bikoff, Bruce McDonald and Scott Woldow have been recognized on the World Trademark Review 1000 list (WTR 1000) of the world’s leading trademark professionals of 2024. Mr. Bikoff is recognized as a “Recommended Individual” nationally, and Mr. McDonald and Mr. Woldow are recognized as “Recommended Individuals” in the D.C. metro area. SGR also received bronze recognition as a firm for prosecution and strategy and for enforcement and litigation in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Now in its fourteenth edition, the… Read more

ATLANTA (February 14, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that the Firm advised Engineered Technical Services, Inc. and its affiliated entity Engineered Comfort Services, Inc. (collectively referred to as “Entek Solutions”), in a successful sale to PremiStar, a portfolio company of Partners Group. Headquartered in Buford, GA, Entek Solutions provides HVAC and Energy Services to a wide array of commercial clients that include corporate offices, retail facilities, university campuses, healthcare settings, industrial and manufacturing companies throughout the United States. PremiStar is a national industry-leading HVAC, plumbing and building automation service provider headquartered in Deerfield,… Read more

ATLANTA (February 13, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that the Firm advised Heramba GmbH on structuring, negotiation and acquisition of Kiepe Electric GmbH, Düsseldorf, and Kiepe Electric, LLC, Alpharetta, GA from Knorr-Bremse. Kiepe Electric GmbH is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. The company has 550 employees and revenues of more than 140m EUR. The SGR legal team included Dr. Stefan Buske, a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group located in the… Read more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (February 5, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) today announced the continuation of its aggressive strategic growth initiative through a combination with Jacksonville, Fla.-based ABL Law. The combination expands the firm’s Litigation and Corporate Practices in the Jacksonville market, adding counsel Daniel Bean, Karen Bowden and Stacy Scaldo, and associates Jackie Van Laningham and Tucker Pryor. SGR has expanded strategically in recent years within the U.S. and internationally through multiple firm combinations, the addition of new practices, strategic hires, and the openings of five new offices. Most recently SGR combined with Freeborn & Peters LLP in… Read more

ATLANTA (January 30, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that the Firm has been named one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms”, 2024. “We are extremely proud to be recognized as one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Law Firms to Work For,” said Stephen M. Forte, SGR’s managing partner and chair of the executive committee. “SGR’s culture has been the cornerstone of the success and growth of our firm.  This recognition is a testament to our people and the commitment each person makes in fulfilling… Read more

ATLANTA (January 23, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Christopher Smith has joined the Firm as Counsel in the Atlanta office as part of the International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Group. Mr. Smith has over a decade of experience representing businesses in their cross-border commercial and investment disputes. He joins SGR from King & Spalding LLP (K&S), where he practiced for nine years in Atlanta and Paris, France. Fluent in German, Mr. Smith has represented clients in international commercial and investment treaty disputes across North America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Smith routinely achieves… Read more

ATLANTA (January 17, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that it has created a new International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Practice, formed by the consolidation of its international arbitration and other international dispute resolution matters under a single umbrella. The move is part of a firmwide effort to provide high-quality, efficient client service following last year’s combination with Freeborn & Peters. SGR combined with Freeborn on April 1, 2023. Prior to that, Freeborn maintained a dedicated international arbitration practice, which had extensive experience representing domestic and international ceding companies and reinsurers in international arbitrations…. Read more

ATLANTA (January 1, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce the addition of Jason P. Blair, Sarah A. Gottlieb, Heiko Gruenwald, Daniel Q. Horner, Christopher J. Raymond, and Ryan Varnum to its partnership effective January 1, 2024. “SGR is pleased to announce the elevation of six deserving attorneys to partner in 2024,” said Stephen M. Forte, SGR’s chairman and managing partner. “They have each contributed significantly within their respective practice areas, and we look forward to their continued success with the Firm.” Jason Blair is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice in SGR’s Austin… Read more