ALDC PRE-LAW LESSONS AND LINKS
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Leadership
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, President, ALDC, Partner, Sutherland LLP
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Allegra is co-chair of the firm’s complex business litigation group. Her practice includes commercial litigation and labor and employment law. She has represented companies throughout the United States and abroad in numerous trials and other forums.
Allegra has litigated cases in federal and state courts for primarily Fortune 100 companies from California to New York and has extensive experience negotiating complex settlements and finding creative solutions. She is regularly quoted in the media as a leading practitioner in her field. Georgia Trend magazine recognized Allegra as one of “40 Under 40” Rising Stars in Georgia in 2003, and the magazine has also repeatedly named her in the Georgia Trend “Legal Elite.” She was featured on the cover of the 2006 “Legal Elite” edition. The Fulton County Daily Report featured Allegra in its annual “On the Rise” issue in August 2004. In 2005, Atlanta Woman named her one of “Atlanta’s 25 Power Women to Watch.”
Atlanta Magazine has also repeatedly named her a “Georgia Super Lawyer,” as well as regularly recognized her in its “Top 50 Female Georgia Super Lawyers.”
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Sam Matchett, Past President, ALDC, Partner King & Spalding LLP
Sam Matchett is a partner on King & Spalding’s Atlanta Labor & Employment Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on employment relationship matters, with an emphasis in labor and employment law litigation in both state and federal courts, governmental agencies (OFCCP), and arbitration tribunals. Mr. Matchett routinely defends employers in litigation involving the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and employment-related state law claims. Mr. Matchett's practice entails extensive experience in employment discrimination. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Matchett provides general client advice on the avoidance of employee-related problems and presents seminars concerning all aspects of employment law. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and several appellate courts. Full Story
Thomas Wardell – Founder of ALDC, Past President of ALDC, Partner, McKenna Long Aldridge LLP
Tom Wardell serves as Co-Chair of the Corporate Department and focuses on corporate counseling, corporate finance and securities, acquisitions and dispositions, and corporate reorganizations and restructurings. He represents public and private companies, and he also counsels companies on compliance and governance matters, including investigations both internal and with regulatory significance.
While residing in Boston, Tom was an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Management and a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School. He also spoke at other law and business schools conducting courses in investment banking, commercial transactions and public finance. Tom was president and CEO of Versyss from 1988 to 1993. Versyss was a provider of computer systems for small business applications. It was the largest provider in the U.S. for the physician practice and credit union industries and one of the top three providers for the construction and building supply industry.
Tom was involved with the financial restructuring of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Penn Central Railroad Company.
Atlanta Magazine has recognized Tom as a “Georgia Super Lawyer” in 2004 and 2006 for his advisory services to publicly held companies. Full Story
Kenneth Neighbors, ALDC Vice President and Chair, Future Star Lawyer Program. Partner, Greenburg Traurig LLP.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
The Forum
3290 Northside Parkway
Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30327
Phone: (678) 553-2180
Fax: (678) 553-2181
Kenneth M. Neighbors focuses primarily in the area of Public Finance, providing
legal advice in support of various community redevelopment initiatives ranging
from tax allocation district formation and financing, mixed-use, commercial, retail
and multi-family real estate financings, to 501(c)(3) and other tax-exempt bond
financings, and implementation of state and city supported grant programs. Ken
also provides business and legal advice in connection with the acquisition, sale
and management of real estate holdings and provides general representation in
connection with corporate matters and corporate and venture capital financing
transactions. Full Story
Carter Hoyt, ALDC Secretary, Managing Director, American Legal Search LLC
Ms. Carter M. Hoyt
Managing Director
AMERICAN Legal Search, LLC.
2999 Piedmont Rd., NE
Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30305.
direct dial - (404) 604-2454.
fax - (404) 846-7917.
e-mail - carter@americanlegalsearch.com.
