George Crawford, Business Services Group, Assistant Practice Group Leader, Butler Snow LLP
George Crawford, Business Services Group and Assistant Practice Group Leader at Butler Snow LLP, spoke with Invest: about utilizing company culture in an evolving business landscape. “Our collaborative culture will focus on bringing together expertise in technology and healthcare to help us grow and find more opportunities,” he said.
Reflecting on the past year, what have been the most significant milestones or achievements for Butler Snow?
From a logistical standpoint, moving out of downtown to Germantown has been a great thing because it has brought us together more. We had a lot of space before, and we cut it by at least a third. We are now focused on collaborative spacing. Being closer to each other has brought a lot more togetherness, which leads to better collaboration, which, in turn, helps our clients. The legal industry is changing every day. AI is coming in hot and affecting what we do on a daily basis. AI will help us be more efficient and help the clients we serve.
How is technology, particularly AI and digital transformation, changing legal services, and how is your firm leveraging these advancements?
One of the products we have is geared toward the legal industry, and we can do a thorough and clear analysis of a data room for a transaction in substantially less time. It saves a lot of time and creates more efficiencies than we had before. On the transaction side, it’s getting closer as far as developing documentation for paper transactions. It’s not quite there yet, but it’s getting stronger. It’s going to help build a transaction document very quickly and easily. I remember when we had fax machines. The internet changed everything when I got out of law school, and now AI is going to change everything again. From a litigation standpoint, legal research, video trials, depositions, discovery, and trial prep will all become more streamlined.
What trends are you seeing in terms of M&A activity?
In 4Q24, activity wasn’t as strong but it was still good. A lot of it was due to pent-up demand before the election. Deal flow started to pick up after the election, and demand was there despite not being as vibrant as in years past. The first quarter of 2025 has been crazy. From the economic standpoint, there is some resiliency because there are still deals being done despite market volatility.
How would you describe demand for office space, and how are you catering to that demand at Butler Snow?
Class A and Class AA spaces are very strong, and there’s a huge need for that. Buildings that are older are facing uncertainty. I think tenants will come back into those older spaces, but it’s going to be a challenge to sell when there are newer spaces available. We’re all going to be working differently now that we’re back in the office. We’ve been back in the office since 2021 and it’s been great for us, especially since our profession demands that we learn from and teach each other on a daily basis. Clients expect us to be the best we can be, and that comes from collaborating with each other in my opinion.
What are the biggest opportunities currently facing law firms in Middle Tennessee, and how is Butler Snow positioning itself to capitalize?
There’s growth here, and as long as it continues it will benefit law firms. Healthcare will continue to be a sector that law firms will focus on and take advantage of the connections there. There will be more of a focus on technology. We see a lot of tech companies coming in which will drive a redevelopment of our region.
What are Butler Snow’s top priorities and goals for the next few years in Middle Tennessee?
To be competitive, you have to have good people. Acquiring and retaining good talent is always going to be a priority. As more firms come in from out of town, the talent pool will be more competitive. We believe in our culture and will use that culture to our advantage.
We are focusing on maintaining the expertise we have in the firm, and pursuing and capitalizing on opportunities in the area. Healthcare and technology will be two of our biggest areas. There are many people coming into the area who want to develop their ideas here. Our goal is to focus on the existing industries that have helped us and find new opportunities coming into the area. We are in Nashville, but we have expertise throughout our footprint. Our collaborative culture will focus on bringing together expertise in technology and healthcare to help us grow and find more opportunities.
