Taylor English Set to Add Hospitality Team from Taylor, Feil, Harper & Lumsden P.C.

 D. Taylor Harper, Lisa F. Harper and Mitch Funk Joining the Firm November 1 

ATLANTA

(September 27, 2023) – Taylor English Duma LLP is pleased to announce that the core hospitality team from Taylor, Feil, Harper & Lumsden P.C. (TFH Legal) will be joining Taylor English’s Atlanta office. Although the two firms have already started working on joint matters for clients, the team from TFH legal will officially join Taylor English on November 1. Lisa F. Harper and D. Taylor Harper will join Taylor English as partners and Mitch Funk as an associate.   

“We are always looking for the best talent to expand our service offerings and are thrilled to bolster our Alcohol, Food & Regulated Products Group with these highly skilled and seasoned attorneys,” said Marc Taylor, chair of Taylor English.

The hospitality and alcohol practices at Taylor English and TFH Legal are two of the longest running and most well-respected practices of their kind in the southeast. While both firms service all tiers of the alcohol and hospitality industry, TFH Legal’s practice has been heavily concentrated in the regulatory/manufacturing and distributing side, while the majority of Taylor English’s practitioners have focused primarily on licensing, compliance, and litigation components for retail clients. Both firms see this move as a tremendous opportunity to further add depth and breadth of services for all of their clients.    

“TFH Legal has been a trailblazer in the alcoholic beverage world since 1979, with a specialized alcohol regulatory practice. Their background is a great fit for us,” says Michele Stumpe, who leads Taylor English’s Alcohol, Food & Regulated Products Group.  

The attorneys joining Taylor English from TFH Legal include:
 

• D. Taylor Harper, whose practice focuses primarily on regulatory compliance and litigation in the food and beverage industry with an emphasis on the beverage alcohol and cannabis sectors at the federal, state, and local levels. He assists clients in all phases of operations, including start-up, structuring and governance, licensing and permitting, franchise regulation, trade practices regulation, promotions regulation, brand and label regulation, trademark, taxation, importation, contracts, and related real estate, leasing, and landlord-tenant matters. Taylor is regularly asked by government officials, legislators, and trade organizations to explain the ins and outs of the alcohol beverage industry. He obtained his law degree and undergraduate degree from Georgia State University.
• Lisa F. Harper, who represents both businesses and individuals in a variety of practice areas. Prior to attending law school, she worked in the financial, software and food services industries. This experience allows Lisa to view legal issues from the clients’ perspective and to quickly spot issues and boil them down to what matters most. She assists clients in both litigation and transactional aspects of a wide spectrum of matters, many of which have been instrumental to TFH Legal’s hospitality clients, including for example, real estate, employment, finance and lending, equipment leasing, and business contracts. Lisa earned her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia.
• Mitch Funk, who focuses his practice on alcohol licensing and permitting. Funk has extensive experience in numerous areas of the beverage alcohol regulatory industry. He represents a wide range of clients in alcohol licensing matters, including breweries, distilleries, restaurants, brew pubs, hotels, and other areas of the hospitality industry. He earned his law degree from Georgia State University College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Auburn University.

“This was a strategic move solidifying our commitment to providing an all-encompassing hospitality and alcohol practice to our clients,” said Lisa Harper. “This is an exciting partnership that we have been planning for a long time.  We are thrilled to add another layer of knowledge to Taylor English’s existing practice, enhancing Taylor English’s reputation as a one-stop destination for clients navigating the intricate terrain of the beverage and regulated food products industry.”

For more information about Taylor English, visit taylorenglish.com.

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