A top law firm in Atlanta has recruited one of its former attorneys to serve as a partner within its real estate practice. Morris, Manning & Martin hired Henry “Butch” Bailey Jr. as a partner in its real estate development and finance team, the firm announced. Bailey has a focus on pursuits involving land use and zoning.
“We are thrilled to welcome Butch back to the firm,” said managing partner at MMM, Simon Malko, in a statement. “Butch’s extensive experience will greatly enhance the firm’s ability to advise clients in every aspect of land use, zoning, permitting and other development-related regulatory issues that may arise in municipal and county jurisdictions in the State of Georgia.”
Bailey first joined Morris, Manning & Martin as a real estate associate in 2019. He left the firm in 2023 to work as an associate for Atlanta-based law firm Troutman Pepper.
Bailey is the third attorney to rejoin Morris, Manning & Martin as a partner in the past seven months.
“The time was right for me to return [to] MMM, where I will have the opportunity to build a full-blown land-use and zoning practice and potentially expand into tax incentives and other local government work,” said Bailey in a statement. “I’m looking forward to the flexibility the firm provides, which will give me the ability to be competitive in the local landscape.”
Bailey’s professional career began in city government in 2007. He worked as a city planner in Sumter, South Carolina, after earning a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and affairs from Morehouse College. He also has served as a board of zoning appeals member in Cleveland, Ohio.
Bailey has held associate positions at the Cleveland-based law firm Ulmer & Berne LLP and Berman Fink Van Horn P.C. in Atlanta.
Morris, Manning & Martin is Atlanta’s sixth-largest law firm in terms of employment, with approximately 170 attorneys based here. The firm also has offices in Savannah; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C.