Waller rises to No. 3 spot on trade pub list
AHLA Connections magazine has named Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis the nation’s third largest firm, and the largest in the Southeast, with a health care law emphasis.
Last year, Waller was No. 4 on the list.
The publication, which serves as the flagship publication of the American Healthcare Lawyers Association, also named Waller as the second largest firm in the nation for long-term care, senior housing, in-home care and rehabilitation practice groups. For the past seven years, AHLA has ranked Waller among the nation’s Top 10 largest firms that emphasize health care-focused legal work.
Waller is based in Nashville and has offices in Birmingham, Ala. and Austin, Texas. With approximately 200 attorneys, the firm bills itself as Nashville’s oldest and largest.
The AHLA has about 11,500 members and is the largest trade association for health care lawyers in the United States. Rankings by AHLA Connections are based on AHLA memberships.
To read the news release, go here.
AIAG partners with Southeast auto manufacturers
The Automotive Industry Action Group has announced a partnership with manufacturing associations in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, a move designed to give members in those states the “tools and education” needed to compete in the global marketplace.
The partnership's purpose, according to a release from the nonprofit group linked here, is to develop the automotive supply base in the Southern United States.
"Industry forecasts show that automotive production in the South is expected to grow by as much as 85 percent over the next three years, and these associations want to ensure companies in this region have the skills and overall capability to support this growth," said J. Scot Sharland, AIAG’s executive director.
To help further the cause, the Southfield, Mich.-based AIAG is also asking state association members to become members of the AIAG.
Vertical Consultants expands to Atlanta
Telecom consulting firm Vertical Consultants announced today the opening of a new office in Atlanta.
The expansion is being made to accommodate growth and to allow the Nashville-based company to be more accessible to property owners with cell tower lease questions and needs, according to a news release.
“Our company and client base is ever growing and we understand that keeping up with the demand for our services is imperative,” Hugh Odom, VC president and founder, said in the release. “Opening up the Atlanta location is another step in the right direction for not only Vertical Consultants, but for our clients.”
According to the release, Vertical Consultants has recovered nearly 200 years’ worth of unpaid cell tower rent and expenses, collectively, and has increased cell tower lease rates for its clients by an average of 142 percent.
Nashville housing inventory improves
National real estate website Zillow released a study Thursday that showed inventory restraints eased nationwide in the first half of the year.
The Metro Nashville numbers followed the trend and were down 16.4 percent year-over-year earlier this month, a less severe crunch than the 21.2 percent shortfall recorded in January.
Inventory of for-sale homes on Zillow improved by 4.8 percentage points between January and June, making up for January’s shortfall, Zillow reported.
Overall, year-over-year inventory levels improved in June compared to January numbers in 70 metros and in the nation as a whole, according to the survey. The greatest declines in the inventory were among bottom-tier homes in Metro Nashville, which fell 21.3 percent year-over-year in June.
RealtyTrac: Tennessee foreclosures rise in May
National foreclosure data company RealtyTrac reports that May foreclosures in Tennessee were 31 percent higher than the figure from the previous month and 21 percent lower than the number from the same time last year.
April home sales in the state rose 6 percent compared with the previous month's figure and were down 3 percent compared to the mark from April 2012, the company reported.
In May, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in Tennessee was 31 percent higher than the mark from the previous month and 21 percent lower than the figure from May 2012.
The median sales price of a non-distressed home in Tennessee was $115,900. The median sales price of a foreclosure home was $65,950, or 43 percent lower than non-distressed home sales.
Aegis named Nashville Symphony title sponsor
Aegis Sciences Corp. has agreed to extend its Nashville Symphony Classical Series title sponsorship — a $300,000 financial commitment it recently made — through the 2015-16 calendar year.
“Initially, Aegis Sciences Corporation made a one year commitment as sponsor of the series, but they generously extended that commitment for an additional two years, through the 2015/16 Season,” Alan Valentine, Nashville Symphony CEO and president, said in a statement released Thursday.
The classical series of concerts will be renamed the Aegis Sciences Classical Series effective immediately, the statement reads.
Aegis Sciences CEO and founder David L. Black says, “Aegis greatly respects the difference the Nashville Symphony makes to the Middle Tennessee quality of life. We are committed to supporting the symphony talent and management, and are very proud of the partnership we have forged with this great Tennessee treasure. We have extended our financial commitment to demonstrate our confidence in their ability to deal with today’s challenges and our confidence in their future contributions to our community.”
Earlier this month, Bank of America served notice of foreclosure on the nonprofit, stating it plans to auction off the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on June 28. Click here for that story published by The City Paper.
VU, Warner Music Nashville partner on music biz boot camp
Vanderbilt Accelerator Summer Business Institute and Warner Music Nashville launched today a month-long business boot camp run by the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.
In the program, college students and recent graduates from across the country will be immersed in a competitive business environment, working to create solutions to real-world challenges. For Warner Music Nashville, the program's students are challenged with proposing "innovative cross-branding opportunities between artists and products with the goal of driving positive impressions through partnerships with existing brands.”
MTSU-based center teams with federal entity to bolster exports
The Export-Import Bank of the United States announced today it has signed a city/state partnership with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center International Trade Center to bolster Tennessee jobs by stimulating the state's exports.
The SBDC is housed at Middle Tennessee State University.
Read more here.
PHG Energy teams with GE to convert waste to electricity
GE Power & Water and PHG Energy have announced the successful collaboration on a project to produce electricity from waste material.
The conversion of waste to gas is undertaken by employing gasification technology to power GE’s Clean Cycle heat-to-power generator. The new system starts with gasification of waste wood chips or other biomass to provide a clean-burning producer gas.
“This system integrates three proven technologies: GE’s heat-to-power generator, PHG Energy’s gasifier and a standard heat exchanger,” Tom Stanzione, PHGE president, said in a release. “The project is simple and elegant in its straightforward design, capable of operating on multiple and varied waste streams, and offers operating costs far below existing waste-to-energy generation systems in the marketplace.”
The combined GE and PHGE project (read more here) is being conducted in Gleason, Tenn., at a facility owned by Boral Brick Corp.
Nashville-based alternative energy provider PHG Energy (read more here) is a joint venture between La Vergne-based Thompson Machinery and Associated Physics of America.
Comdata partners with Cincinnati-based company
Comdata Corp. announced today a referral agreement with Cincinnati-based merchant acquiring ISO (International Organization of Standardization) Infintech.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a release.
The annoucement of the partnership follows Comdata's May announcement that it has contracted with Brown Trucking Co. to provide fleet payment solutions. (Read here.)
“This relationship will help Comdata drive increased value for our clients by allowing us to capture previously unattainable vendor spend,” Mark Schatz, Comdata executive vice president, said in the release. “Together, we will offer pre-negotiated discounted processing so suppliers can minimize processing fees, thus resulting in greater spend for our clients and simultaneously improving their bottom line.”
Read more here.
