Atlanta – Arnall Golden Gregory LLP announced the opening of an office in Miami focused on serving clients in: the global logistics and supply chain industry, including third-party logistics providers (3PLs), such as freight forwarders, customs brokers and warehouse operators; airlines and other carriers; and insurers, sureties, banks and other capital providers involved in the logistics and transportation industry. With the move, Arnall Golden Gregory becomes the only top 10 Atlanta law firm with a Miami office.
The logistics industry has seen a wave of consolidation, and as 3PLs expand globally, they require more sophisticated legal services. At the same time, shippers served by 3PLs have become increasingly discerning purchasers of logistics services, and the allocation of risk between logistics providers and their clientele – a high stakes equation in the world of international trade -- is increasingly a matter of serious negotiation.
The opening of the Miami office will broaden Arnall Golden Gregory's existing capabilities to uniquely offer a "one-stop shop" to global logistics businesses. The firm's Logistics and Transportation Practice Team merges the talents the Miami attorneys are known for – global logistics and transport law, litigation, contract law, international trade and customs, and risk management – with the broad expertise on which Arnall Golden Gregory has built its reputation over six decades.
Arnall Golden Gregory is now strategically positioned in three global entry points. Atlanta is home to the world's busiest airport, a large number of major logistics companies, including UPS, and the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech.
Twenty-four of the top 25 3PLs operate in Atlanta. Miami boasts a bustling port and is the air cargo link to Latin America. Arnall Golden Gregory's Washington DC office opened in January 2011, strengthening the firm's capabilities in areas of export controls, FCPA compliance and international commercial arbitration.
Arnall Golden Gregory has represented freight forwarders, carriers, customs brokers, third party logistics providers (3PLs), warehouse operators, airlines, shippers, insurers, sureties, banks and other capital providers and others involved in the logistics and transportation industry in a wide range of matters, including the following representative transactions:
- A large-scale global corporate reorganization of a leading freight forwarding company
- The sale of 17 refrigerated and dry warehouses located in five metropolitan areas in China, along with the associated truck fleet.
- The negotiation and documentation of revolving credit facility secured by transportation receivables and other collateral
- Assisting a national warehousing and distribution company with the acquisition of multiple warehouse facilities
- The preparation of IPO disclosure documents for a warehouse REIT
- The negotiation and drafting of national customer contracts for a 3PL and warehousing company
- The preparation of standard form storage and handling agreement and warehouse receipt
- The sale of fleet assets by one transportation company to another
- The acquisition of a regional transportation company
- The sale of a majority equity interest in the largest national temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics services company
The firm plans over time to expand the Miami office's capabilities to include healthcare, government investigations, real estate, commercial litigation, international arbitration, and private wealth, all of which are traditional areas of strength.
