BusinessTN

With government incentives more available -- and, some would contend, more needed -- during the nation's economic slump, Tennessee's legal community is attempting to attract clients via the stimulus bill and to assist current clients wanting to tap into the stimulus money.

James Weaver, an attorney with the Nashville office of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, says the firm is working with "several clients" both interested in and involved in projects using funds from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"Identifying opportunities and understanding the new rules associated with these opportunities are our our areas of primary focus," Weaver says.

"The projects funded under the act are by no means 'business as usual,' as they contain numerous reporting and record-keeping requirements not normally found in government programs," Weaver adds. "The cost of noncompliance is very high, both administratively and, more importantly, from a public relations standpoint. As a result, our clients are hypersensitive to understanding the rules and the reporting obligations."

Howard Levine, the Chattanooga-based chairman of Miller & Martin (which also has an office in Nashville), agrees, noting the firm is taking a specific thrust in addressing the challenges of helping clients as they navigate the complex web of procuring stimulus money.

"We are focused on serving clients in industries including transportation and logistics, sustainability, health care, utilities and financial institutions," Levine says. "We've already been involved in the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) funds request process and anticipate that many clients in the industries listed above might need help identifying and applying for funds. We plan to be there to assist them in making the decisions that make business sense for their operations."

Levine says firms with infrastructure and/or government contracts expertise, and those with focuses on, for example, the energy or health care sectors, may see an uptick in work.

Earlier this year, Miller & Martin launched its Sustainable Practice Group, which could be impacted by the stimulus plan, Levine says.

"It made sense to formalize a cross-disciplinary group because we were already counseling clients on a wide range of matters including energy conservation incentives and alternative energy initiatives," he says. "Many of our clients may be eligible to apply for various tax credits and incentives under the stimulus package, and our focus on the needs of various sectors that fall under the umbrella of sustainability will benefit clients as they evaluate their options."

Waller Lansden's Weaver says the firm is leveraging existing practice areas to help its clients (and the attorneys themselves) maximize their understanding of procuring stimulus monies.

"For instance, it is not unusual to have our Finance and Restructuring practice involved with the regulatory and government affairs lawyers on projects like these," Weaver explains. "The pace and complexity of some of the agreements lend themselves to a team approach."

Bob Brewer, a member of both Bass, Berry & Sims' Intellectual Property and Technology, and its Corporate and Securities practice areas, says "client education" is the first step in the early stages of stimulus funding implementation. Regarding stimulus monies procurement and usage, he is focused on working with clients in the health care information technology sector.

"By educating our clients regarding the provisions of the stimulus act, the timeline for release of additional information and the opportunities to get involved, we can position our clients to engage in public comment opportunities surrounding health care funding implementation, to develop business strategies to take advantage of funding opportunities, and to promptly and successfully apply for any applicable funding as it becomes available," Brewer says.

Brewer says an area of strong interest for his firm (which operates offices in Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville) is the push for the adoption of electronic health records. He says projections call for approximately $50 billion of federal stimulus funding to be devoted to this area during the next five years.

"To better serve our clients in the health care technology field, we have drawn upon two significant strengths of the firm to establish a Healthcare Information Technology Group," Brewer says. "By combining the experience and insight of our Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group and [our] Healthcare Practice Group, we provide clients with a comprehensive approach to stimulus funding opportunities in the field of health care information technology."

Regarding stimulus monies, those interviewed for this story say attracting clients is fairly straightforward. The strategy involves understanding the legal considerations and changes associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"Our client surveys have informed us that clients and potential clients crave timely information," Waller Landsen’s Weaver says of keeping clients posted.

Miller & Martin’s Levine says his firm is "staying on top of the changes in the law" as the stimulus effort unfolds.

The Memphis office of Burch, Porter & Johnson has focused its federal stimulus dollars efforts in assisting clients after they have utilized their own resources to identify and procure the funds, according to Nathan Bicks, a member of the firm's management committee.

"The primary effect has been to spur legal work for us when they enter into contracts to expend funds that they have received," Bicks says of BP&J clients. "Several of our governmental clients have called upon us to work with them for projects; but, frankly, they have their own resources to identify the various federal grant programs that serve as source of dollars, and they look to us to help them structure the deals as they use the funds."

Looking ahead, Bass Berry's Brewer says the stimulus program provides "an exciting opportunity" to assist clients in forecasting and strategic planning.

"At a time when the legal community has watched some clients search for new and better opportunities in an unfamiliar economic landscape," Brewer says, "the stimulus funding allows us to provide valuable guidance regarding probable areas of growth over the next few years."