A South Carolina–based law firm is growing its already significant Southeast presence into Nashville and has recruited a few local attorneys from a prominent local firm to staff the effort.

The website of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough — a 400-plus attorney that was formed more than a century ago — shows a Nashville office located in the Regions Center downtown and led by former Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz Partner Larry Papel. Joining Papel are former Baker Donelson attorneys Jason Epstein, Geoffrey Vickers and Kelly Worman.

“As a health care hub, a state capital, and a key Southern business crossroads, Nashville is a logical extension of the firm's footprint,” reads a section of the Nelson Mullins website dedicated to the office here. “The Nashville office allows the firm to better serve our clients by offering new resources and an office in one of America's most dynamic cities.”

Worman, Epstein and Vickers all have joined Nelson Mullins as partners, the same roles they had held at Baker Donelson. Papel and Worman specialize in commercial real estate work. Epstein, who formerly chaired Baker Donelson's business technology group, will focus on securities and general corporate law. Vickers will focus on mergers and acquisitions and technology law.