Atlanta’s Troutman Sanders has made a dramatic New York debut after securing the entire 91-lawyer Manhattan office of Texan Jenkens & Gilchrist.

As reported by New York Lawyer on Friday (4 March), Jenkens & Gilchrist acquired the office just four years ago in 2001, following its merger with New York’s Parker Chapin, a firm regarded for its mid-market corporate and securities work.

The deal will see the entire 91-lawyer team move over to Troutman Sanders, effective from April 1.

Jenkens & Gilchrist has been mired in controversy arising from its Chicago-based tax shelter practice.

The firm has already agreed to pay $82m to settle a class action by tax shelter clients who, on Jenkens & Gilchrist’s advice, used instruments that were later declared illegal by the Inland Revenue Service.