Walt Davis focuses his practice on securities litigation and shareholder disputes, along with related board and governmental investigations. He is a trusted boardroom and C-suite advisor, with an emphasis on fiduciary duties, shareholder activism, ESG (environmental, social, governance), and other governance-related issues.
Walt also is recognized as one of the most well-regarded business lawyers in the Southeast. He returned to the Firm in September 2022, after serving more than three years as the first judge of the Georgia State-wide Business Court, during which Walt authored more than 130 opinions on all manner of corporate law issues. Prior to his appointment, Walt was a partner in the Firm's Atlanta Office, serving as both the office's administrative partner and chair of its Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement Practice.
Walt previously co-chaired the Securities and Corporate Litigation Section of the Atlanta Bar and currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, where he teaches Securities Litigation and Enforcement.
Walt is also a strategic advisor to Phoenix Capital Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on the sports, gaming, health/wellness, and interactive media industries.
Experience
Speaking Engagements
- January 28, 2019
Workplace Investigations: Strategies and Pitfalls, JD CLE Academy - February 13, 2017
Open Lines: How Professionalism Improves Communication and Fosters Stronger Client Relationships, Jones Day CLE Academy - December 1, 2016
Accounting and Enforcement Innovation Summit, presented by EY and Jones Day - October 27, 2016
Georgia Bas Association / 35th Annual Business Law Institute - What Keeps In-House Law Departments Up At Night
- Vanderbilt University (J.D. 2001); Mercer University (B.A. 1998, Philosophy/Political Science)
- Georgia, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Judge, Georgia State-wide Business Court (2019-2022)
Best Lawyers (2018-2020) — Commercial Litigation
Georgia Super Lawyers — Securities Litigation (2019-2022); "Rising Star" (2013-2015)
Daily Report's "40 Legal Rising Stars to Watch" in Georgia (2013)
Clarke-Carley Inn of Court, Master
Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Past President
Rotary Club of Atlanta, Member
Leadership Georgia, Class of 2022, Member
Leadership Atlanta, Class of 2018, Graduate
- Law Clerk to Judge Beverly B. Martin, United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia (2001-2002)