Fox Rothschild’s Nov. 1 tie-up with North Carolina-based Smith Moore Leatherwood could mean significant change for Smith Moore’s 20-year-old Atlanta office, according to Fox’s chair, Mark Silow, and Atlanta administrative partner, G. Marshall Kent Jr.

Fox plans to expand the Atlanta office, which now has 18 lawyers, Silow said. By year-end, he said he hopes for it to reach “critical mass” of 25 to 30 lawyers and become full-service in the firm’s core disciplines.