ATLANTA (January 8, 2001) — Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP one of Atlanta’s leading law firms, today announced that it has acquired the McDowell Law Group, a growing Atlanta firm that provides specialized services for the health care industry.

This significant addition will effectively double the size of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Health Care Practice Group and allow the Firm to further serve the sophisticated needs of today’s health care companies, particularly in the areas concerning regulatory, fraud and abuse, consolidation, compliance, e-health and restructuring issues.

“Our two primary methods for growing the Firm are acquisitions and service expansion and this strategic move achieves both of those,” said Steve Forte, managing partner of Smith, Gambrell & Russell. “The growth coupled with the maturation of the Southeast’s population has created an increased demand for legal guidance in health care.

“Also, increased regulatory and compliance issues have driven the requirements for enhanced and more specialized legal counseling. By bringing the McDowell Law Group into the Firm, we have significantly increased our ability to meet those growing demands.”

The attorneys of the McDowell Law Group bring substantial experience with respect to health care issues, corporate transactions, nonprofit organizations, technology and securities matters. Clients include health care providers and health systems from across the nation. The McDowell Law Group attorneys provide guidance on integration strategies, transactions, compliance issues, antitrust, tax exemption issues, fraud and abuse guidelines, managed care issues and the broad range of legal and regulatory issues impacting health care providers.

Tim McDowell, founder of the McDowell Law Group, will lead Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s expanded Health Care Practice Group. His practice will continue to involve the representation of a broad range of general corporate and health care providers, including technology and software companies, hospitals, health care systems, physician practices, insurers and long-term care and post-acute providers.

“The McDowell Law Group has developed a national health care practice and we’ve watched the needs of the industry increase dramatically in recent years,” McDowell said. “We believe the resources of Smith, Gambrell & Russell will allow the Health Care Practice Group to provide comprehensive legal services for the expanding and increasingly complex health care industry. In addition, Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s other offices in the growing markets of Jacksonville, Florida and Washington, D.C. will provide a strategic marketplace presence we have not had before.”

The new members of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Health Care Practice Group will remain focused on serving the needs of their existing client base and expanding the scope of Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s current health care practice as they transition to the Atlanta office in January.