Atlanta attorney Scott Kuperberg received a phone call from a client Tuesday morning with a unique request—“How can we get out of here?”

Kuperberg’s client had traveled to Queens, N.Y., to attend a nephew’s weekend wedding and soon realized he was stuck as Hurricane Sandy swept in, causing power outages, flooding streets and halting airline, bus and
train travel.

“I’m from New York originally and I know the roads really well,” said Kuperberg, an associate at Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh who earned his law degree from Syracuse University in 2005. “He has a business issue he wants to come back for and deal with, so he called me. He had planned to come back Monday night, but there were no flights.”

Kuperberg would not name his client, but said he is the chief executive officer for a business based in Gwinnett County that employs about 200.

Since Tuesday, Kuperberg has been watching televised press conferences held by the mayor of New York City and the governors of New York and New Jersey, as well as monitoring the two states’ transportation department websites.

Kuperberg’s client and a friend decided this afternoon to make the drive back to Atlanta, which during good conditions takes about 14 hours.

“I navigated a path that should get him home early tomorrow morning, going through Manhattan, and dodging closed and flooded roads,” Kuperberg said. “I’m curious to see how it turns out. We’ll definitely share a drink over this later.”

As for big Atlanta firms with offices on the East Coast, most seem to be operating around the storm.

Troutman Sanders closed its offices in New York, Washington and Tysons Corner in McLean, Va.

“All of our offices—including those closed—have power, with phones and network services operating,” said Troutman spokesman Mark Braykovich. “We also offer our attorneys remote computer access so that they can work from
home.”

While Jones Day’s New York and Washington offices were closed, the firm’s Boston office reopened today at 10 a.m. Many of the
attorneys at the closed offices are also working remotely.

“I have been in touch with a number of our lawyers in each area, and they remain focused on the business at hand even while the wind howls,” said Lizanne Thomas, partner-in-charge at Jones Day’s Atlanta office.

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan anticipates reopening its Washington office tomorrow.

“Opening our New York office depends on the state of the bridges and tunnels and mass transit system,” said
Andrea Christman, Sutherland’s director of communications.