Smith Gambrell & Russell Audio Podcast

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade, employers are taking a closer look at their employee medical coverage and considering next steps. In this episode of The Leaders Speak Podcast, SGR Partners Kelly Meyers and Angela Roberts discuss how the Dobbs decision impacts employer plans that cover abortion services, and outline considerations for employers as they navigate whether to make changes to these benefits. Kelly Meyers p: 904-598-6126 f: 904-598-6226 e: kmeyers@sgrlaw.com Angela Roberts p: 404-815-3959 f: 404-685-7259 e: aroberts@sgrlaw.com

SGR's Lori Gelchion, Bob Hussle, Mike Riesen, and Emily Ward discuss lessons that can be learned about due diligence for investors, corporate directors and officers, and even the US Patent and Trade Office from Theranos and the criminal conviction of its former CEO, Elizabeth Holmes.

SGR's Lori Gelchion, Bob Hussle, Mike Riesen, and Emily Ward discuss lessons that can be learned about due diligence for investors, corporate directors and officers, and even the US Patent and Trade Office from Theranos and the criminal conviction of its former CEO, Elizabeth Holmes.

In this webinar, we will discuss finance agreements, implementation and disputes, distribution agreements in Film, Music, and TV, Video Games, E-sports, and revenue generation models. We will also discuss the following case studies: Scarlett Johansson Lawsuit, Bill Nye Lawsuit, and Sony/Ricky Nelson Lawsuit.

In this webinar, we will focus on the film industry in Georgia and the benefits of doing business in the State. Throughout the years, America's most popular television shows such as “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “The Walking Dead,” “Stranger Things,” and “The Vampire Diaries,” along with high-profile feature film productions including Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Thor: Ragnarok” were produced in the State. Georgia currently has 47 television series, reality shows, and feature films in production. We will discuss production in Georgia, the relationship with real estate and film in the State of Georgia, and the new tax regime in Georgia.

SGR Partner, Brett Lockwood, and SGR attorney Audria Crain discuss the Colonial Pipeline Ransomeware attack.

Protecting Your Rights (Spanish) by The Leaders Speak Podcast

Following the successful launch of the SGR Mentor Program, the Associate Women Litigators Affinity Group is pleased to host a discussion with Partners Dana Richens and Kristen Wenger. Join this informative and informal webinar as Dana and Kristen share their own experiences as attorneys working toward SGR partnership. They will also offer their insights and tips to help associates, especially young women, successfully develop their practices while on the path to partnership.

SGR's Michael Riesen and Stephen O'Day speak with Aloe Entertainment founder Mary Aloe on film production and finance during the pandemic. Aloe Entertainment is one of Los Angeles’ most prolific independent production companies and specializes in developing/producing independent features, television series, and network and cable event movies. Mary Aloe and Aloe Entertainment specialize in obtaining 100% financing for features by raising private equity; working with hedge funds, gap financing, top tier foreign sales companies and securing domestic distribution.

Partner, Mark T. Interviews Matt Leigh, SGR's newest member of the Global Transport Group

This podcast on Music and IP Management in the Digital Age is brought to you by the law firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP. Michael Riesen, a partner in SGR’s intellectual property practice interviews international musician Marti Cuevas who is the President and Founder of Mayimba Music. Marti has enjoyed a diverse career in the music business for forty years. In 1999, Marti founded Mayimba Music which provides label and publishing administration services to independent companies, authors and artists. In this episode, Marti discusses copyright and registration issues independent artists face in the digital age.

SGR Partner, Anne Pitter interviews SGR Partner Roger Maldonado by The Leaders Speak Podcast

In this episode, Collins Brown, SGR Partner in the Private Client Group Practice, discusses estate planning and wealth management during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this podcast, SGR Partner Tony Cochran discusses a different kind of practice. The practice of Yoga. This is a stressful time and the legal industry itself can be very stressful. This open discussion is about how to relieve stress and how to manage the pressures of the legal industry.

In this episode, SGR Partners John Spillman and Marc Latman revisit SGR's webinar on the Paycheck Protection Program (P3) and discuss any changes you need to know, including the Government having companies return funds.

Business Litigation and COVID-19 with SGR Partner Gavin White by The Leaders Speak Podcast

In this episode, SGR Partner Michael Riesen has a casual conversation about "What Makes a Good Patent" with John Stankiewicz IP Counsel for Rolls-Royce Corporation and Matt Prater Senior IP Counsel for SABIC.

In this podcast, Rett Peaden discusses MJBizCon, a cannabis conference he recently attended.

