Firm History

Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles, LLC, was one of the nation’s preeminent litigation boutique law firms from its founding in 1990 until closing its doors in 2023, when the founding partners retired.  We handled litigation across the country for plaintiffs ranging from individuals to major corporations focusing on complex business disputes, environmental cases, class actions, and catastrophic personal injury matters. We were also committed to handling public interest cases, generally on a pro bono basis, in such matters as civil rights, constitutional law, election disputes, and death penalty defense. 

U.S. New and World Report ranked our firm as among a handful of the country’s best for “mass tort litigation/class actions – plaintiffs” and “appellate litigation.”  According to Benchmark Plaintiff: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Plaintiff Firms and Lawyers (2014), the firm had a reputation as “Atlanta’s premier plaintiff firm.” The National Law Journal called us "one of Atlanta’s leading firms in high-profile, class action litigation." According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, our firm was "expert in a wide range of product liability, personal injury and environmental cases" and "known for litigating high profile cases." The Fulton County Daily Report, Georgia's major legal newspaper, touted our courtroom skill, innovative style, and "creative thinking."  We were also named one of "America’s leading business law firms" by Chambers USA, describing us as "one of the most able plaintiff firms in the city ... with a terrific track record and experience in high-quality and high-stake litigation" and noting our "lawyers really understand and care about their clients."  

Everette Doffermyre, Bob Shields, and Ken Canfield founded the firm.  Ralph Knowles joined us shortly thereafter until his untimely death in 2016.  During our history, we had one other co-owner, Foy Devine, for several years and employed more than fifteen other lawyers, many of whom went on to establish their own firms.  Our lawyers graduated from the nation's top law schools, were elected to such prestigious organizations as the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Law Institute, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, served as Presidents of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and were routinely listed in publications such as Best Lawyers in America.

The firm had a long history of obtaining multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Collectively, we tried hundreds of cases -- and litigated thousands more through settlement -- involving an extraordinary variety of legal issues and factual settings. We frequently worked in leadership positions with teams of lawyers from other firms on cases of national significance. Examples include the national breast implant litigation, the managed care multi-district litigation, the Masonite hardboard siding litigation, the national tobacco wars, and the Equifax Data Breach Litigation.  Each of these cases recovered more than $1 billion for our clients.