Am Law 200 firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, continuing its expansion in the Southeast, has launched in Charleston, South Carolina, with four shareholders from Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein and Womble Bond Dickinson.

This marks the firm’s second Carolina office opening in less than a year, following its October 2021 announcement of its move into Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm also has had an office in Columbia, South Carolina since 2016.

The Memphis, Tennessee-founded firm is also eyeing other Southeast markets, as the firm scopes out opportunities to grow in areas that are not yet crowded with big firms.

“We’re really trying to fit in and grow within the region in areas where we could support bigger teams,” Baker Donelson chief growth officer Mark Carlson said in an interview.

The new Charleston shareholders include corporate attorney J. Ashley Cooper and employment attorney Jennifer Dunlap, both previously with Parker Poe, and health law attorneys Alissa Fleming and Catherine Wrenn, previously with Womble Bond Dickinson.

The firm said it has established temporary office space in Charleston but plans on launching a larger, permanent office in the coming months to accommodate further attorney additions.