Alston & Bird has bolstered its finance practice, adding partner Joseph McKernan in New York and counsel Maria Merritt in Atlanta.

McKernan joins the firm after serving the last 10 years as a partner at Hodgson Russ, while Merritt joins after serving the last 11 months as an associate at McGuireWoods. Both McKernan and Merritt started at Alston this month after leaving their previous firms in late May.