UPDATE: A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 30th at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3003 Howell Mill Road, NW in Atlanta. Memorial gifts may be sent to the Duke Law School, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, or Trinity Presbyterian Church. Online condolences may be made through www.salemfh. com.

Alston & Bird’s former managing partner, Neil Williams, died on Sunday evening, Aug. 26, according to the firm. He was 76.

Williams joined Alston & Bird’s predecessor firm, Alston, Sibley, Miller, Spann & Shackelford, in 1961, after receiving his law and undergraduate degrees from Duke University. He oversaw a period of growth and expansion at Alston before retiring as the firm’s managing partner in 1996.

Ben Johnson, who served as Alston’s managing partner after Williams retired, has written a remembrance of his friend, recalling his leadership in Atlanta’s legal, business and non-profit communities.

David Lat at Above the Law explains why firms make capital calls and then speculates on what might have prompted Greenberg Traurig to ask its equity partners to kick another $24 million into the firm’s kitty.

Low client collections and partner churn are two common reasons for firms to ask their partners to write checks, Lat writes. A big verdict or sanction against a firm can also trigger a capital call.

Lat cites reports by the Daily Business Review, a Daily Report affiliate, and the South Florida Business Journal that Greenberg Traurig will pay $61 million via its insurer as part of a class action settlement that a federal judge in Phoenix preliminarily approved in June.

The suit was brought against Greenberg Traurig and another firm, Quarles & Brady, by investors who claimed losses in an alleged $900 million Ponzi scheme by Mortgages Ltd. of Phoenix. The mortgage company made high-interest loans to real estate developers. Its founder committed suicide in 2008, according to the reports.

Greenberg Traurig has issued a capital call asking equity shareholders for $24 million, reports Julie Kay at the Daily Business Review, the Daily Report’s affiliate in Miami, where Greenberg is headquartered. It’s the first capital call the firm has made in more than a decade.

Equity shareholders must contribute between 1 percent and 5 percent of their annual compensation, with the higher paid shareholders paying the higher percentage. That works out to an average payment of $76,923, which is payable over two years.

Richard Rosenbaum, the firm’s chief executive officer, told the Daily Business Review that the capital call was not required by Greenberg’s bank, Citibank, and was not because of any “current cash need.” The purpose is to add to the firm’s “equity cushion,” he said in an initial statement to the Daily Business Review, adding that the call was made “in light of the current uncertainty in U.S. and global markets.”

Rosenbaum said that the firm ended the first half of the year with no outstanding debt and made its usual midyear distributions to shareholders in July.

“We have very low to no debt most of each year though we have significant credit availability, require modest capital compared to our peers and have not raised any capital from our shareholders in over 10 years,” said Rosenbaum in an updated statement. “So while there was no current cash need, bank or other requirement giving rise to this decision, it was a prudent move to create a further equity cushion which is fully consistent with our conservative financial management approach and with what other well-managed businesses are doing given the uncertainties in today’s global economic climate.”

Greenberg ranked 10^th on the most recent Am Law 100 survey with $1.24 billion in revenue, up 0.6 percent from the previous year. The firm’s 312 equity partners averaged $1.42 million in profit in 2011, up 7 percent from the previous year.

The number of Georgia deals decreased in the first half of 2012 but total deal value increased compared to the first half of 2011, according to Mergermarket’s M&A roundup.

For the first half of the year, Mergermarket reported 47 Georgia deals valued at $5.8 billion, a 20 percent drop in deal count but a 26 percent increase in deal value from the first half of 2011 (59 deals worth $4.6 billion).

Two Atlanta firms, King & Spalding and Alston & Bird, were involved in the two biggest deals for the period.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s acquisition in January of Inhibitex Inc. for $2.02 billion was the top deal listed by Mergermarket for the year so far. Inhibitex, based in Alpharetta, is developing a Hepatitis C treatment. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s legal advisor was Kirkland & Ellis, and its financial advisor was Citigroup.  Inhibitex’s legal advisor was Dechert, and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) was its financial advisor. King & Spalding advised Inhibitex’s management.

The other Georgia deal valued at more than $1 billion for the period was WideOpenWest Holdings’ acquisition of cable and broadband provider Knology Inc. in April for $1.41 billion. Alston & Bird was legal advisor to Knology, based in West Point, Ga. Credit Suisse and BofA Merrill Lynch were financial advisors to the Knology board’s transaction committee, and Hogan Lovells was legal advisor. WOW’s legal advisor was Kirkland & Ellis, and the financial advisor was Morgan Stanley.

