Morris, Manning & Martin Names Corporate Tech Practice Founder and Visionary, John Yates, Co-Chairman of the Firm
June 24 2024 - 11:10AM
Business Wire
Morris, Manning & Martin today announced John Yates, founder
and head of the firm’s Corporate Technology practice, has been
named firm Co-Chairman. Serving alongside current firm Chairman
Gerald Pouncey, Jr., Yates will focus on enhancing the points of
connection between clients, prospects, strategic partners, and the
community. He will also help guide the firm’s strategic direction,
with an emphasis on civic engagement, business development, and
client success.
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John Yates, Co-Chairman of Morris,
Manning & Martin, LLP. (Photo: Business Wire)
“John has been and continues to be critical to the success of
MMM. I am delighted to have him assume this additional role and
look forward to serving with him as Co-Chairman,” said Pouncey.
Yates has been with MMM for 37 years and created the South’s
leading legal practice for technology clients. The firm’s Corporate
Technology practice represents more than 600 clients across 45
states and 11 countries, including companies and leading private
equity, growth equity, and venture capital firms. In the past three
years, the team has closed more than 950 VC, growth equity, and
M&A deals.
“John Yates is an integral part of MMM and has played a vital
role in establishing Atlanta as a technology hub,” said MMM
Managing Partner Simon Malko. “By appointing John Co-Chairman of
the firm, we are institutionalizing the positive momentum he has
created and instilled in our thriving Corporate Tech practice and
spreading it across the firm to build on both the client experience
and our national presence.”
In addition to building a leading Technology practice, Yates has
been a passionate leader in the Atlanta business community and
promoter of the state across the country. He co-founded the
Technology Association of Georgia, the largest tech association in
the country, the Southeastern Software Association, and the
Technology Executives Roundtable. He has led Georgia
officials—including Gov. Brian Kemp (while Georgia’s Secretary of
State) and two Atlanta mayors—on tours of Silicon Valley to meet
VCs and private equity funds fueling the growth of Atlanta tech. He
was also instrumental in forming VentureAtlanta, an annual
conference connecting investors and founders that has led to $7.5B
in financings and more than $17B in successful exits for leading
tech companies.
“I’m honored to be named Co-Chairman of a firm that has been my
home for nearly four decades,” said Yates. “I’m looking forward to
continuing to evolve and amplify the culture that was created with
the firm’s founding in 1976 while maintaining the firm’s
entrepreneurial spirit and rapid growth.”
Yates will also bring a civic mindset to his new role,
instilling his passion and commitment to community in the next
generation of MMM attorneys. Yates’ corporate citizenship
includes:
- Chairing Atlanta’s NCAA Final Four host committee on the 75th
anniversary of the tentpole sporting event.
- Chairing the annual corporate campaign of the Woodruff Arts
Center, one of the largest arts centers in the world.
- Leading the annual giving campaign for the YMCA of Metro
Atlanta, which raised $5 million for the organization.
- Serving on the Board of Visitors for Duke Law School and
chairing the most successful fundraising campaign in its
history.
- Serving on the board of Furman University.
- Serving as the President of the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
- Co-chairing with his wife, Ellen, the 2025 annual gala event at
Zoo Atlanta.
For these and other contributions, in 2023 Yates was given the
Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Leaders in Corporate Citizenship Ann
Cramer Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Seeing John and Gerald, both of whom grew up in the firm, serve
as Co-Chairmen is truly special,” said founding partner John G.
“Sonny” Morris. “John and Gerald exemplify the best aspects of MMM,
and I am thrilled they will help to lead the firm into its next
chapter.”
About Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
Morris, Manning & Martin (www.mmmlaw.com) is an Am Law 200
law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate
ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients’ success. To
provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading
legal services with a total understanding of their needs to
maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys
national prominence for its corporate, technology, real estate,
litigation, healthcare, intellectual property, capital markets,
environmental, and international trade practices. MMM has offices
in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah and Washington, D.C.
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