Catching up with… John Yates
Co-chair, Senior Attorney in the Technology Group Morris, Manning & Martin LLP
John Yates has been with the law firm Morris, Manning & Martin since 1987, when he launched the firm’s technology practice. He co-founded the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), serves as chair of the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club, is chair of the Woodruff Arts Center’s Corporate Campaign and co-chair with his wife, Ellen, of the 2025 Annual Gala at Zoo Atlanta. These are edited highlights from an interview.
Tell us about how you began in technology and the law.
I was very fortunate to start in the technology area at the beginning of time. I graduated from Duke Law School in May of 1981. In August of 1981, the IBM PC was announced. It was good timing. The other element of good timing was my sister had just moved to Silicon Valley to start a technology company. These two things came together, along with my own personal interest.
What are you proud of in your career and why?
What I’m most proud of, probably, is having been one of the founding fathers and mothers of our current tech community and the Technology Association of Georgia. It has become the leading ecosystem environment for our community from a tech perspective. I’ve been very fortunate to be there right at the beginning. TAG has grown now to 30,000 members.
Why is technology law interesting to you?
The technology is far ahead of the legal and policy developments. If you contrast it with real estate law, that goes back to, like, 1415 – way back in time. So you’re taking existing, current 21st century issues and applying them to the law that’s been well established. In the technology area, it’s the exact opposite. You’ve got this technology that’s going in all sorts of crazy directions, and there’s no law that specifically relates to it. So the exciting thing about technology, and the exciting thing about it as a tech lawyer, is it’s ever-changing.
You were recently named co-chair of your law firm. How are you approaching this?
I’m working to get our attorneys even more tightly connected to our community. We’ve been fortunate to be plugged into the major business organizations in town, but that oftentimes falls on the shoulders of the older attorneys. We want to make sure that the next generation of leaders in our firm are also integrated into these groups.
Why is being active in the community important to you?
One is the great love I have for our community and being a part of Atlanta. Second, is being able to have an impact on the community. You can have an impact on how the Woodruff Arts Center continues to be the third-largest arts center in the United States, and the direction that it goes. You can have an impact on the Atlanta Rotary Club. Third, you can do good for the community, and you can do good for yourself. There’s a whole myriad of people that I would have never had a chance to meet, and we’re sitting around the table. You build this network.
What’s the future of the technology ecosystem in Georgia?
We have a couple different directions that we can move our current community. One is [to] just maintain the status quo utilizing the current assets that are so successful: Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, the HBCUs, the diversity we have in our community, the activities that [are] going on in Georgia, all the positive. We could add to that an element of differentiation, for example, coming up with a with a major conference in an area where we could really excel. One area that we’re thinking about is generative AI. Georgia Tech produces more engineers in the AI area than any other university in the United States. We have a unique combination of tech companies and Fortune 500 companies, all of which are interested in figuring out how to use AI. And we have a diverse community that is also unique to thinking about how AI comes together. If we could take our existing assets and build on them … by becoming the thought-leader city in the [nation] or in the world in generative AI, that puts us in a unique posture.
