ATLANTA (OCTOBER 24) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, two premier Atlanta-based law firms, announced today that they have agreed to jointly sponsor a new childcare facility for children of their employees. The new facility, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2006, will be located at 1316 West Peachtree Street within a few blocks of each firm’s office in midtown Atlanta.
Recognizing the challenges faced by all working parents, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and Kilpatrick Stockton engaged Bright Horizons Family Solutions – the world’s leading provider of employer-sponsored quality childcare – to develop and operate the new childcare center. Both firms will make the new childcare center available to their employees at a significant discount from prevailing market rates for comparable care.
“We felt it was essential to address not only the availability and convenience of first-class childcare for Kilpatrick Stockton employees, but also the considerable cost it often involves,” said Bill Brewster, Managing Partner of Kilpatrick Stockton. “This is another example of Kilpatrick Stockton’s ongoing commitment to provide employees with a family-friendly workplace.”
“We know how important it is for working parents to have dependable and high-quality childcare,” says Stephen Forte, Managing Partner of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. “Smith Gambrell constantly strives to promote the well-being of its valued personnel. The new childcare center will be a wonderful addition to our firm’s work/life solution.”
Employees at both firms are eager to have an exceptional childcare option – which will include a dynamic early education component as well — near their workplace.
“This will be a valuable service,” stated a Kilpatrick Stockton employee responding to a recent survey on the firm’s childcare initiative. “With childcare nearby, I will be able to commute with my children which will shorten my drive-time since I will now be using the HOV lane. Plus, I will enjoy the extra time with my children while commuting and during drop-by visits while at work!”
“The location of the new childcare center is fantastic. I am thrilled that I will be able to have my children so close by when I am at work and perhaps even to join them for lunch,” says Shannan Oliver, an attorney with Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP who is currently expecting triplets.
Plans for a bright, dynamic center are well under way. When completed, the new facility will have capacity for 120 children with age ranges from infants to pre-kindergarten. The plans include additional space to accommodate approximately 24 school-age children during summer breaks and school holidays.
“During our discussions with Smith Gambrell and Kilpatrick Stockton, we were pleased to learn that both firms recognize how challenging it is for employees to leave their children when they go to the office.” Says David Lissy, CEO of Bright Horizons Family Solutions. “Both firms are very committed to providing their employees with a wonderful new childcare center – a place close by the office where their children will receive excellent, nurturing care from dedicated early education professionals. Most of all, both firms want their childcare center to be a place where the children are happy and content and may learn, grow and develop in a bright, cheerful environment.”
About Kilpatrick Stockton
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP is a full-service international law firm with more than 470 attorneys in nine offices across the globe: Atlanta and Augusta, GA; New York, New York; Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; London, England; Stockholm, Sweden. Kilpatrick Stockton’s delivery of innovative business solutions provides results-oriented counsel for corporations, from the challenging demands of financial transactions and securities to the disciplines of intellectual property management. Collaboration among Kilpatrick Stockton’s corporate, litigation and intellectual property attorneys provides knowledgeable and proactive guidance for companies at every stage of the business life cycle. For more, go to www.kilpatrickstockton.com.
About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP
With offices in Atlanta, GA, Jacksonville, FL, and Washington, D.C., Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP is home to more than 170 of the nation’s most innovative attorneys. SGR represents regional, national and international clients and provides counsel on matters in more than 50 practice areas. For more information on Smith, Gambrell & Russell, visit www.sgrlaw.com.
About Bright Horizons
Bright Horizons Family Solutions is the world’s leading provider of employer-sponsored childcare, backup care, early education and work/life solutions. The company operates more than 500 childcare and early education centers across the U.S., in Europe and in Canada and operates each of its centers according to the highest standards of excellence as defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Bright Horizons boasts the best record of accreditation from the NAEYC of any multi-site employer-sponsored workplace services provider in the country.
Media Contacts: Jenny Harden, 404-745-2495 or Jharden@kilpatrickstockton.com and Chuck Jones, 404-815-3655 or cjones@sgrlaw.com
