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	MMM represented Noble Investment Group in its acquisition of the Hyatt Regency Valencia and Santa Clarita Conference Center in Los Angeles County, California. Tom Gryboski and Lisa Scheid advised the privately-owned firm in the transaction. The hotel and conference center are located in a planned community in the vibrant Santa Clarita Valley, which CNN/Money magazine ranks among the top 25 places to live in the U.S. The 244-room first class hotel is integrated into the approximately one million square foot mixed-use development, Valencia Town Center. This is the company's twelfth acquisition in the Noble Hospitality Fund, LLC, a fully discretionary private equity real estate fund. MMM also advised Noble in the establishment of that fund. The American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region, has chosen MMM Partner Heath Linsky to serve on its Board of Directors for 2008-2009. Mr. Linsky is a partner in the firm's corporate, securities and real estate capital markets groups. The Chamber is a bi-national business association with the mission of increasing economic development by fostering understanding, cooperation, and business relationships between Israel and the Southeast. It has been involved in more than $950 million in completed transactions since its founding in 1992. More than 70 Israeli companies have U.S. or regional headquarters in the Southeast. MMM's Ed Hirsch and Lou Barbieri represented Intersouth Partners in the recent $5 million Series A financing round for Beeco, Inc. Beeco is a semiconductor company created with technology developed at RTI International, which led the funding round along with Intersouth. The financing will be used to launch the company, expand the management team and continue product development. MMM's Ed Hirsch, Scott Allen and Chris Maxwell represented Atlanta-based Vitrue, Inc. in its acquisition of New York- based social media marketer UGENmedia. Vitrue provides industry leading expertise to Fortune 1000 brands, agencies and publishers to engage consumers in social media promotional programs, branded communities and distributed applications, creating powerful two-way dialogues. Together, Vitrue and UGENmedia provide a global platform that connects social media sites with brands and agencies to tap into the power of crowds to create authentic content and measurable experiences. Vitrue was founded in 2006. John Yates, who Chairs MMM's Technology practice, has been re-appointed to another three year term on the board of the Technology Association of Georgia, a large influential technology trade association. Yates is also a co-founder of the group. Grant Collingsworth is advising Visiprise, Inc. in negotiations for the Alpharetta company's acquisition by SAP AG (NYSE: SAP). SAP announced its intention to acquire Visiprise on June 17. SAP is the world's leading provider of business software, offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. Visiprise is a privately-held, leading provider of manufacturing execution software solutions delivering integrated manufacturing operations to companies of all sizes. It serves more than 60 industry-leading, global customers including many existing SAP customers in discrete manufacturing industries including high tech, aerospace and defense, automotive and medical device. With the addition of Visiprise, SAP will deliver on its "Perfect Plant" strategy to bring together core SAP solutions with the software, hardware and services offerings of ecosystem partners to drive innovation for discrete manufacturers. MMM partner Ed Hirsch advised Tampa-based Persystent Technologies in raising an $11.6 million round of funding. Persystent says its automatic PC repair and high-speed imaging solution "transforms today's computers from their current state of unpredictability and vulnerability to a new solid state of continuous computing." Persystent CEO Joe Loughry says the funding will help build a scalable and sustainable business with greater emphasis on marketing, sales and continued product development. Persystent's clients include the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and the Pentagon as well as several private businesses. Investors included ABS Ventures of Boston and Valhalla Partners of Virginia, with participation from existing investors. Morris, Manning & Martin assisted green-tech client, SmartSynch, the smart meter startup, in raising an additional $20 million in financing, the latest funding coming from Credit Suisse. This brings the total financing for the