Carter Hoyt is the Managing Director of the Atlanta office of AMERICAN Legal Search where she works with candidates and clients, both in law firms and corporate legal departments throughout the country, to fill permanent and contract attorney, paralegal and other legal staffing needs. Click here to find out more about Ms. Hoyt: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carterhoyt
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Karen D. Fultz, ALDC Treasurer, Partner, Cozen O'Connor LLP. ALDC Presenter
Karen D. Fultz joined the firm's Atlanta office in July, 2002 and practices with the Insurance Litigation Group. Karen focuses her practice on subrogation and recovery. Prior to joining Cozen O'Connor, Karen was an associate with Lackland and Associates in Atlanta. She also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Denise Page Hood of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Full Story
Jewelle Johnson, ALDC Parliamentarian and Presenter. Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP
1500 Resurgens Plaza. 945 East Paces Ferry Road. Atlanta, Georgia 30326. (404) 240-4286. Jewelle Johnson is a partner in the Atlanta office. She has successfully defended numerous companies against employment discrimination claims arising under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act in both state and federal courts. Ms. Johnson advises clients on preventative measures aimed at reducing employment-related claims and provides management and employee training on such topics as diversity, discrimination and harassment, wage and hour laws, and discipline and discharge. Jewelle was named as one of the "Top 25 Power Women to Watch in 2006" by Atlanta Woman magazine and was selected for two consecutive years (2005-2006) as one of "Georgia's Rising Star Super Lawyers" by Atlanta and Law & Politics magazines. In 2006, Jewelle was also one of 14 attorneys selected as one of the Daily Report's young lawyers "On the Rise."
Click to see full Biography: http://www.laborlawyers.com/showbio.aspx?Attorney-E.-Jewelle-Johnson&Show=4992
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Tom Wardell, Founder; Joel Peddle, Director; Sam Matchett, Past President
ALDC BOARD OF DIRECTORS and PRESENTERS
Armando L. Basarrate II, Partner, Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP
Mr. Basarrate is a member of the firm's Health Law Group, and his practice focuses on the representation of public and nonprofit community hospitals and other health care providers. He has represented clients in a variety of regulatory and civil health law contexts, including Certificate of Need; Medicare/Medicaid certification, reimbursement, and compliance; EMTALA compliance; licensure; rate control; contracts and contract disputes; corporate structure and governance disputes; and Open Records Act/Open Meetings Act requirements applicable to health care providers. TEL: (404) 420-5534.
FAX: (404) 522-8409. 1500 Marquis Two Tower
285 Peachtree Center Avenue, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30303. Find out more about Armando at: http://www.phrd.com/attorneys/attybio.asp?id=52
Amy Fouts, ALDC Mentor, Associate, McKenna Long Aldridge LLP
Amy Fouts is an associate in McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP’s health care group. Her practice focuses on a variety of litigation, regulatory and compliance issues. She advises clients on many aspects of health care law, with a particular emphasis on fraud and abuse, corporate compliance, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, false claims and other government investigation issues, and defense of allegations of False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback, and Stark Law violations.
Amy’s practice focuses on Medicare and Medicaid coverage, reimbursement and coding issues involving physicians, hospitals and other health care providers. Amy has significant experience with Medicare, Medicaid, and third party payor overpayment and recoupment appeals. Further, she deals extensively with the creation and implementation of corporate compliance programs and compliance training. Representative engagements include the development and review of corporate compliance program and policies, including review of HIPAA Privacy and Security compliance program.
Amy has published a variety of articles relating to billing and reimbursement and fraud and abuse matters. She has also presented at several educational programs and professional conferences on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, billing and coding documentation issues and fraud and abuse matters. Full Story
Ernest Greer, Esq. Greenberg Traurig LLP
Co-Managing Shareholder, Atlanta Office
Co-Chair, Litigation Practice - Atlanta
greere@gtlaw.com.
Greenberg Traurig LLP
The Forum
3290 Northside Parkway
Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30327.
Phone: (678) 553-2420.
Fax: (678) 553-2212.
