Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced the addition of a 22-lawyer transactional team, including 11 partners, significantly expanding the firm’s market-leading capabilities areas across its Corporate, Employee Benefits, and Real Estate practices and bolstering the firm’s Southeast presence in Atlanta and Charlotte.
The move also extends Seyfarth’s reach in the areas of private equity investments and fund formation. The additions enhance Seyfarth’s hospitality and leisure industry capabilities, reflecting the firm’s focus on this important industry. With the acquisition of this 22-attorney team, Seyfarth is realizing its strategy of continued aggressive growth in key markets and practices.
The additions strengthen the scope and scale of Seyfarth’s nationally recognized Real Estate, Corporate, and Employee Benefits departments. Seyfarth’s Real Estate group is one of the five largest commercial real estate practices in the United States and one of the top commercial real estate practices in the Atlanta market. The Employee Benefits practice has earned a reputation as one of the most significant in the country while the full-service Corporate practice is regarded as an industry leader.
The group is led by Corporate partner Matt Peurach, Real Estate partners Justin Barry and Tom Gryboski, and Employee Benefits partner Ed Emerson. They are joined by seven additional partners across these practice areas: Corporate partners Bradford Lenox, Matthew Flower, and Lili Martin-Mashburn; Real Estate partners Brian Butler, Catherine Morgen; and Quinten Wilson; and Employee Benefits partner Caroline Dorsey.
With these additions, Seyfarth’s Southeast presence grows to nearly 130 attorneys. All attorneys join Seyfarth from Morris, Manning & Martin LLP, where Peurach was chair of the firm’s Corporate and Tax practices, and Emerson led its Employment and Employee Benefits practices.
Gryboski headed Morris Manning’s Hospitality practice and brings his team with him to Seyfarth. The group features a deep focus on the hospitality industry, where Seyfarth already has deep multi-disciplinary expertise. Gryboski and the team have represented hundreds of operators and owners across the hospitality and leisure sector, including hotels, resorts, restaurants, management companies, gaming and racing establishments, and real estate investment entities.
“We have in recent years accelerated our acquisition of high-performing teams that enhance our capabilities for our clients, while at the same time maintaining our culture and high quality practices,” said Lorie Almon, Seyfarth’s chair and managing partner. “We have become a destination for top tier talent, like this group. Its arrival deepens our strength in key sectors including middle market corporate, hospitality, real estate private equity, fund formation and tax, and augments our continued national growth and expansion of our transactional practices.”
The move follows a year in which Seyfarth grew its profits per partner by 12%, driven in part by strategic lateral acquisitions and strong demand. Seyfarth continues to attract high-level talent. The firm has added 36 lateral partners since the beginning of 2024, with 19 in 2025 alone.
Since establishing its Atlanta office in 1996 and expanding into Charlotte in 2019, Seyfarth has steadily built a full-service platform across the Southeast. With this addition, Seyfarth continues to build on its momentum in the region, reinforcing its position as a go-to firm for complex, cross-disciplinary legal needs.
This news story was originally published on the firm’s website.