In this podcast, Rett Peaden discusses Cannabis Law and M&A activity within the sector. In 2019, the Hemp Farming Act and Georgia’s Hope Act were passed and signed into law to expand hemp farming and medical cannabis in Georgia. Along with the new laws come opportunities and challenges for businesses operating in the industry.

Peter Crofton is a partner in SGR's Construction Law practice. In this podcast, he discusses contractor licensing.

Smith Gambrell & Russell: Gregory J. Kirsch Partner | Head of the Intellectual Property Practice by The Leaders Speak Podcast

Smith, Gambrell & Russell: Stephen M. Forte, Managing Partner, Atlanta by The Leaders Speak Podcast

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP - http://sgrlaw.com Learn more about Laura Wartner http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/lwartner/ Laura L. Wartner is a Partner in and Head of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Tax Practice, with a focus in Private Client Services on family business planning, estate planning, and probate administration. [TRANSCRIPT] I got started in the practice of law in kind of a roundabout way. My undergraduate major was in social work and I spent my senior year in college working with families on what's called a community house in a very poor area of Cincinnati. And I soon came to realize that a lot of what I needed to do to help them involved being able to read and interpret laws and figure out how they apply to families and how they can help families. And so that is how I became interested in studying the law. A lot of what I do is still helping families, many of whom do have, not necessarily financial problems, but certainly, there's a lot of emotional issues and psychological issues that come about in trying to work with families in creating their plans that work for them and their family. So I chose to practice in this area of law, well, I should say I didn't really choose it, it chose me. When I started my practice, I was in the corporate group and I did a lot of corporate planning and tax planning, anything having to do with corporations, businesses, partnerships, but what happened a few years into my practice is there was a recession. As everybody knows, when recessions occur the business work dries up. At the same time the senior partner in the firm that I was working who did all of our estate planning died. Since I had taken a class in law school in the state planning, I then became the firm expert in estate planning. I, at first, was not really interested in doing it but the more I did it, the more interested I became in the area. It actually became an area that when I had a choice a few years later to go back to corporate I chose to remain in estate planning because I love the kind of work that we do and the relationships that we get to build. I think what sets us apart is that we view our job as not preparing documents, we view what we can offer to families as creating plans to transition wealth, family values, what's important to the family on to the next generation. We simply use documents to carry out the plan, but it's the planning that's the important part, not drafting documents.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Stephen Forte http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/sforte/ Stephen M. Forte is the Managing Partner and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] I started out as a young partner being involved in recruitment and the summer program, which is really the training of summer associates, hopefully, toward a path to become lawyers, full-time lawyers in the firm. I was elected at a relatively young age, in my late thirties, to be managing partner of the firm, initially, that position was one we turned over every two years. So after turning it over a couple of times, the firm decided they wanted more consistency in management and we eliminated the term limits and I became a managing partner in this last go around in nineteen ninety-eight, which has continued in successive elections. The role has evolved as we gotten larger, as we've expanded into other cities. I work a great deal on the collaboration end and on the integration end. I think it's important for a leader to be visible within the organization. I think they have to be ministers of the culture. They have to be protective of the enterprise. They have to be fair. There has to be a real perception by your partners, you know, this is not a corporation. I don't press an email and everyone jumps. We collaborate here. Historically, I have been a trial lawyer representing primarily clients in different industries related to either transportation, financial services. I also do some other work for clients that have been longstanding clients of the firm that I operate, basically, as a general counsel to them. I still practice law and I think that does give me credibility and some self-awareness of what my colleagues are going through when they practice in the everyday sense. So I do think that adds something to the leadership mix. The firm's clientele sometimes wants to hear from the management of the firm and I stand ready to support our partners. Collaboration is a very big part of what I can preach and we, hopefully, live by. Collaboration allows us to function as a team. It allows us to put all of our resources into all of our offices, as well as the major markets in this country and internationally. So we can really punch above our weight as a firm of two hundred twenty lawyers. If we're all working together, it brings a much greater factor of cooperation and assistance to all client matters. I think I spend a lot of time on the culture of the firm and making sure that the way we do things is consistent with the values of the firm. I think, in my position, I consider that that's a primary element of what I do. Leaders have to protect the enterprise, make sure that the firm is stable and growing. I believe if you're not growing you may be slipping backward and in your business. Well, I'm passionate about the law firm. I drank the Kool-Aid here a long time ago. I get excited about getting up and coming to work every day. I really do. I think that the sense of responsibility that we have to each other and to our clients gives meaning to what we do and makes it easy to want to be here and work with others. [end] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about John C. Ethridge, Jr. http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/jethridge/ John C. Ethridge, Jr. is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] I think I decided to practice law, largely, because of family tradition. My family is coming from a long line of lawyers dating back to many, many generations. My mother graduated from law school in 1948, so she was a very early woman lawyer, and then came to Atlanta to work. Then, my father graduated from law school in the 1950s. So it was a lawyer family. However, my parents were also businesspeople, and they were interested in the exploring of opportunities. So I was given the choice to do whatever I wanted to, but I was encouraged to go to law school as a great learning experience. I actually thought I would go to law school and become an accountant. That was my undergraduate degree. Or I thought that I might own a business, but when I came to Smith, Gambrell, & Russell and started practicing law, I really enjoyed working with our clients. I enjoyed the client people that I met, and I enjoyed the camaraderie of working with a very smart and electric group of people who could not just talk about the law but a lot of other things. It just became a passion. The firm was founded in 1893 and has been in continuous operation since then. While I can't tell you that anyone is still today that was here in 1893, I can tell you there are many people who've had long, successful careers here who enjoyed working together. So providing good service for your clients is a function, not just of knowledge, but how you interact with people that you work with. I think that Smith, Gambrell, & Russell's still feels like a family business. We still feel some obligation to our clients to provide a good product, and we still enjoy the practice of law. Smith, Gambrell, & Russell Lawyers are here to serve, and we look forward to working with each of the clients, meeting new people. It is a great aspect and privilege of the practice of law to meet new people and to assist them as they work through their problems and helping them achieve their goals. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Brett Lockwood http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/blockwood/ Brett Lockwood is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and chairs the Firm’s Technology Law Practice Group. [TRANSCRIPT] My practice here is probably about seventy-five percent technology transactions and the rest is general corporate acquisitions or corporate finance. I started out as a finance lawyer, but when I was a much younger lawyer with a lot less gray hair, I was that guy in the office who was really just too stupid to say no to the straight, what was then was the odd technology transaction that came along. Eventually, people continued to give me those projects and I learned a fair amount about that area and I became a technology lawyer or principally technology lawyer. A number of things distinguish us as a firm and we certainly tend to think of it when we think about our culture. One is we're fairly lean as a firm and so our partners are very hands-on and our associates are very hands-on. When I came over to Smith, Gambrell years ago from another firm, the practice at the other firm was you rarely interact with clients. You did a lot of research projects. Here, my experience and the experience of many associates that I've seen over the years is you just get thrown in and hopefully you're going to swim and not sink, but that's just part of our culture. It's very lean, so it's very hands-on.I think we're also very - we try to be very client service oriented. We certainly talk about that and we aspire to that. We hope we live up to it, but we try not to forget that we're in the business of helping our clients get whatever results they're trying to achieve. If there's anything that I've heard over the years that clients are most frustrated about, when they get frustrated, it's that they can't get a hold of their lawyer or their lawyer doesn't call them back. You hear that in so many ways and it's such a little thing, but it's a really important thing to a client, just to know that they've been heard and sometimes it's easy enough to deal with it. Part of it's about managing expectations but it's about being responsive and so responsiveness is probably a big part it. Another part of it is, at least in my practice, it's very much about making sure we're providing value. So, if we work on a project and, you know, we step back at the end of it and realize, you know, we really put too much time into this and in the fairness of the client, we can't really bill them for all of this time. That's not fair to them. That's not fair to the effort. It's not really fair value, we step back and ask, you know, what is fair value? And I think those two things: responsiveness and value are touchstones that I come back to often. That's what I try to teach our younger lawyers, about, you know, how they should approach client service and think about responsiveness and value. If you want good, practical advice for the lawyers are aware of the need to provide value and be responsive to you, I think we offer a wonderful, wonderful solution. We got wonderful professionals who are very tuned into those sorts of things and we have lots of heavy clients because of that. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP - http://sgrlaw.com Learn more about Laura Wartner http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/lwartner/ Laura L. Wartner is a Partner in and Head of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Tax Practice, with a focus in Private Client Services on family business planning, estate planning, and probate administration. [TRANSCRIPT] Private Wealth Services really is about the transition. It's about transitioning not only the families wealth and by that, we're talking not just money but the families values, the families legacy. What's important to the family, to the next generation. That's why it's so much bigger than what we use to call trusts in a states which imply they were just preparing documents. Actually, the documents carry out the plan that the family and we have come to in order to make the transition to the next generation. Also, included in the Private Wealth Services is probate administration, administering a state's, preparing all the various tax returns that need to be prepared as well as philanthropy because often part of the family's transition plan is not to move everything down the generations but part of the plan is to move funds