Atlanta/Washington, D.C. (October 15, 2019) – Morris, Manning & Martin has elected eight attorneys to become partners on January 1, 2020. The class is notable for several reasons:
- The large class demonstrates MMM’s commitment to its strategic plan; a key component of which is sustained organic growth and a commitment to diversity.
- Five of the eight new partners are women.
- Three of the new partners are in the firm’s fast-growing Washington D.C. office; the largest number ever for that office.
- The class is evenly split between attorneys who came from other firms, and those who started their careers at MMM.
- The firm has never had a larger new partner class.
“We are promoting accomplished lawyers who have been strong contributors to several of our most important practices,” said Simon Malko, Managing Partner. “At the same time, we are taking an important step forward in fulfilling the organic growth component of our strategic plan. One key component of organic growth includes retention and promotion of talented attorneys. The 2020 partner class illustrates this. Some new partners started their careers with us; others are recent recruits. We’re also very excited that the class is so diverse in terms of gender, location, practice area and career path.”
Here are the new partners, in alphabetical order:
- Bess Hinson chairs the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity group. MMM now has one of the only generalist cybersecurity and privacy practices in the Southeast. Hinson also founded the Atlanta Women in Cybersecurity Roundtable, which has grown from 12 members to 85 in the past two years. She joined the firm’s Atlanta office last year.
- Mary Hodgins came to MMM as a lateral with the International Trade group in Washington, D.C. in 2012. She has taken the lead on important cases and worked with the majority of the Trade group’s clients. She is a liaison with the Women’s Initiative in the D.C. office and is involved in summer recruiting efforts.
- Wyatt Kendall is a member of the firm’s nationally-known Environmental group. He has taken a lead role for a variety of MMM clients including national REITs, developers, financial institutions and institutional lenders. He is also active in recruiting for the firm and mentoring associates both within his group and the firm as a whole.
- Kelly Kroll joined MMM’s D.C. office last year to start our Government Contracts practice with Andrew Mohr. She has brought the firm four new clients this year alone. She has been extremely involved in the firm’s summer program and recruiting, and is the D.C. Liaison for the firm’s Women’s Initiative. As a side note, she started her career as a paralegal and continued working while attending law school.
- Lee Anne Sapp was a summer associate at MMM in 2005, then joined the firm as an associate right after law school. She represents Commercial Real Estate group clients in all phases of a commercial property’s lifecycle. She is an informal mentor to many of the junior associates and is an active member of the firm’s Wellbeing subcommittee.
- Ellenor Stone came to the firm last year to enhance the Employment team. She is involved with all corporate transaction matters that involve labor and employment issues. Stone is integral to the Employment team, providing human resources advice and counseling to a variety of MMM clients. She also trains junior associates, which helps to build the team.
- Pelham Wilder joined MMM after law school 11 years ago. A member of the Real Estate group, his clients include one of the largest multifamily developers in the country and a major public utility. He has served on both the Retention, Recruiting & Training and Diversity Committees. He headed the Associates Council for three years and is actively involved in recruiting.
- Matt Wochok, based in Washington, D.C., is well-integrated into the Atlanta office as well. He joined the firm last year. He has considerable experience in many areas of tax law including corporate, partnership, income tax accounting and international taxes. He also assists with M&A, divestitures, fund formation, and other complex transactions.
MMM established its Retention, Recruiting & Training Committee several years ago to help bring in new attorneys, keep the ones who are here, teach new skills and help associates see a clear path to partnership. The firm also launched the 20/20 committee to give associates more of a say in how the firm operates. Both efforts have paid off as evidenced by the strength of this new partner class.
“There are many paths to partnership,” Malko concluded. “Whether attorneys have been here their entire careers or came from other firms where they did not feel valued, MMM will recognize and reward hard work and talent. I hope we are sending a message to our other associates that they have a bright future at the firm.”
About Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
Morris, Manning & Martin (www.mmmlaw.com) is an Am Law 200 law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients’ success. To provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading legal services with a total understanding of their needs to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys national prominence for its real estate, corporate, litigation, technology, healthcare, intellectual property, energy & infrastructure, capital markets, environmental, international trade, and insurance practices. MMM has offices in and around Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah and Washington, D.C.
Media Contact for MMM: Terri Thornton, (404) 932-4347, Terri@TerriThornton.com