The Southeast bureau chief for Mergermarket, Chris Marr, said in a statement that the second half of the year could be more active. “M&A advisors tell me they’re seeing a good flow of companies coming up for sale, partly motivated by the threat of a capital gains tax increase in January. Business owners who had been thinking about selling now see a looming deadline, even though Washington could opt to extend the tax cuts again, as happened in 2010,” said Marr.

Legal consultancy Altman Weil reports that the number of law firm mergers in the second quarter of 2012 dipped to 11, after six quarters averaging 15 mergers per quarter since Oct. 2010.

Altman Weil’s Ward Bower attributed the decline to the “Dewey effect.”

“The demise of Dewey LeBoeuf this spring put over a thousand lawyers and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business into play, shifting the short-term focus of many law firms to those opportunities,” said Bower in a statement.

He pointed out that a “steady stream” of Dewey partners left the firm in May before the firm filed for Chapter 11 on May 28, which coincided with the drop-off in merger activity in May and June.

Of the 11 mergers in the second quarter, seven were in April. All of the deals were small; 10 of the acquired firms had fewer than 10 lawyers. The biggest deal of the quarter was the combination of two Columbus, Ohio firms: 29-lawyer Isaac Brant Ledman & Teetor with 28-lawyer Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner.

Altman Weil in January predicted bigger deals and more mergers in 2012, after a 54 percent uptick in merger activity in 2011 from the prior year. In 2011 the consultancy tracked 60 lawyer firm mergers and acquisitions, the highest level since 2008.

Five of those deals were acquisitions of firms with 100 or more lawyers, most notably the merger of 3,500-lawyer global firm DLA Piper with its Australian affiliate, DLA Phillips Fox, which had 600 lawyers. For 10 of the 2011 deals the acquired firm had between 21 and 100 lawyers and for the other 45 deals, the acquired firm had 20 or fewer lawyers.

Kristi Swartz, who covers the Georgia Public Service Commission for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, has a story today reporting that an associate at Troutman Sanders, the law firm for Georgia Power Co., is the son of one of the state’s utility regulators.

Adam Wise, 30, is a first-year associate at Troutman Sanders. His father, Stan Wise, is one of the five members of the Public Service Commission.

Troutman Sanders sees no conflict, according to the story:

“‘His father had no input in our hiring decision,’ the firm said in a statement sent to the AJC. ‘The firm also has put strict measures in place that prohibit Adam from working on Southern Co. matters.’” Southern Co. is the parent company of Georgia Power.

Stan Wise also sees no conflict:

“‘A conflict would only exist if my son worked for a utility or represented a utility before the PSC. Neither is true,’ Wise told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ‘It would be a stretch to suggest that a conflict in the discharge of my duties is apparent because my son practices nonutility law in Washington.’”

Adam Wise is part of Troutman’s energy and industry regulation group, focusing on federal regulation of electricity and gas, according to the firm’s website. He was a summer associate in Troutman’s energy practice group in 2009 and interned with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2008, while in law school at Mercer University. He received his law degree in 2010, after earning an undergraduate degree from North Georgia College and State University in 2006.

Swartz’s story summarizes Troutman’s recent work for Georgia Power:

“‘Recently, Troutman has successfully helped Georgia Power negotiate a rate hike, a reduction in fuel costs and the right to build the nation’s first new nuclear reactors in 30 years. [Troutman's Kevin] Greene also has testified before the state Legislature in favor of a controversial bill to let Georgia Power collect the financing costs from those two reactors before they are built. Wise’s campaign touts that measure, which led to a separate nuclear power fee on customer bills, as a move that will save consumers money in the long run.’”

King & Spalding has joined the fray of firms picking up lawyers from the collapsing Dewey & LeBoeuf. Here is a press release from K&S about two new members of its Washington office:

Partner James F. Bowe, Jr., and Counsel William E. Rice Join King & Spalding’s Global Energy Practice

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 – Further broadening its energy practice, King & Spalding has recruited James F.
Bowe, Jr., as a partner, and William E. Rice as a counsel, in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced today. Bowe’s practice spans energy, regulatory, transactional and finance matters, including extensive experience before the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. He regularly counsels energy project developers and natural gas pipeline and storage operators as well as oil and natural gas pipeline shippers and investors in energy projects. Rice handles matters for regulated companies in the electric, natural gas, oil pipeline and telecommunications industries. Both lawyers join King & Spalding from Dewey & LeBoeuf, where Bowe was a partner and Rice was a senior associate.

“We are pleased to welcome Jim and Bill to the firm,” said Neil L. Levy, co-chair of King & Spalding’s global energy practice. “King & Spalding is committed to continue building on our strengths in the energy sector. Jim and Bill’s experience and expertise in
energy matters, particularly in natural gas regulatory and natural gas project development matters, fit well with our practice and add valuable new members to our outstanding energy regulatory team.”

