Press Release

1 May 2024. Buchalter is pleased to announce the expansion of its Nashville Office with the addition of eight attorneys and other professional staff. Shareholders Jay Bowen, Lauren Kilgore, and Lauren Spahn join from Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley, and Norton LLP, along with Rebekah Shulman, Jim Zumwalt, Jacob Clabo, Aaron Steinberg, and John Baxter. Already in Nashville are Real Estate Shareholder Josiah Reid, as well as Jeff Farano, Lucas Davidson, and Kaitlin White.

"Our decision to expand in Nashville aligns with our growth strategy to better serve our clients and grow our capabilities in thriving business communities," said Adam Bass, President and Chief Executive Officer of Buchalter. "Nashville represents a vibrant and dynamic legal market, and there is no better group to join this office. Jay, Lauren, and Lauren, along with their teams bring a wealth of experience, expertise, and dedication to our firm. Together, we are poised to make a significant impact in Nashville's legal landscape and beyond."

The growth in Nashville marks a strategic move for Buchalter as the firm continues to broaden its footprint in key markets across the country. Under Bass’s leadership, Buchalter has added more than 350 attorneys and opened eight new offices. With the additions of the new attorneys in Nashville, the firm offers clients deeper expertise in the real estate sector, as well as thorough intellectual property capabilities, including litigation, especially in the renowned Nashville music and entertainment industry. Buchalter now has approximately 500 attorneys in twelve locations in Los Angeles, Napa Valley, Orange County, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Scottsdale, Seattle, Denver, and now Nashville.

A high-stakes Litigation Shareholder, Bowen has represented his clients’ interests in difficult situations and tried many cases, both jury and bench trials, on behalf of local, regional, national and international companies, as well as individuals, including many nationally and internationally known entertainers. His experience ranges from trying federal income tax cases, copyright infringement and intellectual property and business cases to both judges and juries, recovering multimillion dollar verdicts or defense verdicts, to appellate litigation, to mediations and arbitrations, across the United States.

“After speaking with Adam and the attorneys at Buchalter it was clear that Buchalter has an unwavering dedication to excellence and client service which strongly resonates with our values, making it a natural fit for us, added Bowen. “We are thrilled to be a part of Buchalter's expansion in Nashville, and we look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues and the rest of the firm to offer comprehensive, full-service capabilities to our clients.”

Bowen brings a team of seven attorneys from Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP specializing in Intellectual Property law. Joining with him are Shareholders Lauren Kilgore and Lauren Spahn, as well as Rebekah Shulman, Jim Zumwalt, Jacob Clabo, John Baxter, and Aaron Steinberg.

Spahn represents the legal and business interests of recording artists, songwriters, publishers, promoters, talent buyers, executives, record labels,  technology and digital media companies, and other entertainment industry clients. She was also named one of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers for 2024 and is regularly featured in MusicRow Magazine’s “In Charge” in the entertainment business.

Kilgore has over a decade of experience as an entertainment attorney in both transactional and dispute resolution and general business litigation matters. She handles a wide variety of transactional entertainment matters on behalf of artists, songwriters, managers, content creators, entertainment companies, and corporate entities. She was also named one of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers for 2024.

Shulman enforces and defends intellectual property rights on behalf of clients before the United States Patent & Trademark Office—from pre-application registrability search through post-registration contest. Clabo  and Baxter specialize in business litigation matters, with a focus in Intellectual Property, especially in relation to clients within the music industry and entertainment sector. Steinberg specializes in transactional Intellectual Property matters, especially in relation to clients within the entertainment industry and technology sector.

Zumwalt has practiced law for more than 40 years with a focus on media and entertainment law, including an emphasis on global new media and technology in the entertainment industry. He represents clients around the globe in every dimension of multimedia and entertainment, including award-winning, multi-platinum recording and performing artists, major songwriters and producers, celebrity estates, copyright terminations, authors, screenwriters, film directors and producers, and television production companies.

Buchalter established a Nashville presence in 2022 with the addition of Jason Brooks, who is now the Managing Shareholder of the Nashville office. Buchalter’s new additions join Shareholder Josiah Reid, as well as Jeffrey Farano, Lucas Davidson, and Kaitlin White.

A member of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, Brooks focuses his practice on representing property owners and developers throughout the US. His client’s projects vary from ground up development and acquisition rehab to buy and hold and repositioning of assets. Brooks assists his clients through the entire ownership experience from acquisition due diligence through property exit / stabilization. Having previously sat on the non-legal side of the table, he has a unique understanding of what his clients are experiencing and diligently works to get deals closed.

"I am honored to lead Buchalter's Nashville office as the Office Managing Shareholder,” said Jason Brooks. “Witnessing the firm's remarkable growth in recent years has been truly impressive, and leading this office presents an exciting opportunity to contribute to our firm's legacy and make a meaningful difference in the Nashville legal community.”

Reid concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of commercial real estate finance, acquisition, development, leasing, joint ventures and related corporate work. His experience includes negotiation of office, retail and industrial leases, purchase and sale agreements in single site and portfolio transactions, development agreements, management agreements, joint venture agreements, condominium declarations, reciprocal easement agreements, commercial real estate loans (including construction, permanent, acquisition and mezzanine), refinancings and defeasances.

Farano and Davidson are also members of the Real Estate practice group. Farano represents real estate developers and companies on litigation and transactional matters regarding land development, land use, entitlement, and permitting matters and provides legal counsel regarding CEAQ issues. Davidson brings a wealth of diverse legal experience developed over more than a decade. Practicing in California and Tennessee, he specializes in a range of legal areas, including deal making, real estate development, franchise formation, business litigation, and high-stakes financial negotiations.

White has a broad-based litigation practice with a primary focus on business and commercial disputes. She has experience representing corporate and individual clients in both state and federal court in a variety of subject matters, including breach of contract, business torts, and product liability.

Buchalter’s Nashville office is located at 1 Music Circle South, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203.