Ernest Greer's practice consists of the representation of clients in various complex litigation matters, including class action litigation, construction, contracts (suits on account and guarantee/indemnity agreements), employment, partnership disputes, and other commercial litigation matters. Ernest has also served or is serving as counsel in the formation of some of the largest minority business enterprise/majority business enterprise ventures in the country, including ventures in the construction, flexible packaging and real estate development. Full Story
Jill Harrison, Member, Dow Lownes PLLC
Jill Harrison serves as the ALDC Vice President, and has served as a STAR Lawyer Presenter on improving communication skills for two years. Ms. Harrison joined Dow Lohnes's Atlanta Litigation practice in 1995. Her practice includes extensive counseling and advice to employers nationwide on all aspects of the employment relationship, including avoidance and defense of discrimination claims, compliance with disability and medical leave laws, sexual harassment training for supervisors, employee discipline and termination, employment and consulting agreements including restrictive covenants, severance and release agreements, personnel policy design and implementation, union avoidance strategy, and collective bargaining. Ms. Harrison regularly represents employers in state and federal courts throughout the country in actions alleging discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, emotional distress and other employment-related claims. She also has experience in union representation elections and unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board and in grievance arbitrations under collective bargaining agreements. Full Story
R. Javoyne Hicks White
Chief Assistant District Attorney
DeKalb District Attorney’s Office. ALDC Mentor
Javoyne Hicks White serves as Chief Assistant District Attorney in the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. Appointed to this position by District Attorney Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, she is responsible for the Specialty Units in the office, including the White Collar Crime Unit, the Domestic Violence / Adult Sexual Assault Unit, and Juvenile Court. She is also supervises the Child Support Unit and the Support Staff.
Prior to her appointment, Javoyne Hicks White served an Assistant Attorney General in the Special Prosecutions Unit of the State of Georgia Department of Law in April 2000. As a member of the Special Prosecutions Unit, Ms. Hicks primarily handled white-collar crime and government corruption cases. Her major effort was the fight against Identity Theft. She worked with state and local law enforcement agencies on the prosecution of identity theft cases and was the driving force behind Attorney General Thurbert Baker’s Stop Identity Theft Network. Full Story
Roy Hadley, Counsel at Bryan Cave LLP
Mr. Hadley has an extensive background in counseling clients in complex corporate transactions, particularly those involving intellectual property and technology. His previous roles as general counsel and chief privacy officer in the corporate sector have provided him with invaluable insight on the impact of legal issues on his clients' business needs and allow him to provide "real world" solutions to clients.
Mr. Hadley focuses his corporate practice in the areas of information security and privacy, technology and business process outsourcing, telecommunications, intellectual property, information technology, software development and licensing, and entertainment/media.
Mr. Hadley has overseen cross-border transactions in South and Central America, Asia-Pacific and the European Union involving information management, business processes, data security and privacy. He also has experience in providing information security and technology accessibility assessments/audits, data security breach remediation, electronic records management and e-discovery. See Mr. Hadley's biography at: http://www.pogolaw.com/people-attorneys-profile-1157.html
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Wade Hooper, President, Hooper Executive Search
Wade Hooper, a third generation Atlantan,
graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1993, and served in a number of capacities during his active duty career in the Navy, ranging from supporting the Chief of Naval Operations Staff in the Pentagon to serving as an Engineering Officer on a gas-turbine powered destroyer stationed in San Diego, CA. Following his Naval Service, Wade returned to Atlanta, and worked as a Materials Manager for a premier global furniture manufacturer, Herman Miller. The son, grandson and great grandson of Atlanta based lawyers, Wade felt the gravitational pull of family tradition too strong to completely overcome and found himself in the business of placing attorneys in the Atlanta law firm market. After five years with a national executive search firm where he became Managing Partner in the Atlanta office, Wade founded Hooper Executive Search. See www.thinkhooper.com
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Angela Payne James, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP, ALDC Presenter and Mentor
Ms. James joined the ALDC Board in February of 2009. On March 18th, Ms. James co-taught our STAR Lawyer Program, "Guideposts: The Keys To Success. Angela Payne James is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group. She focuses her practice on patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright litigation as well as other complex commercial litigation.
Ms. James has extensive experience in federal and state court at both the trial and appellate levels. She has litigated matters on behalf of a variety of clients in the medical technology, computer software, advertising, chemical agriculture, telecommunications, advertising, retail, media, and entertainment industries on a nationwide basis.
Ms. James represented a medical technology startup in a fraud/deceptive trade practices jury trial in federal court in North Carolina and won a judgment of $318 million. On appeal, the case settled for $180 million.