into charity and to support the family charitable goals and involve the family, the larger family in charitable planning. Another important aspect of the work that we do with families is business succession planning. Often, our clients are owners of closely held businesses even family businesses and trying to determine what to do with that business at the death of the owner is very important. One of the reasons why it is so important especially if it's a family business is because the decision about what to do with it can very often affect family dynamics. So, it's important to think about that process, to think about what makes the best solution for the family to transition that business or to sell it beyond the owner's death. I really enjoy this area of law because we can do so much for people and helping them come to an understanding of what they have, how they want to pass it on, what works for them and for their families. It's quite satisfying to work with these families and helped them come up with the plans that they eventually implement and then being able to implement the plan and see it work, that's also very satisfying. We really enjoy working with our clients, we enjoy the relationships that we build with our clients. We often feel like we're a part of the family and our firm would love to work with you.[END] Private Wealth Services: Our attorneys represent a diverse client base, from individuals to large, multi-generational families, including owners of family-held business enterprises, non-U.S. citizens and foreign individuals with significant international and U.S.-based interests. Our clients also span a broad cross section of affluent families, including those who have inherited their wealth from a prior generation and those who are in the process of building their family’s wealth through the operation of family-held business enterprises. Our Group includes six main areas of practice: (1) Domestic and International Income, Estate and Gift Tax Planning, (2) Philanthropic and Family Legacy Planning, (3) Administration of Trusts and Estates, (4) Fiduciary and Estate Litigation, (5) Fiduciary Tax Accounting and (6) legal counsel on issues which are unique to family-held businesses. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about John C. Ethridge, Jr. http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/jethridge/ John C. Ethridge, Jr. is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] Smith Gambrell and Russell has had a significant focus on cross-border and international transactions since I've been at the firm. A couple of plantations has arrived about the time I did in the 80's and Alex Smith and some other leaders of the firm at that time thought that Atlanta would be a booming economy and a booming place for international businesses. That is proven to be right over time and we have invested a lot of resources in recruiting lawyers who are-- grew up primarily Western Europe, they were admitted to the bar there and then were also admitted to the bar in their jurisdiction in the United States. That practice can account for upwards of 30% of our revenue in any given year today. We are proud of that practice, we understand the kind of business they want to do in the United States and how they can best do that business that emanates transactional practice at Smith Gambrell & Russell has always been a very significant part of the firm's practicing culture. Probably, over half of the lawyers in the firm are involved in some type of transactional practice. The interesting thing about the MNA practices, what we call MNA practice is it often starts with being the outside general counsel for a client. That client then calls you to help them with one of their problems which were able to pass along to the people in the firm, the litigators, and the others. He might handle various aspects of your business. However, we also get to do the transactions for the firm. So, we have a lot of binge strength in that area, in the words and acquisitions area. We have at least 30 lawyers in Atlanta alone that engage in words and acquisitions every day. We have a large group in New York and that group is getting larger each day as we recruit more practitioners in that area. We served all types of clients, many of our clients are multinational, global companies that we're doing MNA worked for. But probably, the most consistent and most client for Smith Gambrell & Russell Lawyer is a mid-market company often, a family owned business. Often, a business of the family which grown from start-up to a very successful size. And Smith Gambrell & Russell is perfect in size, scope, and people to assist that kind of client in achieving their goals. Smith Gambrell & Russell Lawyers are here to serve and we look forward to working with each of the clients, meeting new people. It is a great aspect to be privileged of the practice of law to meet new people and to assists them as they worked through their problems and helping them achieve their goals.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Lee Watts http://www.sgrlaw.com/staff/lwatts/ As Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Watts is responsible for the marketing, advertising and business development of Smith Gambrell. She works closely with the attorneys to develop and implement business development plans for practices, industries, and offices. [TRANSCRIPT] Legal marketing is still relatively new because most people don't associate marketing with law firms. So it's still growing and there is just a lot of room for growth. But some of the things that we're seeing in traditional marketing in companies and firms that are transferring over to legal marketing are things like content marketing. We expect our attorneys to be thought leaders, and in order to do that, we're seeing a growing trend of attorneys blogging, attorneys doing podcasts, attorneys doing videos. We want to hear and see attorneys talking about what they know so that content marketing is really big. We're also seeing trends of-- We already know that marketing in business development is primarily about relationships. We're seeing a lot more attorneys getting out into the community and building all types of bridges and partnerships with other people to further the relationship. We're seeing that--whether it's a sponsorship or just doing round tables, doing lunch and learns at your client's offices. We're seeing a lot of attorneys getting out of their offices and building relationships with