2 min read August 2022 — In an interview with Invest:, Managing Partner of legal firm Batson Nolan, Mark Nolan, discussed common concerns among clients, the growth of the region and his outlook for the legal sector of Nashville over the coming years. “There will be growth in every area of the practice of law,” said Nolan.
How does your commitment to the community translate into your leadership style and your priorities for Batson Nolan?
I grew up in Middle Tennessee so I have always been involved in a lot of different things, and that is just part of being in business. You must be involved in the community to get to know people. At Batson Nolan, we all try to be involved in various things ranging from civil and charitable organizations to serving on boards and fundraisings. This is a great way to get clients and make friends. We are not the biggest firm in the region, but we still want to have a regional presence and be involved in things that make a difference in our community, whether it is little league sports, a charity we are passionate about or military organizations. There are many opportunities for people to get involved.
What have been some of the highlights and achievements for Batson Nolan during the past year?
One of the biggest things for us is that we are in the process of moving. We sold the building we were occupying in Downtown Clarksville and are moving closer to our clients. A lot of them are business and business-related healthcare professionals, people that need estate and business planning, and for that purpose we don’t need to be downtown right across from the courthouse. We need to be somewhere that is easy and convenient for our clients. It will also grant us more access to Middle Tennessee. It is a change for the firm helping us secure our future.
What are some of the common concerns and recurring themes that your clients are bringing to the firm?
The most common concern is how to get good staff. Other than that, a lot of our clients ask us about changes in laws, tax and tax structure. Other common questions are in succession, for example, how to avoid having a significant portion of their wealth transferred to the government if they pass, or how to pass their business to other family members or business partners. We can be proficient in many areas of the law, but what our clients need is to be kept up to date with taxation and other business matters.
With the inflow of people coming to Nashville, what is the legal sector’s role in making sure the city grows responsibly?
Especially from the business perspective, we are looking at how we can service and help the business clients get set up and operate appropriately. We help them with everything from operating agreements all the way to letting them know if they must partner with an accounting firm or anything else. Our job is to partner with as many people as possible to get our clients ready, and that ensures us a yearly call to help them expand and do their legal work.
Our clients constantly need advice on how to hire employees, write policies, create HR manuals and much more. Our lawyers are here to help them operate their business. We see a lot of different businesses and can distinguish what works and what doesn’t; we can tell our clients what to do and answer their questions so they can keep moving forward.
What is your long-term outlook for the legal sector in Nashville?
There is legal work in every market, and there will be growth in every area of the practice of law. It will mean more business and more people doing estate planning or other types of work. People might get arrested, have accidents, divorce or any other thing that requires them to have a lawyer. All the growth that is happening in Nashville means that there will be more work all around. The market is expanding every day, and the biggest issue for all law firms is how to continue to serve clients in these growing markets. To distinguish ourselves we must keep up and expand.
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