Ms. James also has extensive experience counseling clients on intellectual property compliance and enforcement matters, including web site and domain name disputes. Full Story
Dionysia Johnson-Massie, Partner, Littler Mendelson P.C.
Atlanta
3348 Peachtree Road, N.E.
Suite 1100
Atlanta, Georgia 30326-1008
Telephone: (404) 233-0330
Fax: (404) 233-2361
Email: djmassie@littler.com.
Emphasis:
Federal Employment Discrimination Litigation,
Religious Discrimination and Accommodation Analysis, Management and Employee Training, including Diversity and Strategic Initiatives Implementation,
Counseling on Personnel Matters, Policies and Practices,
Litigating collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Ms. Johnson-Massie is a litigator whose practice focuses primarily on federal employment discrimination litigation, including matters arising under Title VII, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. She also has defended clients against state law defamation, intentional interference with business relationships, assault and battery and false imprisonment claims.
As a former General Counsel, Ms. Johnson-Massie uses her business acumen to consider creative and cost effective strategies for minimizing her clients’ exposure to a myriad of legal risks and is readily available to provide advice and counsel on the practical and legal implications of everyday employment decisions. Full Story
Charles Johnson III, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
T: 404-817-8530. E: charles.johnson@hklaw.com.Charles S.
Johnson, III is a seasoned trial lawyer and counselor to entities in the public and private sector. His practice currently focuses in the areas of public policy and complex business disputes.
Mr. Johnson began his is legal career as an antitrust lawyer and served as adjunct professor of antitrust law at the University of Georgia Law School. His antitrust practice has included service as principal Georgia antitrust counsel for a major automobile manufacturer and as coordinating antitrust counsel for a national insurance rating organization. His litigation practice has expanded to include health policy litigation, education policy litigation, tax litigation, employment litigation, securities litigation, civil RICO an qui tam litigation, eminent domain litigation, zoning litigation, and litigation of commercial disputes.
Mr. Johnson's public policy practice has included counseling, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and litigation. He participated in the creation of Zoo Atlanta, the Countywide Library System for Fulton County, Ga., and Georgia's first tax allocation districts. He advised Morehouse College in securing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection. Find out more about Charles at: http://www.hklaw.com/id77/extended1/biosCJOHNSON/
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Harold Jordan, General Counsel, Morehouse School of Medicine
Harold Jordan is General Counsel of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Prior to joining Morehouse in 2007, Harold served as in-house counsel for INVESCO, an institutional money manager based in Atlanta, three healthcare systems based in Atlanta (Grady Memorial Hospital, Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Charter Behavioral Health Systems) after starting his legal career in the litigation departments of Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C. and Alston & Bird in Atlanta.
Harold is currently the President of the Brown Club of Georgia, the Treasurer of the Inman Page Council (Brown University’s African-American Alumni Association), and is a former member of the Brown University’s Alumni Board of Governors and a former Co-Chair of the Multicultural Alumni Committee of the BAA Board of Governors. See: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/b5/ba7
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Alonzo Llorens, Esq. Womble, Caryle, Sandridge & Rice PPLC
Alonzo Llorens is a member of the Firm’s Corporate and Securities practice group and concentrates primarily in the area of securities law including public offerings, private placements, public and private securities regulation, SEC compliance and corporate governance matters. Alonzo also handles other complex securities transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, tender offers and proxy contests. Alonzo’s venture capital financing experience includes the representation of issuers, venture capitalists and incubators. Alonzo’s practice also includes general corporate work for public and private clients on matters such as drafting and negotiating agreements and complex domestic and international due diligence matters. Full Story
Aasia Mustakeem, Partner, Epstein Becker Green LLP
Atlanta Office
Phone: 404/923-9047
Fax: 404/923-9947.
Resurgens Plaza,
945 East Paces Ferry Road,
Suite 2700,
Atlanta, Georgia 30326. Aasia Mustakeem is a Member of the Firm in the Real Estate practice group in the Atlanta office. Her practice focuses on commercial real estate. She represents developers, purchasers and sellers in connection with the acquisition, disposition and development of office, hotel, retail, industrial and mixed-use projects.