Jackson, Mississippi-based startup to $80 million. The MMM team includes partners Carl Erhardt and John Yates, and associate Scott Allen. River Cities Capital Funds led a recent Series A financing round for EndoChoice Inc., an emerging leader in distribution and development of GI Endoscopy medical devices. Ed Hirsch, Scott Allen and Chris Maxwell represented River Cities in the transaction. EndoChoice will use the funds for general working capital purposes to accelerate its growth in the GI Endoscopy industry. River Cities manages $390 million in four private equity funds that focus primarily on providing expansion-stage equity to healthcare and information technology companies. MMM Partner Grant Collingsworth represented FTRANS, Corp. in a recent financing round. Greenhill SAVP announced May 1 that it led the $7.5 million financing round with an investment of $2.5 million. It was joined by existing institutional investors Total Technology Ventures and New Atlantic Ventures (formerly Draper Atlantic). FTRANS (www.ftrans.net) delivers a web-based service that integrates and processes transactions between business to business sellers, buyers and banks. MMM represented Silverpop, a leading provider of on-demand marketing technology, in a recent $15 million funding round. Partner Grant Collingsworth and associate Scott Allen represented Silverpop. The funds are earmarked for international expansion, R&D acceleration and to fund additional acquisitions to round out the company's on-demand marketing suite. The deal caps a fourth consecutive year of record-breaking revenue and profits for Silverpop. The firm has been recognized by Deloitte as the second fastest-growing technology company in Georgia. Silverpop is the only company consistently named by Jupiter Research as one of the top two enterprise-oriented email service providers each of the last four years. MMM represented Noble Investment Group in two recent hotel acquisitions. Tom Gryboski and Kevin Wright primarily worked on the deals. In March Noble acquired the 19-story hotel, 295-room Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza Hotel. Noble announced the $52.8 million transaction and $8.8 million renovation on March 27. Then on April 10, Noble announced it had acquired the 126-room AmeriSuites Hotel in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg from an affiliate of VK Development for an undisclosed amount. It will undergo a comprehensive $5 million dollar repositioning, then re-open later this year as the Hyatt Place Chicago/Schaumburg. Noble is a leading sponsor of private equity real estate funds and an integrated lodging and hospitality operating and development organization. The Chicago acquisition represents the eleventh acquisition through Noble Hospitality Fund, LLC. Last year MMM represented the fund in connection with the private placement of $310 million of limited liability company interests. Partner Tacita Mikel Scott will speak at the National Employment Law Council's Annual Conference on Friday, May 2, 2008 in Atlanta. Her topic will be Managing the Contingent Workforce. She will serve on the panel along with attorneys for prominent companies including Toyota and Colgate Palmolive. The NELC is composed of minority outside counsel and in-house attorneys who emphasize representation of management in labor and employment law. Partners Brooks Binder and Cass Brewer will speak at the Georgia Nonprofit Summit 2008 on May 5 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. The event is the Southeast's largest gathering of nonprofit executives, board members, foundation staff, government decision-makers, and corporate leaders. Insurance Group co-chair Skip Myers has been quoted in a number of publications recently including Rough Notes, Risk Retention Reporter and Business Insurance about California's failed efforts to block an out of state risk retention group from doing business there. In addition to his work at MMM, Myers is also general counsel for the National Risk Retention Association. March 27, 2008's Daily Report has a front page story and photo about MMM's work on the Wood Partners deal. It also mentions Gerald Pouncey's work on behalf of Jacoby development's huge new Hapeville project. John F. Sandy Smith is mentioned in the March 26, 2008 issue of the Fulton County Daily Report for his appointment as founding chairman of the external advisory board of Stanford University's Institute for Research in Social Sciences. On March 12, 2008 Shelley E. Nixon presented a speech entitled, "Planning for the Care of our Furry Friends: Pet