Mississippi-headquartered law firm Butler Snow O'Mara Stevens & Cannada made a heck of a statement last summer when it won the race to land dozens of attorneys looking to leave Miller & Martin. But by the looks of new Pinnacle at Symphony Place offices those attorneys have moved into, there are more statements to come. Butler Snow's space in the Pinnacle covers 46,000 square feet on the 15th and 16th floors and includes a conference center with more than 13,000 square feet of meeting space.

But it's the number of offices on those two floors that caught our eye. The firm is home to fewer than 50 local attorneys, but the Pinnacle footprint comprises 70 offices and can be expanded to about 110. Should Butler Snow grow to triple digits, it would be about the same size as Bradley Arant Boult Cummings and break into the region's top three.

DeSalvo Law Firm officials announced today the firm has relocated its office from historic Germantown to West End Avenue.

The firm, which specializes in entertainment, copyright and trademark law, is now operating from an office located at 1720 West End Ave.

“We are growing over the next few months, adding new attorneys, and offering a broader range of creative services,” Ramona P. DeSalvo (pictured), DLF founding member, said in a release regarding the move. “We are looking forward to an exciting 2013."

DeSalvo is executive producer for a new album on independent record label Vision Records and featuring recording artist Makky Kaylor. Titled A Little Sentimental – A Storybook Album, the album pays homage to the “Nashville Sound” of the 1960s.

Relatedly, the firm is leasing some space to entertainment attorney Christian Barker.

Barker holds a BA from the University of Tennessee, an MBA and JD from Stetson University, and a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. He attended the year-long Intellectual Property Exchange at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. 

(Editor's note: This story has been modified to accurately convey the relationship between Barker and DeSalvo Law Firm.)

A Rutherford County jury has ordered Wilson Bank & Trust to pay $7.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages to home builder Ken Howell, his wife and two of his companies. Howell had sued after former Wilson branch manager Stan Hayes had manipulated his entities' loan accounts by forging signatures. The bank may appeal the verdict; Howell says he simply wants to close the book on the episode.

“They need to make the victims whole, and we both need to move on,” Howell said. He noted that he owes several local companies money after closing his business and plans to “square up” his accounts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled in favor of Corrections Corp. of America on the company’s request to exclude a shareholder resolution regarding its planned REIT conversion from its proxy materials in advance of the company’s annual meeting in May.

The resolution was filed by CCA shareholder Alex Friedmann, president of the Private Corrections Institute, a non-profit organization that bills itself as a watchdog to the private prison industry. It would have required CCA’s board of directors to issue a report to stockholders addressing issues related to REIT conversion.

Earlier this year, Nashville-based CCA said the REIT conversion (see related story here) will lower the company's taxes and require it to pay out 90 percent of its profits as dividends. As part of the move, the company said it will pay a special dividend to distribute previously accumulated profits.

Friedmann’s request asked for disclosure of disadvantages to stockholders and/or advantages to the company when CCA makes REIT dividend distributions in the form of stock rather than cash.

Friedmann also wanted CCA (Ticker: CXW) to disclose to shareholders tax implications of REITs and to explain REIT-related decisions in light of the company’s previous REIT conversion in 1999, which was later reversed. The previous REIT conversion was followed by shareholder lawsuits, a plunge in stock prices and a 1-for-10 reverse stock split to prevent it from being delisted from the NYSE.

"Should CCA’s REIT conversion turn out badly, as did the company’s first attempt to become a REIT, the company and its board cannot claim they were unaware that they should have fully informed shareholders about CCA’s history with respect to REITs," Friedmann said in a press release.