Law Firm Announces National Merge

The Nashville law firm in which Sam Jackson, who represents the Weakley County Board of Education is a member, will merge October 1 with one of the nation’s most prominent law practices.

Bone McAllester Norton announced recently its merger agreement with Spencer Fane, a Kansas City, Missouri firm. Regarded as one of the nation’s largest law firms with more than 330 attorneys and annual revenues exceeding $150 million, Spencer Fane maintains offices in 11 states and 20 U.S. cities.

BMN was founded 20 years ago by Charles W. Bone, Sam McAllester, and the late Mike Norton.

Recognized as Nashville’s sixth largest law firm, BMN lists 43 attorneys in its practice with offices in downtown Nashville as well as in Williamson and Sumner counties. Charles Robert Bone, the founder’s son, is the firm’s president and CEO.

Jackson, a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, concentrates his practice in the area of Education Law in a variety of legal matters including but not limited to employment of licensed and classified employees, employee contracts, employee and student discipline, employee and student rights, special education and disability accommodation, First Amendment issues, sexual harassment and civil rights matters, desegregation, tort liability, school finance and taxation, and school construction.

Besides Weakley County, Jackson also represents school boards in Houston, Robertson, Lauderdale and Lake counties and regularly provides counsel to boards of education in Giles and Dickson counties. He also represents a number of charter schools including Valor Collegiate Academies, KIPP Public Charter Schools, RePublic Schools and Intrepid College Prep.

“We’re fortunate to have Sam as a member of our firm. His knowledge of the law and ability to work with clients through sometimes very complicated issues have made him a valuable and trusted asset at Bone McAllester Norton,” said Charles Robert Bone, the firm’s president and CEO.

He described Jackson as a “well skilled attorney and strategist,” adding that “Sam has made major contributions to our firm and the success we have realized.”

Speaking about the merger, Bone explained that it will position the firms to expand both in terms of size and geography to meet the growing needs of their clients.

He said in addition to a cohesive business model, Bone McAllester Norton and Spencer Fane share a commitment to cultural values that center on humility, community, collaboration and an unwavering ambition to achieve success for their clients.

“The culture of our firm, our commitment to give back to the community, and our strong track record of retaining top legal talent, has fueled our success. We found those same values in Spencer Fane,” Bone said.

“After years of telling one national firm after another ‘no,’ we felt there was something decidedly different about Spencer Fane. Ultimately, being a part of their platform will enable us to expand and continue to attract first-rate attorneys, better serve current and future clients, and strengthen our commitment to Nashville and surrounding Middle Tennessee communities,” he noted.