Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, known as Troutman Pepper, is an American law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys located in 23 U.S. cities. In terms of revenue it placed 47th on
The American Lawyer
''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law firms, with $1,029,503,000 in gross revenue in 2021.
Background
On July 1, 2020, Troutman Sanders merged with Pepper Hamilton to become Troutman Pepper. Stephen E. Lewis of Troutman Sanders was the firm's managing partner and became chair of Troutman Pepper after the merger.
Troutman Sanders
Troutman Sanders was founded in 1897 in Atlanta as the law practice of Walter T. Colquitt. Colquitt was well known in Atlanta near the end of the 19th century for his representation of the Georgia Railway and Electric Company, which would later become the Georgia Power Company.
In 1930, Colquitt formed a partnership with two brothers, Henry and Robert Troutman, both lawyers with clients such as Gulf Refining Company, the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the National Surety Company. Additionally, Colquitt had two other attorneys, Robert S. Parker and Preston Stanley Arkwright Jr., join the firm creating Colquitt, Parker, Troutman and Arkwright. For the next 30 years, the firm grew in size, reputation, and client base, and went through a few name changes as partnerships were formed and broken. By the late 1960s, the firm was known as Troutman Sams Schroder & Lockerman.
In 1971, then-president of Georgia Power, Ed Hatch, suggested the merger of Troutman Sams Schroder & Lockerman with former Governor Carl Sanders' firm, Sanders Ashmore & Boozer. Hatch believed the merger would keep intact the decades of utility expertise of the Troutman firm, while merging the fresh talent and energy of Sanders’ young firm. The new firm would operate as Troutman Sanders Lockerman & Ashmore, until shortened to Troutman Sanders in 1992 when the firm moved from downtown Atlanta's Candler Building to
Midtown Atlanta
Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown, is a high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used by the city, residents, and local business ...
's new 55-story Bank of America Plaza.
From 1993 to 2015, Robert W. Webb Jr. served as managing partner, while the firm experienced growth in the United States and internationally. In 2001, Troutman Sanders merged with Mays & Valentine LLP, which added 150 attorneys to the firm and offices in Richmond, Tysons Corner, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. This spurred further growth and the subsequent opening of offices in Raleigh, NC (2003) and New York City with the acquisition of the New York office of Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin LLP in 2005.
In 2006, Carl Sanders retired and Webb became the firm's chairman and managing partner while Sanders served as chairman emeritus until his death in 2014. In 2009, the firm merged with D.C.-based Ross Dixon & Bell. Troutman Sanders grew to 15 offices after the merger, adding Chicago, Orange County, San Diego, and doubling its D.C. presence. This brought the total number of attorneys to over 650.
In 2011, Stephen E. Lewis became the managing partner. In 2015, Webb retired and Lewis became chairman as well. The firm continued to expand, with offices opened in 2014 in Charlotte and in 2015 in San Francisco.
Before merging with Pepper Hamilton in 2020, Troutman Sanders was organized into 17 areas of legal practice within five departments: Corporate, Real Estate & Finance, Business Litigation, Specialized Litigation, and Energy and Regulatory.
A number of notable lawyers and alumni were associated with the firm.
* Mark Howard Cohen, judge for the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions.
Appeals from cases ...
Harold Melton
Harold David Melton (born September 25, 1966) is a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Early years and education
A 1984 graduate of Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, Melton received a Bachelor of Science from A ...
, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court
During its history, Troutman Sanders was known by a number of names:
*Walter T. Colquitt, Esq. (1897)
*Colquitt and Lumpkin (1897–1904)
*Colquitt and Conyers (1904–1917)
*Colquitt, Conyers and Latimer (1918–1930)
*Colquitt, Parker, Troutman and Arkwright (1930–1935)
*Colquitt, MacDougald, Troutman and Arkwright (1935–1937)
*MacDougald, Troutman and Arkwright (1937–1947)
*MacDougald, Troutman, Sams and Branch (1947–1949)
*MacDougald, Troutman, Sams and Schroder (1949–1953)
*Troutman, Sams, Schroder and Lockerman (1953–1971)
*Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman and Ashmore (1971–1992)
*Troutman Sanders LLP (1992–July 2020)
Pepper Hamilton
Pepper Hamilton dates its founding to 1890 when former U.S. Senator George Wharton Pepper began his legal practice in Philadelphia. Pepper's essays on conflicts of laws were cited by Justice Brandeis in the landmark ruling ''Erie Railroad v. Tompkins'' (1938).Vault.com /ref> Pepper was also instrumental in Supreme Court arguments that led to many New Deal provisions being struck down as beyond the Federal Government's commerce power.
In 1954, the Pepper firm and another Philadelphia law firm — Evans, Bayard & Frick — merged as Pepper, Bodine, Frick, Scheetz & Hamilton creating a 35-lawyer entity. This merger brought in John Johnson, an eminent antitrust lawyer who represented Standard Oil and U.S. Steel and went on the argue 168 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1955, shortly after the merger of the Pepper and Evans firms, George Wharton Pepper retired from practice because of failing health. He was succeeded as chairman of the firm by John D.M. Hamilton, who was chairman of the
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...
in 1940. In 1960, another merger brought in the firm of Moffett, Frye & Leopold. The firm grew significantly in the 1980s, 1990s and in recent years.
In 2007, the partnership elected Nina M. Gussack as chairwoman of Pepper's Executive Committee, the first woman to be elected to that position. Pepper partner A. Michael Pratt became the Philadelphia Bar Association’s 81st Chancellor in 2008. He was the third African-American to serve in that office since the Association’s founding in 1802.
Events since merger
In 2021, the firm partnered with the
University of Richmond School of Law
The University of Richmond School of Law (Richmond Law) is a school of the University of Richmond, located in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Law is ranked 52nd (tie) in the US by ''US News'', among the ''top five value'' law schools by the ''Natio ...
as the "innovator-in-residence" for the university's Legal Business Design Challenge, a course that allows law students to identify business opportunities or improve client services for law firms.
On December 20, 2021, its attorneys successfully overturned the wrongful conviction of Devonia Inman, who spent 23 years in prison for a murder in South Georgia.