Alston & Bird has expanded its ability to guide clients through complex business disputes with the addition of veteran trial attorneys David Meadows and Alexandra (Alex) Peurach as partners in the firm’s Atlanta office. Joining from Troutman Pepper LLP, where they were partners, Meadows and Peurach bring more than 30 years of collective experience representing Fortune 500 and other major companies in high-stakes commercial litigation.

“David and Alex are outstanding client advocates in both the courtroom and boardroom,” said Alston & Bird Chairman and Managing Partner Richard Hays. “They bring exceptional trial experience and success across an impressive range of big-ticket cases and further position us as counsel of choice in sophisticated business disputes.” 

With more than two decades of experience, Meadows has spent his career as a trial lawyer, representing big-name companies in high-stakes, complex business disputes. He has served as lead trial counsel in multiple civil litigation matters, including business-to-business contract disputes and securities litigation. Meadows represents clients in a wide range of industries, including transportation, payments, energy, and retail.

Peurach has more than 10 years of experience trying cases. She has represented high-profile plaintiffs and defendants in their most challenging commercial disputes. She has experience in a wide range of disciplines spanning breach of contract, fraud, trade secrets, and securities and shareholder litigation. Her clients span health care manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, payments, and other sectors.

Recent matters acted on by Meadows and Peurach include representing PNM Resources, a publicly traded electric utility, in dismissing numerous shareholder lawsuits challenging the company’s proposed $8.7 billion merger with Avangrid Inc. They also represented Fortune 500 payments company Total System Services Inc. in multiple lawsuits in which they defeated motions for preliminary injunctions and obtained dismissal of the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims. 

“David and Alex are a powerhouse team who have worked in a first-chair capacity for an A-list of U.S. companies,” said Kristy Brown, Alston & Bird partner and co-leader of the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group. “They bring a remarkable breadth of experience and skill in high-stakes trials and an outstanding track record in working with general counsel, CEOs, and boards of directors to manage the multitude of significant legal, business, and technology issues at play in complex, multijurisdictional court actions.”

Meadows and Peurach are the most recent additions to Alston & Bird’s growing litigation team. Since 2020, the firm has added senior counsel Jody Hunt and partners Kellen Dwyer, Albert Stieglitz, and BJay Pak, all former prominent DOJ officials and prosecutors; partners Chaka Patterson, Isabelle De Smedt, and Joanna Hendon; and senior counsel Keith Blackwell, former justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.

“We have an incredible roster of star litigators in Atlanta and across all our offices and are fortunate to have the opportunity to add David and Alex to our growing ranks,” said Janine Brown, partner in charge of Alston & Bird’s Atlanta office. “Their arrival underscores our commitment to add exceptional talent for clients seeking standout litigators who can take on and win high-profile disputes.”