Maynard Cooper & Gale, a Birmingham, Alabama-based firm that broke into the Bay Area legal market four years ago this month, is now hoping to bring a little bit of Silicon Valley back to the South.

The 222-lawyer firm recently announced the formation of Maynard Venture Partners, a multidisciplinary team of more than 40 lawyers and other advisers who will focus on representing emerging growth companies and investors in core entrepreneurial markets.