Morris, Manning & Martin Promotes Five Attorneys to Counsel in Year of Advancement for Women at Firm

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morris, Manning & Martin today announced that the firm has promoted five associates (including four women)—Jennifer Feld, Shanellah Verna Harris, Hillary Lukacs, Mary Claire Smith, and Mark Stern—to counsel, effective January 1, 2025. Their promotions come at the end of a year in which MMM also has promoted four women to firmwide leadership roles. Kate Pearch and Lauren Stone joined the firm’s C-suite as chief strategy officer and chief talent development officer, respectively, while two other women assumed leadership of firmwide practice groups: Meredith Caiafa, chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group, and Christina Graham, chair of the Commercial Real Estate Department.

“It’s a pleasure to announce these highly deserving promotions for our emerging lawyers as well as our leaders,” said the firm’s managing partner, Simon Malko. “MMM’s future is in strong hands with developing talents like Jennifer, Shanellah, Hillary, Mary Claire, and Mark. In addition, our firm has benefitted greatly from Meredith, Christina, Kate, and Lauren’s leadership of vital practices and functions at the firm. Together, these individuals reflect the great diversity of talent we’re fortunate to have at MMM.”

In addition to the above promotions, MMM announced that Matt Peurach has been named to the Executive Committee. The firm’s new counsel are:

• Jennifer Feld, a member of the Corporate Group, focuses on M&A transactions, private equity, venture capital, and general corporate matters. She represents companies across a variety of industries.
• Shanellah Verna Harris, a member of the Commercial Real Estate and Finance and Hospitality practice groups, who handles a diverse array of acquisition, disposition, financing, development and management projects nationwide and internationally for real estate owners and operators, developers, lenders, investors, and universities.
• Hillary Lukacs, a member of the Litigation Group with a practice focused on business litigation, appellate work, and alternative dispute resolution. She represents clients in a variety of industries and has specialized expertise in constitutional law, jurisdictional issues, domestic and international arbitration, business contracts and torts, corporate governance, complex real estate transactions, land use and zoning litigation, and intellectual property.
• Mary Claire Smith, a member of the Employment Practice Group, who advises employers on a wide variety of matters, including hiring and separation concerns, restrictive covenants, internal investigations, policy and procedure reviews, and compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws.
• Mark Stern, a member of the Corporate, Securities and Corporate Governance, and Real Estate Capital Markets practice groups who maintains a broad corporate practice, concentrating in securities regulation, public and private capital markets transactions, public company advisory, and corporate governance.

They are all based in Atlanta, with the exception of Harris, who works in the Washington, D.C. office.

Christina Graham, the new head of MMM’s Commercial Real Estate Department, is a homegrown talent who has been with the firm for more than 20 years, working with real estate developers, owners, and operators throughout the United States. Meredith Caiafa will oversee the Labor & Employment Practice Group, which handles a wide range of labor and employment issues for corporate clients, including multi-state HR advice and counseling, litigation in state and federal court, appearances before state and federal administrative bodies, drafting employment-related agreements, and navigating executive compensation issues. Matt Peurach, a member of the Corporate Group and chair of the Opportunity Zones Practice, advises private equity firms and other clients on tax issues associated with real estate and corporate transactions.

In October, MMM announced that the firm had achieved Mansfield Certification Plus for the fifth consecutive year. The certification reflects MMM’s commitment to giving all talent a fair and equal opportunity to be considered for leadership roles. MMM, one of 56 firms identified as True Trailblazers by Diversity Lab, the organization that issues Mansfield certifications, earned the “plus” designation for voluntarily reporting the outcome of its inclusive processes.

About Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Morris, Manning & Martin (www.mmmlaw.com) is an Am Law 200 law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients’ success. To provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading legal services with a total understanding of their needs to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys national prominence for its real estate, corporate, litigation, technology, healthcare, intellectual property, capital markets, environmental, international trade, and insurance practices. MMM has offices in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah and Washington, D.C.