Nashville’s Waller law firm hires four Miller & Martin attorneys
Four attorneys from Chattanooga-based Miller & Martin have joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis to work on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and mezzanine finance as the Nashville-based Waller firm expands into Chattanooga.
The attorneys — Roddy Bailey, Pat Murphy, Jimar Sanders and Nathan Hertzog — will work out of both Nashville and Chattanooga, where the law firm has opened an office in the Republic Center office tower at 633 Chestnut St.
Bailey, Murphy and Sanders joined Waller as partners. Hertzog is an associate.
“Roddy, Pat, Jimar and Nathan are skilled and innovative deal lawyers who complement our existing M&A and commercial finance practices and expand the legal services we provide private equity and venture capital clients on fund work, transactional matters and mezzanine financing,” Waller Chairman Matt Burnstein said Thursday in an announcement of the new attorneys. “They are a sophisticated team that brings energy and an impressive track record delivering results to their clients.”
Waller’s expansion into Chattanooga will add a fifth market to the law firm, which began in 1905 and is one of Tennessee’s oldest and biggest law firms with 230 attorneys. Waller also operates offices in Austin, Texas, Birmingham, Ala., and Memphis.
Miller & Martin is Chattanooga’s biggest law firm with offices in Chattanooga, Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte, N.C. The 150-year-old firm lost a number of its Nashville attorneys in a 2012 exodus and now lists only four attorneys in Nashville.
At Miller & Martin, Bailey has represented both investors and portfolio companies in venture capital investment transactions, including early stage and growth equity transactions. He also advises clients on the formation of investment funds — including private equity, venture capital and hedge funds — as well as institutional and individual investors in those funds. Bailey earned his law degree in 1996 from the Syracuse University.
Murphy has structured sophisticated mezzanine funding deals for scores of middle market transactions. Additionally, he has represented finance companies, lending institutions, investment funds and private equity funds across the country with a focus on transactions involving senior and subordinated debt components. Murphy earned his law degree in 1988 from the University of Tennessee.
Sanders represents a number of private mezzanine and subordinate debt investment funds in connection with investment and lending transactions throughout the United States. Sanders also works extensively with financial institutions and borrowers in commercial real estate, construction and land development financing transactions. Sanders earned his law degree in 2007 from the University of Georgia .
Hertzog has worked on private equity transactions including fund formations, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, venture capital investments and institutional investments in private and public funds. Hertzog also has assisted start-up and emerging companies with angel and growth stage fundraising and provides general corporate and business advice. Hertzog earned his law degree in 2013 from Boston University.