News & Events - News
Bondurant Mixson & Elmore: 2024 Year in Review
As we look back on 2024, we want to thank each of you for your continued trust, support and collaboration. From major case wins to notable new hires, it was a remarkable year for the firm.
Read on to see some highlights from last year.
A LANDMARK YEAR FOR OUR FOUNDING PARTNER
Emmet Bondurant was awarded the prestigious American Bar Association Medal, the organization’s highest honor. This distinction recognizes his contributions to civil rights, legal defense, and upholding democratic values over a distinguished career. He was also recognized by the State Bar of Georgia for his outstanding contributions to antitrust law with the 1890 Award for Excellence in Antitrust.
WELCOME TO THE FIRM
We welcomed three new attorneys to our team in 2024. Their diverse backgrounds and experiences strengthened our ability to serve our clients.
Ben Thorpe, Partner: learn more about Ben and his experience here.
Jeannine Holmes, Associate: learn more about Jeannine and her practice here.
Kyle R. Tau, Associate: learn more about Kyle and his background here.
CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENT
For the 21st year in a row, BME commercial litigation and antitrust practices earned Band 1 rankings from Chambers USA, making BME the only Georgia firm with fewer than 800 attorneys to achieve this distinction. In addition, the firm’s white collar crime and government investigations practice were recognized, as were Frank Lowrey, Emmet Bondurant, Mickey Mixson, Michael Terry, Ronan Doherty, and John Floyd.
The firm was selected as the Litigation Department of the Year, Appellate Winner, by the 2024 Southeastern Legal Awards, and firm partner Tiana Mykkeltvedt was recognized as a Distinguished Leader.
Fifteen of our attorneys were recognized as 2024 Super Lawyers, and one as a Rising Star. Michael Terry was named a Top 10 attorney in Georgia for the second consecutive year, while Frank Lowrey secured a spot in the Top 100 for the sixth time.
Michael Terry was selected for the Tradition of Excellence Award by the State Bar of Georgia for his outstanding work on behalf of plaintiffs. This award is based on a career of consistently excellent advocacy.
Frank Lowrey, Mickey Mixson, and Michael Terry were named 2025 Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" for Atlanta in their respective practice areas.
Emmet Bondurant, Ben Fox, Frank Lowrey, and Mickey Mixson were named 2025 “Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation.
The firm received national and regional recognition in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms, earning top rankings across multiple practice areas.
MAJOR CASES
During 2024, BME argued appeals with more than $3.4 billion at stake, arguing before the Georgia Court of Appeals 13 times, the Georgia Supreme Court six times, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals twice.
In a series of groundbreaking cases, BME represented fifteen survivors of sex trafficking in their claims against hotel operators that profited from their exploitation. This landmark trial is the first of its kind in seeking to hold a hotel brand accountable for sex trafficking occurring at its properties. The plaintiffs were represented by BME attorneys Tiana Mykkeltvedt, Sachin Varghese, John Floyd, Amanda Kay Seals, Michael Baumrind, and Juliana Mesa, and co-counsel, Pat McDonough, Jonathan Tonge, and Jennifer Webster.
BME represented three Cayman Island liquidators in unraveling a massive Ponzi scheme, suing an international bank for its role in enabling the fraud. Led by attorneys Frank Lowrey, John Rains, Amanda Kay Seals, and Juliana Mesa, BME secured a $95 million judgment after a complex three-week jury trial, with the case ultimately settling after the bank appealed the judgment.
Sachin Varghese, Ben Thorpe, Michael Baumrind, Jeff Chen, and Allen Page successfully represented the Democratic Party of Georgia in a series of challenges involving the State Election Board’s last-minute attempts to alter election procedures. Following a bench trial in October, they secured a critical ruling confirming that the certification of election results by election board members is mandatory.
John Floyd and Jennifer Peterson achieved victories in a protracted legal dispute involving the members of a company operating nine hotels across the Southeast, resolving years of contentious litigation and securing a significant ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Naveen Ramachandrappa, alongside attorneys from Harris Lowry Manton, successfully represented the appellees-plaintiffs in City of Milton v. Chang before the Georgia Court of Appeals, securing affirmation of the jury’s verdict and reversal of the trial court’s omission of prejudgment interest, bringing the total at stake to $37.12 million in a case involving wrongful death of a 21-year-old.
