King & Spalding has set high-growth aspirations, increasing its head count rapidly firmwide and in offices such as New York and Washington, D.C. But in hometown Atlanta, the firm’s lawyer count has declined over the years, as the firm has invested in profitable practices in higher-rate markets outside the Southeast.

As King & Spalding has grown elsewhere, the firm has seen steady head count decline in its Atlanta office between 2018 and 2021, according to ALM data, resulting in Alston & Bird becoming the largest Georgia firm by head count for two years in a row, 2021 and 2022.