their clients, with their referrals, with their partners. Some other things I think I see a lot of at legal marketing, we're looking a lot more at analytics. Social media is big. I know a lot of you all fight against it, but it is here to stay and we need to figure out how to best use it for our firm. So there are a lot of analytics that you can gather through social media. We're seeing a lot of law firms doing that, finding out who's visiting their sites, who's looking at them, who's liking them, who's following them, and figuring out what to do with that information after that. As a director of marketing here at the firm, I'm stressing and urging that we get on board with that, and make sure we're using all of the resources that we have at our fingertips to find out who our real target audiences are and how we can better serve them. [END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about John C. Ethridge, Jr. http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/jethridge/ John C. Ethridge, Jr. is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Smith Gambrell and Russell has had a significant focus on cross-border and international transactions since I've been at the firm. A couple of plantations has arrived about the time I did in the 80's and Alex Smith and some other leaders of the firm at that time thought that Atlanta would be a booming economy and a booming place for international businesses. That is proven to be right over time and we have invested a lot of resources in recruiting lawyers who are-- grew up primarily Western Europe, they were admitted to the bar there and then were also admitted to the bar in their jurisdiction in the United States. That practice can account for upwards of 30% of our revenue in any given year today. We are proud of that practice, we understand the kind of business they want to do in the United States and how they can best do that business that emanates transactional practice at Smith Gambrell & Russell has always been a very significant part of the firm's practicing culture. Probably, over half of the lawyers in the firm are involved in some type of transactional practice. The interesting thing about the MNA practices, what we call MNA practice is it often starts with being the outside general counsel for a client. That client then calls you to help them with one of their problems which were able to pass along to the people in the firm, the litigators, and the others. He might handle various aspects of your business. However, we also get to do the transactions for the firm. So, we have a lot of binge strength in that area, in the words and acquisitions area. We have at least 30 lawyers in Atlanta alone that engage in words and acquisitions every day. We have a large group in New York and that group is getting larger each day as we recruit more practitioners in that area. We served all types of clients, many of our clients are multinational, global companies that we're doing MNA worked for. But probably, the most consistent and most client for Smith Gambrell & Russell Lawyer is a mid-market company often, a family owned business. Often, a business of the family which grown from start-up to a very successful size. And Smith Gambrell & Russell is perfect in size, scope, and people to assist that kind of client in achieving their goals. Smith Gambrell & Russell Lawyers are here to serve and we look forward to working with each of the clients, meeting new people. It is a great aspect to be privileged of the practice of law to meet new people and to assists them as they worked through their problems and helping them achieve their goals.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP - http://sgrlaw.com Learn more about Laura Wartner http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/lwartner/ Laura L. Wartner is a Partner in and Head of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Tax Practice, with a focus in Private Client Services on family business planning, estate planning, and probate administration. [TRANSCRIPT] I was the first woman hired by my law firm in Cincinnati. I was the first woman partner at my law firm in Cincinnati. I was on the forefront, on the cutting edge of working part-time once I had children. So at that time that I was having children, it was unusual for attorneys in law firms to work part-time, but I started working part-time and my firm supported that. And I've been very fortunate in that every firm I have been at since has supported part-time work. That allowed me to not only continue my work but to do what I felt I needed to do for my family. SGRow An affinity group committed to the advancement of professional women. SGRow recognizes the importance of retaining women in the workplace, fostering stronger relationships, and providing added value to its business and social communities. For the firm’s women attorneys, SGRow focuses on mentoring and providing resources to hone the skills necessary for career advancement. For the firm’s women clients, contacts, and friends, SGRow aim to create opportunities for network and programs to educated about important legal and social issues. SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Jerry J. Kirsch http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/kirsch/ Gregory J. Kirsch is a Partner and the Head of the Intellectual Property Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Brett Lockwood http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/blockwood/ Brett Lockwood is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and chairs the Firm’s Technology Law Practice Group. [TRANSCRIPT] Just generally, cyber security and data privacy continue to be a huge issue for companies of all sorts. Not because it's a business issue, but with striving that is just consumer concern over privacy. Because of that, our clients are reacting and having to deal with those issues. It comes up in a lot of different ways, some of them more topical things that are going on. If you're doing business overseas, and a lot of our clients do business overseas, they're having to deal with compliance with European data policy. The rules in that area have recently been changed, and they're about to change again next year. So our clients are not only having to deal with soon-existing compliance changes, but they're also having to anticipate something that's going to change again in about a year from now. Really, it's just typical of the fact that cyber security and data privacy is a major