Taylor English Duma LLP is pleased to announce the expansion of its outside general counsel services with the addition of Allen Nelson, a former general counsel with experience in both public and private companies, who joins as counsel in the firm’s Corporate Practice. Nelson joins four dozen Taylor English attorneys who also have experience as general counsels or senior in-house attorneys. This practice focuses on former in-house lawyers who provide top-notch legal services grounded on their substantial experience and their business savvy.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome Allen to the firm,” said Marc Taylor, a founding partner of Taylor English. “His breadth of in-house knowledge further enhances the outside general counsel services we offer our clients. Along with Allen, our dozens of attorneys with in-house experience bring a business acumen that fosters a pragmatic approach to legal services that our clients desire.”
 
With a quarter of the firm made up of attorneys with general counsel experience within private companies ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies, Nelson’s experience serving as General Counsel in both a public company and a private company will further strengthen the capabilities of the team.
 
Nelson was the General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer of Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRD.A and CRD.B). Within this role, he advised the company’s Board of Directors and senior management on a wide variety of legal and business issues including mergers and acquisitions (for which he was responsible for dozens of transactions); ethics and compliance; litigation matters; government investigations and negotiations; and the legal and compliance aspects of Crawford's status as a NYSE-listed company among many other areas of law and business. Nelson previously served as Chief Compliance Counsel for BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS). He most recently served at the General Counsel of 8 Rivers Capital, LLC, an early stage company in the zero carbon emission energy space.
 
“I am looking forward to working with my colleagues within a variety of industries to continue to grow our services for outside general counsel,” said Nelson. “With the firm’s resources, we are building a unique model to provide legal resources to companies that need legal services but may not be able – or may not want ­-- to have a full-service legal department within their own company.”
 
Further adding to his knowledge, Nelson currently teaches an upper-level course on in-house practice at Duke University School of Law as a senior lecturing fellow. He is also a member of a number of professional organizations, including the State Bar of Georgia, American Bar Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Outside of these professional organizations, he currently serves on the board of the Atlanta Ballet, the global Board of Directors of the Duke University Alumni Association, as well as the Board of Atlanta Ballet, and previously served on the board of The Woodruff Arts Center and the Emory University Board of Visitors.
 
Nelson earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University.