Trusts and Other Alternatives" at the Atlanta Bar Association's March Estate Planning & Probate Section Breakfast. March 12, 2008 - Congratulations to Dr. Tim Xia, Dr. Peter Zhou, Dr. John Liu, Sylvia Tsai, Marianne Arrington, Michelle Ellis and Jane Smith for their successful work helping the University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation patent ground-breaking new technology involving TiO2-based nanowires. Tim and his team have been working with the University since 2006 to prepare and file eight US and PCT patent applications. The team is currently preparing several more patents for the University. The Daily Report used a photo of Mac Hunter, Brooks Binder and Lt. Gov. Cagle at the ROI of Giving in its After Hours online feature on February 25, 2008. Skip Myers is quoted in the February 25, 2008 issue of Business Insurance magazine about the IRS' decision to withdraw a proposed rule that would have stripped hundreds of captives of an important tax break. The Savannah Morning news ran an item February 11, 2007 quoting James Johnson in a story about a dispute between Merritt at Whitemarsh Island condo unit owners and the developer. Jeffrey Schulte is quoted in a February 4, 2008 article about the China summit on GlobalAtlanta. February 1, 2007's Atlanta Business Chronicle printed three photos from the China summit. View MMM's photo gallery. Skip Myers is quoted about an IRS revenue ruling on captives in an article written by ERM consultant Michael Moody for January 22, 2007's article in The Rough Notes Company, Inc. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran another story on the China summit on January 22, 2008, entitled, "Georgia goes to source for Chinese investment." An article in the January 20, 2008 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution entitled, "Chinese given lessons on safety laws in U.S." quotes Jeffrey Schulte and Tim Xia. The January 17, 2008 Daily Report Deal Watch mentions Heath D. Linsky's work with Beecher Carlson. January 15, 2008 - Bryan Harrison is quoted on Wired.com about the potential for an anti-trust suit against Google. December 15, 2007 - Newsday quotes Ross about Arrow Electronic admitting that an employee had selectively released information on its quarterly earnings. On December 10, 2007 the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Lew Hassett and Skip Myers' recent inclusion in the "Guide to the World's Leading Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyers." The Daily Report Deal Watch for December 10, 2007 mentioned Sandy Smith's Concentrics Hospitality Solutions deal. The December 10, 2007 Atlanta Journal-Constitution mentions Sandy Smith in the Social Butterfly column for his efforts on behalf of Rabun Gap Nacoochee School. The December 6, 2007 Atlanta Journal-Constitution mentions Mac Hunter in a story about Bishop Eddie Long refusing to turn over his records to Sen. Charles Grassley. Skip Myers is quoted in a December 4, 2007 article in Professional Insurance Agents entitled, "PIA Counsel Myers Tells NCOIL Panel Compacts Are Best." John Yates is named one of Tech Journal South’s Top 25 people in the tech community, November 2007. November 15, 2007's Daily Report Deal Watch ran stories on David Calhoun and Heath Linsky's work with Coalition America as well as Grant Collingsworth's work with TechDiscovery. November 6, 2007 - A Professional Insurance Agents publication mentions Skip Myers’ participation in a recent panel on interstate compacts. Scott Allen is quoted in a November 2, 2007 article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle entitled, "Business strategy essential in determining value." John Yates is quoted in two November 2, 2007 articles in the Atlanta Business Chronicle entitled, "Money Book: Stepping it Up, Atlanta startups making gains in attracting investors" and "'How much?' determines strategy in fundraising." On November 1, 2007 Forbes.com quotes Jack Todd on the new patent rules that almost went into effect that week. The Atlanta Business Chronicle's edition the week of October 26 mentions the hiring of Matthew M. Brohm, Elizabeth Ballard, John Lockett, Stephen M. Vaughn, and Lisa Wolgast. They also mention the 2007 Chambers partners Chuck Beaudrot, Jeanna Brannon, David Cranshaw, Gerald Pouncey and John Yates. The October 30, 2007 Daily Deal Ed Hirsch's legal work with Vitrue. The October 25, 2007 Daily Report ran an item about the Marketworks deal, advised by David M. Calhoun and Amanda S. McHugh. The October 24, 2007 Daily Report ran an item about MMM's new hires - Stacey