issue, and it's one that has lots of compliance tripwires that our clients’ need to deal with. We try to help with that as best we can. Good lawyers that work in this area are trying to do their best to keep up with changes in the law. Fortunately or unfortunately, at the federal level, there isn't a lot of regulation. Outside of a couple of industries, financial services and healthcare have highly-regulated compliance regions in this area, but that's only a small sector of our client base. If you're outside of those industries, you're left struggling with what's really just a patchwork of state laws. The states, because there isn't an all-encompassing federal law to deal with cyber security compliance or data privacy, are really stepping into this void and making it difficult. Because you've got 50 state laws, you have to comply with them whenever there's the least that will change. You have to step back and say, "Okay, do our privacy policies--our security policies, do they continue to work, given whatever this change is?" We do have a lot of experience helping healthcare companies deal with data breaches. Data breaches for healthcare companies and cyber security compliance for healthcare companies is in those highly regulated buckets under HIPAA and certain state laws, so it requires a lot of care and attention to a different level of detail with let's say general business company or general services company. Fortunately, we have a lot of experience in the area because of some unfortunate client incidents, and we're able to use that experience to help clients, ideally, stay out of trouble in the first place, that's really where we try to help the most is--Yeah, data breaches happen. Oftentimes it's not a matter of if but when. If you want good practical advice where the lawyers are aware of the need to provide value and be responsive to you? I think we offer a wonderful solution. We've got wonderful professionals who are very keen to those sorts of things, and we have lots of happy clients because of that.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Lee Watts http://www.sgrlaw.com/staff/lwatts/ As Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Watts is responsible for the marketing, advertising and business development of Smith Gambrell. She works closely with the attorneys to develop and implement business development plans for practices, industries, and offices. [TRANSCRIPT] As Director of Marketing in Business Development, I handled both traditional marketing or what most people see as traditional marketing such as websites and brochures and things like that, emails and email lists and marketing communications. But also from the business development side, a large part of my job is making sure our attorneys collaborate and help sell each other. We have over 200 attorneys now in 8 offices, we have a ton of practices in each area. So, my job is to help people connect with us. As I help people connect with us, hopefully, the attorneys are able to better develop business and serve their clients better. So, that's the other side of the business development world. I believe that it's important, I always feel like the attorney's treat us as we are a vital part of the firm. I believe it's important because we realize that times are changing very quickly and our attorneys expect us to know more, know about them, know how to serve them, know how to present information in different ways to them. For example, as even doing video marketing, we understand that people consumed content in different ways and they need to know about the firm in different ways and so the firm sees marketing as valuable because they expect us to know that, they expect us to give them options on how to better serve and communicate with our clients. There is so much room for growth here. We are so open to new ideas and new things. I've worked at several law firms before coming to Smith Gambrell. I worked for small firms, mid-size and then a large firm. This by far has been my favorite place to work because just so open to growth, so collaborative, entrepreneurial. It's just such a wonderful place to come in and dig in and throw ideas out and just see who wants to run with it. I have attorneys coming to my office all the time with the fresh idea, a new idea. We may not be able to implement the idea but we talk it out until we come up with something that they're happy with. And there's not many checks and balances here, I do bounce things out of people, I do get approvals when needed. But for the most part, there's a-- just a spirit of "let's try it, let's do it." So, I really like that about the firm. [end] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about John C. Ethridge, Jr. http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/jethridge/ John C. Ethridge, Jr. is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] I think what sets SGR apart in our private equity practice is consistent throughout the firm in all of our practices. This firm was built on client service. When I think back to the founders of the firm, and I know I'm old, but I'm not quite old enough to go back to the founders. But I did know some of the early people, and they were very interested in client service. Back before we all had telephones, and before we had the internet, they were always telling us, "A lawyer that cannot be found is a lawyer not worth finding." So we were always taught to be available to our clients. We were always instructed to work with our clients and be part of your trusted advisor team and everything that they do. I think that still permeates the firm and our practice, and I think that sort of sets the support. It's easy to find good practitioners.They're all over the city--They're all over every city. But to find people that are truly committed to what they do and that are committed to their clients is much more difficult, but I think we're very successful in doing that. I also think we work well together. Our teams are very collaborative. Being in a multi-state firm, we have to work together to get things done well. So being in a multi-state firm, we have to work well together. We are very collaborative. We work with our partners to put together the best team for each field. We also take some time to sit down with our clients. Before setting sail on a Smith, Gambrell, & Russell-designed course, we sit with our clients and we say, "What do you need? What are your objectives? What are your goals? How do you want to accomplish those and what resources do you think you need to make it happen?" And by doing that, I think we get a much more consistent product and a product that our clients appreciate. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Jerry J. Kirsch http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/kirsch/ Gregory J. Kirsch is a Partner and the Head of the Intellectual Property Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] Recently, we represented a client in the intellectual property area, which is the area where I practice. We actually took over representation from another law firm. In this case, the client was having difficulty, and the client's former counsel was having difficulty obtaining some patents in some very technological, very complex areas of technology, and they were having difficulty convincing the patent office to grant these patents, so they decided to come to us. This was a software-related technology that the company was developing. They came to us, and we've helped them formulate a better approach, a better strategy to explain to the patent office exactly the nature of the invention, exactly why the invention was different from what's been done before, and we were able to get the patent issued. In this case, we had to appeal the decision, a rejection at the patent office up in Washington, but we were able to convince the judges on appeal that the rejection should be overcome, so were able to get the patents for the client. This was very important for the client because they were looking to do certain things in their business that required them to get the patents issued. Without the patents issued, they were not able to move forward, so they basically were waiting for somebody to help them do this. The prior attorneys were not able to do so, but we came in and effectively saved the day for them. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Brett Lockwood http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/blockwood/ Brett Lockwood is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and chairs the Firm’s Technology Law Practice Group. [TRANSCRIPT] The kinds of things that we touched really span the gamut and they evolve over time. So, you know back say 15 years ago, doing a licensing transaction was something that was the realm of maybe the hardcore technology lawyer. What's happened is over time that has become something more of a general skill that is licensing over the Internet and other means has just become much more common and more typical and technology lawyers continue to have the ask themselves, 'Okay, so where do I add value to a client that a general practitioner or a general business lawyer that can't add value.' And certainly, on tricky technology licensing issues but it has evolved to cyber security and data privacy are bigger issues and there are so many things to keep up with that technology were in a speed much more familiar with that. We don't have many clients dealing with these yet, but we anticipate things like blockchain technology which is something that is traditional will going to assess you, bitcoin but many corporate clients and particularly banking clients are realizing that there's interesting record keeping potential for the blockchain technology outside of bitcoin. Drone technology, we don't have many clients using drones at the moment but we know that it's a regulation around drones are already starting to pop-up but at the state at the federal level and as those become more common, we need to keep up with those things. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Lee Watts http://www.sgrlaw.com/staff/lwatts/ As Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Watts is responsible for the marketing, advertising and business development of Smith Gambrell. She works closely with the attorneys to develop and implement business development plans for practices, industries and offices. [TRANSCRIPT] I initially wanted to go to law school and decided I would work at a law firm for a little while before going to law school. Once I did that, I decided I did not want to be an attorney. But I still had a very creative side to myself, and I loved creating and talking. A person at my law firm, where I was working originally just doing some research and some basic things, noticed that. I even actually mentioned that I was going to leave the firm because I was a little bored and I wanted to do something else, but they actually liked me enough to say, "No, they don't want you to leave, but we have a position in Marketing. You may be interested." I started in Marketing at this firm just as a Marketing Assistant, and I actually had a great marketing director who actually just loved me, and became my mentor, and wanted to teach me everything that she knew, and the rest is history. I just kind of took off and ran with it, and learned as much as I could about legal marketing. I am passionate about connecting the dots. As I've mentioned that before, I love seeing Aha! moments on the face of an attorney or even another staff member at the firm as you explain and talk about different marketing initiatives or different ways to connect to people. I love hearing about what attorneys are doing, and I love talking to someone in New York that's doing the same thing as an attorney in Atlanta. But they have no idea that they're serving the same industry or doing the same thing, so I help them connect. You have marketing and business development support here at Smith, Gambrell, & Russell. I know that things move very fast here. I know that, sometimes, we seem really overwhelmed. But I also want you to know that we hear you. We see you. We'll get to you as soon as we can because we believe in supporting you. You are our clients. We know that you have clients, and to some degree, they are also our clients. But we also see you as our client, and we're here to serve, and support, and help you further your careers and your brand. So just want you all to know that we're here for you. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Jerry J. Kirsch http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/kirsch/ Gregory J. Kirsch is a Partner and the Head of the Intellectual Property Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] Our clients come in many shapes and sizes, so we represent very, very large multinational technology companies in our IP Department, but we also represent smaller companies, including startups, including midsize companies, public companies, private companies. So we have quite a range of clientele, again ranging from very small to very large. We have found ways to serve them very efficiently in either case. We also have university clients. We do a lot of work on the IP side with university clients, with academic research institutions, helping them protect their intellectual property. And so having this range of different types of clients, I think, gives us an interesting perspective on how to work with different kinds of clients. What we found is that one size does not fit all. What works for a smaller company may not work for a larger company. What a larger company needs from us may be much different than a smaller company, same with universities. So we have custom-tailored our approaches and our teams to serve different types of clients depending on whether they're large, whether they're small, or whether they might be academic or even governmental in nature.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/blockwood/ Brett Lockwood is a Partner in the Corporate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and chairs the Firm’s Technology Law Practice Group. [TRANSCRIPT] So I worked with a German software company, doing a lot of their licensing work. They had a problem getting this transaction to completion, part of it was, at the time they were using a law firm that was candidly arguing in the transaction about things that just were unimportant. They took a chance of plugging us into it, me, specifically. My approach is to be very pragmatic and try to figure out what the other side needs and what can we reasonably provide. We pulled that transaction out of the ditch, and they were delighted. They were surprised that they actually got the deal closed. The result is they continue to send us lots of good work after that. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP - http://sgrlaw.com Learn more about Laura Wartner http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/lwartner/ Laura L. Wartner is a Partner in and Head of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Tax Practice, with a focus in Private Client Services on family business planning, estate planning, and probate administration. [TRANSCRIPT] I got started in the practice of law in kind of a roundabout way. My undergraduate major was in social work and I spent my senior year in college working with families on what's called a community house in a very poor area of Cincinnati. And I soon came to realize that a lot of what I needed to do to help them involved being able to read and interpret laws and figure out how they apply to families and how they can help families. And so that is how I became interested in studying the law. A lot of what I do is still helping families, many of whom do have, not necessarily financial problems, but certainly, there's a lot of emotional issues and psychological issues that come about in trying to work with families in creating their plans that work for them and their family. So I chose to practice in this area of law, well, I should say I didn't really choose it, it chose me. When I started my practice, I was in the corporate group and I did a lot of corporate planning and tax planning, anything having to do with corporations, businesses, partnerships, but what happened a few years into my practice is there was a recession. As everybody knows, when recessions occur the business work dries up. At the same time the senior partner in the firm that I was working who did all of our estate planning died. Since I had taken a class in law school in the state planning, I then became the firm expert in estate planning. I, at first, was not really interested in doing it but the more I did it, the more interested I became in the area. It actually became an area that when I had a choice a few years later to go back to corporate I chose to remain in estate planning because I love the kind of work that we do and the relationships that we get to build. I think what sets us apart is that we view our job as not preparing documents, we view what we can offer to families as creating plans to transition wealth, family values, what's important to the family on to the next generation. We simply use documents to carry out the plan, but it's the planning that's the important part, not drafting documents.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Jerry J. Kirsch http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/kirsch/ Gregory J. Kirsch is a Partner and the Head of the Intellectual Property Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. [TRANSCRIPT] Our clients come in many shapes and sizes, so we represent very, very large multinational technology companies in our IP Department, but we also represent smaller companies, including startups, including midsize companies, public companies, private companies. So we have quite a range of clientele, again ranging from very small to very large. We have found ways to serve them very efficiently in either case. We also have university clients. We do a lot of work on the IP side with university clients, with academic research institutions, helping them protect their intellectual property. And so having this range of different types of clients, I think, gives us an interesting perspective on how to work with different kinds of clients. What we found is that one size does not fit all. What works for a smaller company may not work for a larger company. What a larger company needs from us may be much different than a smaller company, same with universities. So we have custom-tailored our approaches and our teams to serve different types of clients depending on whether they're large, whether they're small, or whether they might be academic or even governmental in nature.[END] About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.

About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Stephen Forte http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/sforte/rte/ Stephen M. Forte is the Managing Partner and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP http://www.sgrlaw.com/ Learn more about Stephen Forte http://www.sgrlaw.com/attorneys/sforte/ Stephen M. Forte is the Managing Partner and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s more than 200 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, construction, and employment law. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Jacksonville, London, Munich, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.