Alston & Bird


Alston & Bird LLP is an international global law firm with over 800 lawyers in 12 offices throughout the United States, Europe, U.K., and Asia. The firm provides a full range of legal services to domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwide. Alston & Bird has advised companies including Amazon.com, The Coca-Cola Company, Microsoft, Bank of America, Starbucks, Toyota, Dell, UPS, and Nokia. For the past 19 years, Fortune has ranked the firm in the 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Core practices include intellectual property, complex litigation, corporate and tax, with national industry focuses in energy and sustainability, health care, financial services and public policy. In March 2017, the firm boosted its West Coast presence with the opening of its San Francisco office. In September 2019, the firm's European footprint expanded with the opening of their London office.

History

Through the roots of the Alston, Miller & Gaines’ predecessor firms, the merger with Jones, Bird and Howell formed Alston & Bird on December 1, 1982. A founding partner of Jones, Bird, and Howell was Bobby Jones, the celebrated amateur golfer and Atlanta icon. Expansion beyond Georgia began with the establishment of an office in Washington, D.C., followed by the 1997 merger with intellectual property–focused Bell Seltzer Park & Gibson, Walter, Conston, Alexander & Green in 2001, and Crews, Shepherd & McCarty LLP in 2007.
In August 2008, the firm opened a Silicon Valley office with attorneys from the national firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The next month, Alston & Bird acquired the 100-lawyer strong Weston Benshoof Rochefort Rubalcava and MacCuish LLP, launching in Los Angeles and Ventura County to reach nine offices nationwide. Legal publications report that the Atlanta-based firm is seeking to launch additional overseas offices in London and Germany. Legacy firm Walter Conston operated a Munich liaison office before it was acquired by Alston & Bird.
Today, the firm is headquartered in Midtown Atlanta in One Atlantic Center.

Notable partners

Legendary golfer Bobby Jones, winner of the Grand Slam in 1930 and founder of the Augusta National Golf Club, is a former Alston & Bird partner. The firm continues to represent the Bobby Jones brand and monitors trademark issues for the family. Former managing partner Benjamin F. Johnson III was named to the Atlanta Business Chronicle's list of the 100 Most Influential People in Atlanta. Former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, has been a Special Counsel at the firm's Washington, D.C., office since 2003. Former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle is a former partner of the firm.
In February 2020, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Brian Johnson left the agency to become a partner at Alston & Bird LLP.

Offices

The firm has offices in Atlanta, New York City, Washington, D.C., Brussels, Charlotte, Raleigh, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Beijing, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley.

Compensation

In June 2016, Alston & Bird announced that it would raise attorney salaries to match market rates set earlier that month by the New York–based law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Firm bonuses range from $15,000 to $100,000, depending on year and merit-based reviews. In July 2018, the firm announced that it would again raise attorney salaries as follows:
YearSalary
1st year associate$190,000
2nd year associate$200,000
3rd year associate$220,000
4th year associate$255,000
5th year associate$280,000
6th year associate$305,000
7th year associate$325,000
8th year associate$340,000

Political contributions

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Alston & Bird was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.26 million, 53% to Democrats. By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats, while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans. Since 1990, Alston & Bird contributed $5.1 million to federal campaigns.
The New York Times reported that a $1 million contribution was made through Alston & Bird to Project Veritas in 2019.

Notable cases