D. Kalberman, Alison R. Solomon, Lisa M. Wolgast, Justin Smith, Cindy Chang, Nathaniel A. Barnes Jr., Matthew M. Brohm, Christopher W. Glass, Haywood S. Lowry Jr., Jakob Kohl, Chris E. Maxwell, Michael D. Sayegh, Daniel E. Sineway, and Stephen Vaughn. National Underwriter's October 19, 2007 issue quotes Skip Myers about Kansas' efforts to regulate RRGs. The October 19, 2007 Atlanta Business Chronicle ran an item about the attorneys who joined the corporate group - Natasha Bell, Chris Maxwell, Courtney Ren and Justin Smith. Jason D'Cruz appeared on GPTV's Georgia Business October 22, 2007 to discuss legal employment issues for small businesses. October 18, 2007's Daily Report Deal Watch mentions Bernard Coleman's Caraustar deal and Frederick Boyd's Bank of America transaction. October 16, 2007's National Underwriter reports that Skip Myers was instrumental in breaking a NAIC task force logjam over RRG regulations. Business Insurance's October 15, 2007 issue quotes Skip Myers on a controversy concerning a tax deduction for captives. October 11, 2007's Daily Report Deal Watch mentions David Calhoun's recent deal with B2B Workforce Inc, and Ed Hirsch's recent deal with Zavata Inc. The October 10, 2007 Triangle Business Journal reports that Keith Burns was nominated to serve on the Greater Durham Chamber's Board. NY Newsday's October 10, 2007 edition quotes Ross about CA Inc.'s failed attempt to pursue the fortune of its founder. The October 8, 2007 National Underwriter quotes Skip about a controversial new IRS regulation that would reverse a longstanding tax benefit for captive insurance operations. On September 28, 2007, Skip Myers was quoted in National Underwriter on state regulation of RRGs. Skip Myers was quoted in the August 2007 Risk Retention Reporter in an article entitled, "NAIC RRG Task Force Progresses on Credit for Reinsurance Issue." The Atlanta Business Chronicle quotes John Yates in September 7, 2007's edition in a story about the new Venture Atlanta conference. An AeA release posted on TechLINKS September 11, 2007, as well as a story on WRAL Local Tech Wire September 12 notes that John Yates will be honored as a tech legend at the upcoming Spirit of Endeavour awards. The Atlanta Business Chronicle ran an item the week of September 7, 2007 about Bill Winter representing video game companies. The August 30, 2007 Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a story about an interesting patent infringement case Bryan Harrison is working on involving a "hybrid" tennis court design. Skip Myers is quoted in August 28, 2007's BestWire article entitled, "Confusion in Oklahoma Over Risk Retention Group Assessments." The August 23, 2007 NY Newsday quotes Ross Albert about CA Inc.'s ironic new e-mail archiving software. The Daily Report ran an item on August 17, 2007 about the MailExpress deal, advised by John C. Yates and Scott L. Allen. The August 13, 2007 National Underwriter quotes Skip Myers about confidentiality concerns in Massachusetts related to RRGs. August 10, 2007's Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Doug Selph's election to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Connexions, the newsletter for the Atlanta CEO Council, published an article on Web 2.0 by Paul Arne and Sandra Gardiner. In their July 2007 issue, Business to Business magazine ran a blurb about MMM's legal project management system. The Daily Report covered the nCircle/Cambia deal, advised by Carl J. Erhardt and Melissa S. Joyal on July 26, 2007. The Daily Report's July 25 issue notes that Doug Selph was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Many news sites covered the General Protecht win, including Global Atlanta, Zhejiang Online, Xinhua online, the Peoples Daily, IP Protection in China, IP Dragon and CCTV. Also, the Daily Report interviewed Bryan Harrison on July 23, 2007. The Class Action Law Monitor ran a piece about Don Loft and Ross Albert's work in the McDonalds case, July 15, 2007. The Atlanta Business Chronicle ran an item with a photo about Cass' appointment to the ABA subcommittee, July 6, 2007. On June 30, 2007, Social Computing magazine ran an item about the firm's new Web 2.0 legal group, led by Paul Arne and Sandra Gardiner. The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin ran a story about the appellate court upholding a trial judge's denial of class certification of a lawsuit against Home Depot, represented by John P. MacNaughton, David A. Rabin and Robert P. Alpert in Atlanta. John Yates is quoted in June 30th's Atlanta Business Chronicle about Microsoft's acquisition of