Since 2004, Ms. Mustakeem has been recognized as a Georgia Super Lawyer by Atlanta Magazine. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, she was named as one of Georgia Trend's Legal Elite. She is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars, as well as an author and a past chairperson of the 2,000 member Real Estate Section of the Georgia Bar. Full Story
Paul T. Kim, Partner, Lord Billell & Brook LLP
Robin H. Sangston Vice President, Legal Affairs Cox Communications, Inc., ALDC Presenter, Mentor
The ALDC welcomed Ms. Sangston to our Board in March, 2009. We appreciate her role in teaching better feedback skills in a dynamic session at King & Spalding LLP this Spring. She joined Cox Communications in 1995 as its fourth attorney. She was promoted to Senior Counsel in 1998. In 2000, she was promoted to Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. Currently, she oversees all of the operations of the Legal Affairs Department. Prior to joining Cox Communications, Sangston was an associate with the law firm of Dow, Lohnes in the Washington, D.C. office. There, she specialized in litigation involving media companies. Ms.Sangston received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society. She received her J.D., with high honors, from George Washington University’s National Law Center. She was selected to be a member of the George Washington Law Review and Order of the Coif. In 2004, Sangston served as the national Chair of Women in Cable & Telecommunications, Inc. (“WICT”), a nearly 10,000 member non-profit organization whose mission is to develop women leaders in the cable television industry. Prior to serving as Chair, she held numerous other leadership positions in the organization, including President of the Atlanta Chapter in 1999. In addition, Ms. Sangston is an alumna of Class 8 of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, WICT’s flagship executive development program. Full Story
Gerry L. Williams, Partner, DLA Piper
One Atlantic Center
1201 West Peachtree Street, Suite 2800
Atlanta, Georgia 30309-3450.
T: (404) 736-789. gerry.williams@dlapiper.com.
Gerry L. Williams is a partner in DLA Piper's Corporate and Finance group, based in the Atlanta office.
Mr. Williams represents private equity funds and Fortune 1000 and middle-market companies in matters involving mergers and acquisitions, securities and general corporate matters and cross-border acquisitions and joint ventures, primarily in China. He has represented companies in several industries, among them financial services, food and beverage, and consumer products.
Among the clients he has represented in various industries are:
A $300 million private equity fund in multiple platform acquisitions;
A public bank holding company which he represented in the acquisition of a publicly traded bank holding company for approximately $400 million;
A public telecommunications company in the acquisition of a wireless telecommunications company for approximately $375 million;
An NYSE-listed Fortune 500 company in the sale of common stock of a public company in the office furniture manufacturing business for approximately $190 million;
An NYSE-listed Fortune 500 company in the acquisition of its franchises in the tire retread business for an aggregate purchase price exceeding $135 million. Full Story
Brent Wilson, Partner, Elarbee Thompson LLP. ALDC Presenter and Mentor
Brent L. Wilson:
bwilson@elarbeethompson.com.
(404) 582-8427.
Practice Areas:
Labor Relations
Labor & Employment Litigation
Employer Counseling, Training & Litigation Prevention
Employment Litigation. Educational Institutions:
Communications/Media/Technology Providers
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Education
J.D., University of Georgia; State University of New York at Buffalo, 1976
B.A., cum laude, Morehouse College, 1973.
Admitted to Practice
Georgia
Louisiana.
Profile:
Brent devotes a significant portion of his practice to defending employers in employment-related litigation and representing employers in traditional labor matters including unfair labor practice proceedings, representation cases, arbitration and collective bargaining. He is also focused on proactively counseling employers regarding day-to-day employment decisions to avoid litigation. He works with a variety of employers nationwide, including communications companies, service providers, educational institutions, non-profit groups, public entities and manufacturing operations. Full Story
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Leadership - Sidebar
CONGRATULATIONS TO SAM MATCHETTT AND AASIA MUSTAKEEM, Recipients of the 2010 State Bar of Georgia Commitment to Equality Awards.
CONGRATULATIONS TO TOM WARDELL. A recipient of the 2009 State Bar of Georgia Commitment to Equality Awards.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALLEGRA LAWRENCE-HARDY, Recipient of the 2008 State Bar of Georgia Commitment to Equality Awards.
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