Robbie Ashe, Michael Terry, and Matthew Sellers represented the Medical Center Hospital Authority in a dispute with the Columbus Board of Tax Assessors in Columbus, Georgia. The team argued successfully that the authority’s leasehold interest in a continuing care residential community should be exempt from ad valorem taxes as public property under Georgia law, saving the authority over $150 million.
Naveen Ramachandrappa, alongside attorneys from the Butler Kahn Firm, helped secure a $29.4 million jury verdict against a hotel owner and operator after an employee sexually assaulted a minor female at the hotel.
Robbie Ashe and Jennifer Peterson defended MARTA on appeal in the Georgia Supreme Court in a case brought by a passenger who claimed injuries after a fall while boarding a train.
Frank Lowrey, Josh Thorpe, and their co-counsel obtained the dismissal of a federal class action in which plaintiffs sought tuition refunds from a university arising out of its shift to online education during the pandemic.
Frank Lowrey, Jason Carter, Josh Thorpe, and Amber Greenaway obtained the dismissal of two mass joinder cases in which the plaintiffs asserted civil RICO claims against a major financial services company.
Of course, BME is proud of the many reasonable resolutions it achieved for clients without any publicity.
MAKING AN IMPACT
Amanda Bradley, Jeff Chen, and a Kirkland & Ellis attorney team secured a victory for a Georgia inmate who developed stage 4 hepatitis C after a five-year delay in treatment, highlighting systemic issues in prison healthcare and setting a precedent for future advocacy on constitutional rights and medical access for the incarcerated.
Pat Fagan and Jeff Chen were appointed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to represent an incarcerated veteran in an appeal raising constitutional challenges to service-connected disability law.
Allen Page was appointed by the United States District Court in the Northern District of Georgia to represent a homeless man currently incarcerated in a case alleging that police officers unlawfully arrested him and repeatedly used a taser to force him off the streets.
Danny Vincent was selected as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow for 2024, while Juliana Mesa and Amanda Bradley were named Pathfinders.
Amanda Bradley was also among 53 young professionals selected to join the prestigious LEAD Atlanta Class of 2025.
The firm is proud to continue supporting the Georgia Latino Law Foundation by hosting and sponsoring various programs, including its annual interview boot camp series, annual awards luncheon, and more. GLLF helps grow the pipeline of Georgia’s Latino, Latina, and Latinx lawyers through its programs for law students.
Naveen Ramachandrappa and lawyers Jeb Butler and Jay Sadd launched Smart Giving, an initiative encouraging fellow attorneys to optimize their charitable donations, ensuring every dollar contributes to charitable programs where it can have the most impact.
Amanda Bradley, alongside a dedicated group of attorney volunteers, led the Therrell High School mock trial team to success at regionals, earning a spot in the district competition, and our firm proudly supported their journey by hosting practice sessions.
We had the honor of hosting the board of directors for the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, Georgia Chapter. BME’s Naveen Ramachandrappa serves on the board.
Amber Greenaway was selected for an Appellate Litigation Fellowship with the D.C. Office of the Solicitor General.
David Brackett represented BME at the International Network of Boutique and Independent Law Firms conference in Washington, D.C.
ADVANCING THROUGH LEARNING
Pat Fagan and Ben Thorpe served as speakers in multiple ACC Georgia seminars on antitrust and corporate recoveries.
Tiana Mykkeltvedt joined leaders from across the country at the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession’s seminar to discuss effective DEI strategies for small to midsize law firms.
Amber Greenaway and Naveen Ramachandrappa were featured speakers at the Emory Law School Supreme Court Advocacy Program seminar: "The Supreme Court in Focus: The Past, Present, and Future of Appellate Litigation."
Naveen Ramachandrappa joined the Institute for Well-Being in Law as a panelist for the webinar "Suicide Awareness and Prevention: Stories from the Trenches - Continuing the Conversation."