CITIZENS & SOUTHERN NATIONAL BANK

Atlanta, Georgia

In 1970, C & S was the largest bank in Atlanta and in Georgia. Many years and many mergers later, it is succeeded by Bank of America.

For my first job after law school, I chose to be a management trainee in a large bank rather than a backroom apprentice in a small law firm. It was a good choice:
I learned management practices, supervisory skills and customer service techniques that enriched my later experience working with clients and courthouse personnel, and I gained experience with many areas of the law. Beginning in the Trust Department, where I was a Trust Representative, I was exposed to these legal practice areas:

• Trusts
• Estate Planning
• Estate Administration
• Investments

Later, in the Bank’s Property Management Department, I was a property manager involved in buying and leasing land and constructing banking facilities, from which I gained experience in these additional legal practice areas:

• Commercial Real Estate
• Construction Contracts
• Land Development and Zoning
• Leasing

When the Bank formed a Legal Department, I became one of its founding attorneys, gaining experience in these legal practice areas:

• Negotiable Instruments
• Secured Transactions
• Banking Regulations

OGLETHORPE POWER CORPORATION (AN ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION CORPORATION)

Atlanta, Georgia

This cooperative-type utility generates (or buys) electric power which is distributed to its members, who are 39 electric membership cooperatives promoted and regulated by the Rural Utilities Service of the USDA.

As with banking, I found many learning opportunities in the utility industry. As Senior Real Estate Attorney, I had primary responsibility for providing legal services needed for right-of-way acquisition and transmission line construction, plus secondary responsibility for procurement, regulatory compliance and risk management, which gave me experience with these additional legal practice areas:

• Real Estate Title Examinations
• Utility Easements
• Realty Acquisition by Eminent Domain
• Litigation Management
• Land Descriptions
• High Tech Procurements
• Insurance and Claims Management

MECK LAW FIRM, P.C.

Stone Mountain [Metro Atlanta], Georgia and Fairhope, Alabama

The rewards and satisfaction of being an in-house attorney are great, but there is nothing like putting out a shingle and entering the private practice of law. I willingly
made two adjustments: First, I began working for business owners and individuals,
not just managers in large corporations. Second, I began litigating cases, not delegating litigation to outside counsel as most in-house attorneys are required to do. Presently, I work mostly for clients on leasing matters, but my experience in private practice has acquainted me with these additional legal practice areas:

• Buying and Selling Businesses
• Commercial Litigation
• Community Associations
• Wills
• Powers of Attorney
• Arbitrations
• General Civil Mediations
• Corporations and LLCs
• Secured Lending for Private Investors