Stratature. Paul Arne and Sandra Gardiner's efforts to educate businesses about the legal implications of consumer-generated media are mentioned in June 22nd's Atlanta Business Chronicle. Maclean's, Canada's equivalent to Time magazine, features Ross Albert prominently in a roundtable about the Conrad Black case. Don Loft and Grant Collingsworth are featured in a piece about Legal Project Management in June 15's issue of the Atlanta Business Chronicle An article by Steve Combs and John Yates appears in the June issue of Computer and Internet Lawyer. John Yates is quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle's special technology section, June 8th, 2007. May 25th's edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle includes a photo of Tim Xia and Jeff Schulte with client Wusheng Chen at the May 11 announcement of Chen's plant coming to Georgia. MMM partner John Yates was quoted in May 7's Daily Report about tech jobs in Georgia. The Daily Report mentions partner Frank W. DeBorde in his advising role with Jocks & Jills' creditor Georgian Bank. The April Risk Retention Reporter mentioned Skip Myers' participation in an Arizona captives conference. Skip Myers is mentioned in March 2007's Risk Retention Reporter for his work as special deputy commissioner for a troubled RRG. The Durham Herald-Sun mentions Keith Burns' appointment to the Chamber of Commerce Board in March of 2007. The Daily Deal mentions Heath Linsky and Carl Erhardt in their March 2007 story on Ericsson's successful bid for Tandberg. Lawrence H. Kunin is quoted in a March 2007 Daily Report story on the Duane Morris conflict. Matt Sours Receives Lexis Nexis Peer Review Rating in February 2007 Skip Myers was quoted in a February 2007 Business Insurance article on RRGs Dan Mohan is quoted in a Cincinnati Enquirer article about the proposed merger of 2 area hospitals. MMM Partner Louise Wells is recognized as one of the notable women attorneys at top Atlanta law firms by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, December 2006 Partner Louise Wells was featured as a Legal Eagle in the October edition of Atlanta Woman magazine. Partner Becky Patrick's article on the lessons learned in the aftermath of the Hewlitt-Packard debacle is featured in the October 2006 issue of The Privacy & Data Protection Legal Reporter. Joe Holahan's article on laptop theft is featured in the October issue of National Underwriter. Partner Shawn Lanier's work on a financing contract for a new Atlantic Station office tower was mentioned in the Fulton County Daily report. Warren Wills is featured in the Fulton County Daily Report on his win for Ring Power. Partner Lauren Burnham Prevost is quoted in GlobeSt.com Debt & Equity Report. Managing partner Bob Saudek and partner Tim Xia's advisement of General Protecht Group Inc. is featured in the Fulton County Daily Report, as well as partner Tom Gryboski's work with Noble Investment Group. The Atlanta Business Chronicle featured Felicia LeRay's appointment to the Commission on Access and Fairness in the Courts. Attorney Felicia LeRay was featured in The Atlanta Daily World on her appointment to the Commission on Access & Fairness in the Courts. Partner Larry Shackelford is mentioned in the Fulton County Daily Report regarding Flag Financial Corporation. Partner Chuck Beaudrot is quoted extensively and attorney Scot Burton is mentioned in this week's edition of Debt & Equity Journal in a story about buying real estate with IRA funds. Partner Frank Bazzel is mentioned in the August 10 issue of the Daily Report for his work with Wood Partners LLC on its joint venture with The Trump Organization. John Yates was quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about Bert Ellis' comeback. Skip Myers is quoted in Risk Management about controversy over RRGs in Washington State. Keith Burns volunteer work with HBADOC was featured in the July edition of Rooflines. Larry Shackelford was featured in the Fulton County Daily Report regarding his advisement of stock-sale registration for Internet Commerce Corp. Ross Albert comments on Merrill's new 529 offerings in the July 10 issue of Investment News. The July 14 Atlanta Business Chronicle noted that the "Chambers USA America's Leading Lawyers for Business" for this year ranked MMM Partners among the best in the state. The July 5 Daily Report recognized the 50 people from MMM who participated in Service Juris day. The Atlanta Business Chronicle quoted David Cranshaw about the new Bar Association head on May 19. Ross Albert was quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constitution