FSB FisherBroyles has added significant depth and expertise to its Global Technology Practice with the addition of James E. Meadows and Wayt King in its Atlanta office.

“We are excited about adding Jim Meadows and Wayt King to an already impressive group of technology lawyers,” said Kevin Broyles, Co-Managing Member of FSB.  “We consider both to not only be outstanding lawyers and individuals, but key, long-term cornerstones in the technology community.”

“Jim has handled every technology deal imaginable and he essentially doubles-down our experience in global outsourcing, an area where the firm has experienced steady growth the last several years” said James Fisher, FSB’s other Co-Managing Member who handles multi-million dollar outsourcing deals for FSB clients.  “And Wayt has diverse technology expertise as well as the kind of deep entrepreneurial wisdom that is key to the survival of growing companies.”

Mr. Meadows is a former partner of Alston & Bird and joins FSB from Hunton & Williams.  According to Meadows, it was FSB’s cost-effective provision of legal services that first interested him in the firm.  “Having been involved with technology and outsourcing matters for my entire 22 year career, I have witnessed my clients’ focus on improving the bottom line,” said Meadows. “My move was driven by my desire to assist my in-house friends as that focus continues to shift to the legal department.”

Mr. King joins FSB after practicing at both Alston & Bird and King & Spalding and more recently as General Counsel of on-demand TV software company N2 Broadband.  King helped found N2 Broadband in 2000, helped finance and operate the Company, and helped sell the Company for $120 million in 2005.  According to Mr. King, he plans to utilize his unique experience as a “lawyer/entrepreneur” to advise emerging private technology companies while also devoting his time and his FSB income to his Guatemala education non-profit, Blue Schoolhouse.  “I have been a big fan of FSB’s innovative approach to delivering legal services by using only partner-level attorneys with sophisticated practice experience, eliminating wasteful overhead and inefficiencies, and actually listening and responding to client needs,” said King.  “But what closed the deal for me was the flexibility that would allow me to continue to devote time to charitable priorities while also continuing to serve and participate in the technology community.”

According to Mr. Meadows, FSB will now have one of the most experienced groups of technology attorneys in the country. “The depth and breadth of the partner level resources in the sourcing and technology law space was a key factor in my decision,” said Meadows.  “With my and Wayt’s addition, FSB has 27 attorneys and 14 are technology attorneys who have a combined 150+ years of technology law experience.”

Broyles sees an equally impressive trend.  “FSB continues to gain traction as clients migrate away from the traditional law firm model toward next-generation legal service providers,” said Broyles.  “Adding attorneys like Wayt King and Jim Meadows underscores FSB’s leadership of this movement.  Jim has practiced in a traditional firm structure his entire career and his billable rate before joining FSB was $650 an hour.  At FSB, his rate will be half that.  More than anything, that tells the FSB story.”

Mr. Meadows explained how FSB’s structure will allow him to cut his rate fifty percent. “The business model is progressive and more reflective of today’s business environment,” said Meadows.  “By reducing overhead to enable significant fee/rate advantages, FSB passes along the bottom line savings to its clients.  By conducting business where it makes the most sense for its attorneys and its clients, including through a “virtual” office model, FSB reduces its carbon footprint when compared with the traditional law firm model.”

FSB’s vision was formed by Kevin Broyles, James Fisher, and a handful of other attorneys at a large Atlanta firm in the latter part of 2001 and early part of 2002.  Their idea was to respond to client demands in a struggling economy and to create a law firm structure that would make attorneys excited about going to work each day.  Clients were looking for a more cost-effective, responsive, flexible, and personable legal service solution.  FSB answered these concerns by removing the costly overhead associated with traditional large firms – no more expensive office space, inexperienced attorneys, wasteful support staff, or multi-layered approach to delivering legal services.  FSB aligns its perspective with its clients by eliminating the incentives attorneys in traditional firms have to justify skyrocketing billable rates and to stretch time to meet unrealistic billable quotas.  Instead, FSB’s attorneys focus on applying practical solutions to meet client needs and chase efficiencies, not billables, as if it is their dollar (not the Client’s) that is being spent.  FSB has been featured in the National Law Journal, ABA Journal, Atlanta Business Magazine, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Fulton County Daily Report.

© 2010 Fisher Broyles LLP. These materials have been prepared for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client or similar relationship. Please do not send us confidential information. Whether you need legal services and which lawyer you select are important decisions that should not be based on these materials alone.

Click here to download Press Release