Bowe focuses on the regulation of the North American natural gas, electric and oil pipeline industries as well as energy-related transactional matters, the development and financing of energy projects and energy-sector privatization in North and South
America, the Middle East and Europe. He has particular expertise advising companies on compliance with Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission regulations and policies. Bowe has counseled clients in mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, the outsourcing of energy purchasing and energy facilities management, reorganizations and on U.S. and international transactions involving natural gas, liquefied natural gas, petroleum, electric power generation and transmission, renewable energy and
water/wastewater. He received a J.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. degree, cum laude,
from Williams College.

Rice’s practice deals with the regulation of U.S. natural gas and electric industries, electric power and natural gas project development, and transactions involving natural gas and electric power. He has extensive experience dealing with natural gas pipelines and storage companies regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as significant involvement with the developmental process and operational decisions affecting FERC-regulated natural gas facilities. Rice received a J.D. degree from the University of Denver College of Law, an M.B.A. degree from University of Wyoming and a B.S. degree from Lehigh
University.

“We are pleased to join King & Spalding’s energy practice and excited to have the opportunity to work with the talented lawyers on the firm’s regulatory and transactional team,” said Bowe. “We look forward to taking an active role in executing the firm’s commitment to the practice.”

King & Spalding’s energy regulatory practice provide comprehensive counseling and representation on the full range of energy regulatory, reliability, markets and compliance matters, including electric and natural gas matters arising under the Federal Power Act, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, the Natural Gas Act, the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The firm regularly represents clients in complex energy regulatory litigation before, and investigations by, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other federal and state regulatory bodies, and in related appellate and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

About King
& Spalding

Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an
international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half
of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United
States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is
consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment
to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its
clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.

Atlanta lawyer Michael H. Trotter gave a sobering view of the legal profession today in an interview with the New York Times. He told the Times that the future offers less work for more lawyers, lower compensation and longer hours.

Not surprisingly, Trotter’s new book is called “Declining Prospects.” The self-published book, available on Amazon, makes the case that the legal profession is reeling from a painful reshaping brought about by changing market forces. Trotter, a corporate lawyer at Taylor English Duma who has had a front-row seat on the Atlanta legal scene since graduating from Harvard Law in 1962, has long been a student of law firm economics. An earlier book, “Profit and the Practice of Law,” chronicled the rise of Big Law and its transformation from a profession to a business.

Asked about Dewy & LeBoeuf’s demise, Trotter sees “quite a few more” big firms going under in the next few years. The problem, he tells the Times, is that “there are now far more capable lawyers and law firms than there is work for them to do.” This trend is exacerbated, he says, by corporations’ realization that they can bring a considerable amount of work in house at a 35 to 50 percent savings.

The bottom line: Would you encourage your children to go to law school, the Times asks Trotter.

“I would not,” he offers.

See the full story here.

A memorial service for Paul Webb, whose firm’s 1994 merger with Holland & Knight gave H&K its first Atlanta toehold, is set for Monday, April 23, at 1 p.m., at St. James United Methodist Church, according to a family-placed obituary in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he voluntarily enlisted in the Army and served as Liaison Pilot directing artillery fire during the invasion across Europe with the Third U.S. Army,” the obituary said.

In 1994, Webb and his son-in-law, Hal Daniel, ran a six-lawyer litigation boutique, Webb & Daniel. When the merger with Holland & Knight was announced, the Daily Report wrote: “A key factor was the long friendship between Holland & Knight senior partner John Germany and Webb & Daniel senior partner Webb. The two attended Harvard Law School together, and both men
graduated in 1950.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve been approached by a major law firm, but [it is] the first time that we’ve looked at a merger with great interest,” said Daniel at the time.

Webb’s daughter, Laurie Webb Daniel, chairs Holland & Knight’s appellate practice.

The obituary said, “The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum and Library at Epworth by the Sea, 100 Arthur J. Moore Dr., St. Simons Island, Ga. 31522; or Loudsville United Methodist Church, 1493 Hwy 75 Alt., Cleveland, Ga. 30528.”

The full obituary can be found here.

Subscribers: The annual Daily Report Dozen issue is out today. And online, too. We hope you can take time to browse a wealth of updated, timely law firm information:

• Charts: See last year’s numbers for 40 firms and find out who made our top 12 in revenue, partner profits and more.
• Database: Explore Atlanta firms’ archival numbers, going back 15 years.
• Trends: While firms adjust to a new economy, profitability appears stable.