National law firm Frost Brown Todd, with offices in Nashville, and California-based AlvaradoSmith are announcing their plan to merge.

The combination, the firms say, will add depth to FBT’s core practices and industry teams while expanding its geographic reach to key California legal markets.

It also allows AlvaradoSmith, a minority-owned firm with deep ties to the region’s business community, to broaden its reach and enhance the range of services available to its clients.

The addition of AlvaradoSmith’s 23 lawyers will give the combined firm more than 575 attorneys in 17 offices across nine states and Washington, D.C.

In California, the firm will operate under the name Frost Brown Todd AlvaradoSmith through 2023 and then fully absorb the FBT name. The combination will add offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco to FBT’s national network.

Vandy researchers test AI traffic calming

Researchers at Vanderbilt University and other schools around the country conducted an experiment in Nashville this week to try to decrease the number of stop-and-go traffic jams on a local interstate.

The new experiment deployed up to 100 cars equipped with adaptive cruise control technology along a 4-mile stretch of Interstate 24 during morning rush hour, according to a news release from Vanderbilt. That stretch is outfitted with hundreds of ultrahigh-definition cameras that will give researchers a digital model of how every vehicle behaves.

Previous research has shown that a small percentage of artificial intelligence-equipped vehicles can go a long way toward alleviating the stop-and-go dynamic that often leads to traffic jams with no obvious cause.

The experiment will help researchers determine whether the traffic improvements from the smaller experiment can be replicated on a much larger scale.

Bradley wins BofA pro bono award

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is the recipient of Bank of America’s 2022 Law Firm Pro Bono Award.

The annual award is given to a law firm that has demonstrates an exemplary commitment to pro bono service, particularly in partnership with Bank of America.

The committee noted Bradley’s consistent collaboration and diverse array of projects and clinics provided, as well as the firm’s support and partnership on a 9/11 Anniversary Wills for Heroes events this year. It also cited Bradley’s continued representation of Veterans Discharge Upgrade Program clients after the pro bono clinic.

Also at Bradley, the firm has launched Eye on Enforcement, a blog that focuses on the latest trends in government investigations and enforcement activity.

The blog will track the latest legal developments across a host of subjects, including the False Claims Act, pandemic-related enforcement matters, corporate criminal issues, health care fraud and abuse, government contracting, telehealth issues, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption matters, Department of Justice and other agency policies, cyber fraud and data privacy, the Anti-Kickback Statute, financial institution regulation and state attorneys general issues.

Information

Pinnacle opens first Nashville Yards office

Pinnacle Financial Partners has opened a new office in the Nashville Yards development. Dubbed the Nashville Innovation Center, the office sits at the base of Amazon Tower One with an address of 113 Platform Way North near its corner with Church Street.

This is Pinnacle’s 36th office in Middle Tennessee and first presence in Nashville Yards while the firm’s new headquarters is constructed across the street.

The Innovation Center is so named because of its focus on blending new technology with distinctive service. The office will serve as a testing ground for ways the firm can balance greater convenience through tech with a human touch.

To fulfill this mission, two full-time associates will be available to serve clients during business hours, including office leader Kelly Baucom and financial specialist Keleigh Carnes. They can answer questions, open accounts, take loan applications and meet with those who need or prefer working face to face with a banker.

The office is also equipped with two interactive teller machines that can handle a wide array of needs with or without support from a Pinnacle associate. The ITMs have a direct connection to all of Pinnacle’s banking systems, providing real-time access to all account information and supporting most transactions.

Phosphorus, Redapt partner on IoT security

Phosphorus, a leading provider of proactive and full-scope security for the extended “internet of things,” announced a partnership with Redapt. The information technology solutions provider will act as a value-added reseller for Phosphorus in the U.S. market.

The new partnership will see the two companies jointly delivering a new generation of xIoT security solutions in the U.S. to meet growing enterprise demand for xIoT attack surface management and remediation capabilities.

Phosphorus’s Enterprise xIoT Security Platform is the world’s first and only automated security platform capable of delivering xIoT Attack Surface Management, xIoT Hardening and Remediation, and xIoT Detection and Response across the full range of IoT, OT, and Network-connected devices – spanning both new and legacy devices.

This enables large organizations to scale xIoT technologies (which can amount to millions of devices per organization) without having to add any additional employees to secure them.

Cleanup events encouraged statewide

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is encouraging residents to participate in cleanup events throughout the state this month.

So far more than 8 tons of trash has been collected in the department’s No Trash November initiative.

The University of Tennessee teamed with the department’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee campaign for a cleanup event Tuesday morning. Participants met at the Torchbearer statue on the Knoxville campus where they received cleanup supplies and safety instruction.

The department said last year’s inaugural campaign included more than 1,000 volunteers who collected more than 23 tons of litter from the state’s roadways.

HCA makes list of best employers for veterans

HCA Healthcare, Inc. has again been recognized by Military Times as one of the country’s best employers based on the company’s efforts to recruit, retain and support current and former service members, military spouses and military caregivers.

Since 2012, HCA Healthcare has hired more than 40,000 veterans, active-duty personnel and military spouses.

The Military Times’ 2022 Best for Vets: Employers ranking is an editorially independent, highly respected analysis of the policies and practices that make companies an attractive place to work for both current employees and future job seekers within the military community.

Ag enterprise fund accepting applications

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is accepting applications from agricultural, food, and forestry businesses to receive cost-share funding through its Agricultural Enterprise Fund program.

Grants are awarded to starting or expanding businesses in Tennessee that demonstrate a strong potential for impact on local farm income, access to markets, increased capacity or agricultural innovation.

In total, the Agricultural Enterprise Fund has awarded nearly $7.5 million in funding to Tennessee businesses, leading to more than $104 million in private investments from agriculture and forest-product business development since the program’s launch in 2017.

Application. Deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 5.