Atlanta law firm Morris Manning & Martin is starting the new year with a new structure, brand and leaders after losing some top talent to competitors, prompting a merger with a larger national firm.
Though Morris Manning, established in Atlanta in 1976, saw roughly half its lawyers depart recently, the vibe there is positive, its new leaders say. The firm, which has a second office in Washington, D.C., officially merged with Taft Stettinius & Hollister on Dec. 31.
“It has been a unique year and a long year in some ways, but I think everyone has gotten around the idea of Taft and are excited about it,” said longtime Morris Manning partner Wyatt Kendall, one of two new partners in charge of the combined firm’s Atlanta office.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Kendall is taking over management of the office’s operations and growth alongside senior partner Lauren Prevost, who has spent 30 years with Morris Manning in Atlanta. She said it became apparent about a year ago that the firm was not immune to the level of competition within the legal market in Atlanta and elsewhere.
“Call it being a victim of your own success, but your talent was getting raided, so to speak,” Prevost told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We felt like we either needed to look for a way to try to maintain it as a standalone, smaller Atlanta-based firm with a strong D.C. office or look to partner with somebody.”
That somebody is Taft, a fast-growing national firm with Midwest roots and more than 1,000 lawyers. Its merger with Morris Manning was its ninth since 2008 and third in 2025.
Kendall and Prevost, both previously involved in Morris Manning’s leadership, said Taft offered the best of both worlds: the added resources of a large firm and a good degree of autonomy for the Atlanta office. They said Taft’s unusual leadership structure without a centralized home base made it stand out among the many firms Morris Manning considered partnering with.
“Our law firm has been approached countless times by suitors wanting to merge with us, and we’ve always been fiercely independent,” Prevost told the AJC. “It was a way for us to kind of stay Morris Manning & Martin but have all of the advantages of being part of a much larger, diversified firm.”
Prevost said it was important to her that Taft shared the values she “grew up with” at Morris Manning while working alongside all three of the firm’s named founding partners, whose legacy will be maintained in the merger.
Simon Malko, the managing partner at Morris Manning since 2019, is stepping into a new role on Taft’s executive committee. There, he will be joined by Morris Manning’s Carol Weld King, the combined firm’s partner in charge of the D.C. market, and Atlanta-based Morris Manning partner Meredith Caiafa.
“Today marks a transformative moment for our lawyers, our clients and the Atlanta community,” Malko said of the combined firm’s first day in operation. “Taft’s national platform amplifies the strengths that have defined Morris Manning for decades — our talent, our culture and our commitment to client service.”
Credit: Courtesy Taft
Credit: Courtesy Taft
In Atlanta, the combined firm will initially carry both the Taft and Morris Manning branding. Overall, it has more than 1,200 attorneys in 25 offices nationwide and over $1 billion in projected revenue.
Kendall and Prevost said they are laser-focused on recruiting lawyers in Atlanta, particularly those who specialize in business litigation and corporate transactions.
Within three to five years, the firm aims to have more than 150 attorneys in Atlanta and 100 in D.C., where there are currently about 60 and 30 Morris Manning lawyers, respectively. Taft also has a D.C. office, and the combined firm will keep both.
In Atlanta, the firm will move this year from its current Buckhead location to the nearby Two Alliance Center.
Kendall said the office’s lawyers are excited about expanding their practices with the combined firm’s resources. He said Taft’s leaders are not stuck in their ways and have adopted successful aspects of the firms that Taft has merged with over the years.
“I think everyone realizes that this merger significantly enhances the offerings we can roll out to clients,” he told the AJC. “We can do things now that, frankly, we would never be able to do under the old Morris Manning firm.”
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