Andersen, Tate & Carr gears up for expansion - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Not satisfied with that illustriouss history, management at one of Gwinnett’s oldest and most establishedr firms is moving to position it for astrong 2009. Partnerf Pat McDonough, who heads up the firm’s criminalo defense department, said plans call for an expansionnof services. Additionally, Andersen, Tate & Carr P.C. will soon move into One Sugarloavf Centre, a four-story, class A office building being constructede at 1960Satellite Blvd. in Duluth. “Everyone is very excitedr about it,” McDonough said of the move by Tate & Carr P.C., which was founded in 1988 and is one of the largesyt business law firms in Gwinnett County.
“If is a definite step up for Part of the reason for the move is to locatw the firm around the growing business district ofGwinnett County, where it will be near the and the 1818 a private business club where deals are made over lunch and dinner. Additionally, major Gwinnett businessex — and clients — are already in the area and “There was a combination of reasons that broughr aboutthe move. First was expansion purposesx but it was also asynergistic move,” McDonougb said. “It is a one-stop place for moverws and shakers in theGwinnett community.
” This move will allow attorneyd to take a quick elevator ride to meet with some clients, includinf The CEO Bartow Morgan and LLC CEO Wayne one of the area’s major developers. who is a partner with Masoh in the development ofthe 110,000-square-footf office building, said he is happy to have one of Gwinnett’sx biggest law firms nearby. Firm founder Tom Andersen helperd Mason inthe $66 million sale of the northeast sectiojn of the Atlanta Beltlines corridor. Mason bought 180 parcels of land from in which was then purchased by and NE Beltliner LLCin 2007.
Andersen pulled off what he has called the deal of his careerr with only 120 days to close on the sale ofthe “Tom Andersen is my No. 1 lawyer,” Masonb said. “He is the best real estatre lawyer I have worked with and I have worked with all of the best firmzsin Atlanta.” While there are no immediatde plans to grow the firm in the current economy, theree are plans to add attorneys down the The firm is looking at establishing new practices, goinbg beyond its current lines of real banking, corporate, civil litigation, personal injury, land use and development, governmeny relations, estate planning and criminal It also hopes to add to the more than 40 supporyt staff.
“The economy is hurtingh some of our whichhurts us, and we have some areas of the practicre that feel it more than But other areas, such as litigation, personakl injury [and] criminal defense are doing very well,” McDonouggh said. Government lobbying is one area that the firm is focusinton expanding. “We are doing more for our clientxs in terms oflobbying efforts,” McDonougyh said. “We plan to have a full-time presenc e at the Capitol this session.” Gene Luciani, partner in the corporatde department, said his area of law has seen an increase in despite theeconomic slowdown.
“Fotr our group, we are doing a lot of mergersw and acquisitions andtechnology licenses,” he said. “Wwe are seeing a lot of growth in thetechnologyt area. The mergers and acquisitions may slow down in the next year but we are still seeing deals come throughpretty rapidly. “I thinki the first quarter of 2009 will be very busy baser on what we are seeing and hearing from many of ourexistinhg clients,” Luciani added. “I actuallhy look forward to it being busier than we have beenin last-quartert ’08.
” But not all of their clients are growing and Lucianui and his staff are tryinv to help those businesses The firm’s roots in Gwinnett County reach back as some of their attorneys have practicec there since the mid-1970s and several are lifelony or longtime Gwinnett residents. The firm’as local ties are complemented by the fact that several of the lawyerss practiced with prominent Atlanta firma prior tojoining Andersen, Tate & Carr and have relationshipw stretching across metro Atlanta and the The firm recently won one of the biggest personal injury cases in Gwinnett County, a $3.5 million jury judgment won by attorney Render C. Freeman.
The partners pride themselves as a firm that matchesa the expertise and sophistication ofa “downtown with “small-town firm” personal attention and dedicatiohn to client needs. “Our goal is to providde the bestlegal service, but we can do it at more affordable rates than downtown firms becausd we are in Gwinnett,” McDonough “We have been fortunate that we have been able to attractf top talented lawyers to our firm.
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