regarding Enron. The NY Journal News quoted Partner Chuck Beaudrot on an interesting aspect of a deal involving Donald Trump. Tom Gryboski was quoted by Commercial Property News about a recent Hotel Investment Seminar. Business to Business magazine reported that Stanford University presented Sandy Smith the Stanford Medal. John Yates was quoted in the April 28 Atlanta Business Chronicle in a venture investment article. Tim Xia has been mentioned By the Nashville Post regarding patent work for the cutting edge technology developed at Vanderbilt. Ward Bondurant was quoted in Insurance and Finance Investment on the new NAIC rules. Grant Collingsworth's whitepaper on legal project management is featured in the April issue GC South. Tiane Reid was featured in the Fulton County Daily Report regarding BellSouth. John C. Yates was quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about the future of "IM" companies. Shawn Lanier was mentioned in the Atlanta Business Chronicle regarding the Best in Real Estate. Andrew C. Williams was mentioned in the Atlanta Business Chronicle regarding the Best in Real Estate. Robert H. "Skip" Myers was quoted in Business Insurance magazine about a proposal to license RRGs in Mississippi. Ross Albert was quoted by Agence France Press on March 5, 2006 regarding Enron. John Yates is quoted in The Atlanta Business Chronicle on Quickparts.com's recent round of funding. Robert Saudek and John Yates are included in the September 30 issue of the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Who's Who in Law. Ross Albert is quoted in the September 30 issue of Journal News on the guilty plea by the founder of the Bayou Group hedge funds. Skip Myers is quoted in the September 26 issue of National Underwriter Property & Casualty Risk & Benefits Management Edition on RRGs. John Yates is quoted in the September 23 issue of the Atlanta Business Chronicle about Prime Revenue and the Atlanta financial services market. Keith Burns wrote an article in the September issue of the Home Builder's Association newsletter. Keith Burns is featured in the December issue of The Durham Herald-Sun and Raleigh News-Observer about joining the firm. Paul Arne featured in August issues of Reuters, Reuters UK, eWeek and PC magazine discussing blog case law. Ross Albert is quoted and featured in the August 15 edition of Investment News in SIA draws fire for trying to delay the Merrill rule; Bureaucracy said to trump investor needs. Tim Xia is quoted and featured in the August 10 edition of the Daily Report in a special report on the failed Cnooc-Unocal Oil Deal. Tom Player is quoted in the July issue of BI Industry Focus on contingent commissions. Larry Street is quoted in the July 15 issue of the Atlanta Business Chronicle about blog-related lawsuits. Ross Albert is quoted in the May 25 Atlanta Journal Constitution on the topic of HealthSouth and Richard Scrushy. Ross Albert comments on conflicts of interest in the May 15 issue of Baltimore Sun. Bruce Wynn is quoted in the May 12 edition of the Wall St. Journal on pensions. Tom Player and Tony Roehl co-authored the May issue of Business to Business on TRIA. Doug Spear was mentioned in the May 3 Daily Deal as Orchestria's counsel. James "Mackiel" Hunter was featured in the April 22 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle as a mentor of the 100 Black Men of America. Rick Haury and Bob Threlkheld are featured in the April 22 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Who's Who in Healthcare. Ross Albert is quoted in the April 25 edition of Investment News about the WorldCom settlement's impact on mutual funds. Skip Myers is quoted in the March 14 edition of Business Insurance on the topic of electing vs. appointing Insurance Commissioners. Gerald Pouncey, Jeanna Brannon, and Chuck Beaudrot are named by Chamber's USA 2005 as being among the nation's top attorneys. Skip Myers is featured in BestWire about the regulation of RRGs. Ross Albert is quoted in the Feb. 25 edition of MSN Money on the Martha Stewart trial. Bruce Wynn is quoted in a Feb. 17 Dow Jones News Service story. Bruce Wynn is quoted in the Feb. 8 issue of Wall Street Journal about deferred compensation laws. John Yates is featured in the December 31 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle discussing offshore hiring and security. Skip Myers is quoted in the December issue of Insurance Networking & Data Management about e-mail discovery. Keith Burns is featured in the December issue of The Durham Herald-Sun and Raleigh News-Observer about joining the firm.