Selected as Athens' Favorite Lawyer by Flagpole Magazine, Adam L. Hebbard has practiced in Athens since his graduation from UGA Law in 2008; a proud double dawg, Adam maintains a diverse practice including criminal, civil, and administrative litigation, juvenile and probate court work, and providing transactional services to individuals and small businesses.

In addition to his practice, Adam serves on the board of the General Practice and Trial Section of the State Bar of Georgia, teaches a pre-trial criminal litigation seminar as an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, and enjoys spending time with his kids and playing in a handful of bands when he can find the time.

Kim Cofer Butler practices with Butler Prather, LLP in their Savannah office.  Over the course of her more than three decades in practice, Kim has had a broad civil trial practice. Kim has handled wrongful death cases, dram shop cases, premises liability, insurance coverage disputes, business and banking litigation, legal malpractice defense, curative title litigation, trust and estate litigation, negligent construction cases and FELA cases.

Ethelyn, a native of Savannah, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Georgia School of Law.  Prior to serving as State Court Judge from 2008 until her retirement in 2023, she was an Assistant Solicitor, Municipal Court Judge, and part-time Magistrate Court Judge in Athens-Clarke County.  

Cassandra is a founding partner of GA Estate Planning & Probate. She specializes in all aspects of probate, from deceased estate administration to guardianships and conservatorships.  She started her career in litigation working with families in domestic cases, and that background allows her to assist grieving families with empathy and efficiency.  

Greg has been engaged in the general practice of law in Georgia for 42 years, with the first 29 of those being in Tifton before moving to Athens to teach at the law school and to practice in Athens. He is currently a partner in the Athens office of James Bates Brannan Groover.

Greg has served as President of both the Tifton Judicial Circuit Bar Association (Tift, Turner, Worth and Irwin Counties) and the Western Judicial Circuit Bar Association (Clarke and Oconee Counties). He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar and also a former member of the Disciplinary Board of the State Bar, having been appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court. He has served as both vice chair and chair of the State Bar’s Member Benefits Committee during the time that the Bar began to provide Fastcase and the means to obtain group health insurance for State Bar members. He currently serves as Editor of the Calendar Call, the publication of the General Practice and Trial Section.

A former president of the UGA Law School Association, Greg was an adjunct professor in business law at ABAC in Tifton for 20 years and he developed the course on Solo and Small Firm Practice and taught it as an adjunct professor at Georgia Law for five years.

John B. Manly is a partner with Manly Shipley, LLP in Savannah, Georgia.  His practice primarily involves plaintiffs’ personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, and professional malpractice.  Prior to forming Manly Shipley, he was associated with Bouhan Falligant and served as an assistant district attorney for the Augusta Judicial Circuit.  John graduated from the University of Georgia in 2004 with degrees in Political Science and Religion.  He graduated from the University of Georgia School Of Law in 2008.  John serves as a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors.

Judge Lisa Lott is a 1994 graduate of Emory University School of Law, and a 1989 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.  She began her career as a prosecutor in the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, worked as the staff attorney for the Council of Juvenile Court Judges, was the lobbyist for the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, practiced family law in the private sector, and then spent almost two decades as the Western Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office before taking the bench in January 2019.  She is currently the Chief Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit.

Greg Smith has a practice focused in the areas of business transactions and litigation, banking, corporate law, and real estate. He also has extensive experience advising both institutional agricultural operations and family farms in all areas of business and legal planning, compliance, and litigation.  A “Double Dawg,” Greg attended the University of Georgia and its School of Law, and also received a master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is licensed to practice in Georgia and Florida. Greg is an active member of the Tallahassee Rotary Club, the Tallahassee Board of Realtors, and the Florida Land Title Association. He has served on the Bainbridge-Decatur County YMCA board of directors, the Decatur County Board of Tax Assessors, and the USDA Decatur County Farm Service Agency County Committee.

Kris Bolden is an Associate Director for the University of Georgia's Equal Opportunity Office.  In that role, he investigates complaints and reports of discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct made pursuant to applicable University and USG policy.  He also serves as lead on the University's Sexual Assault Response Team and as a member of the University's Clery Compliance Committee.

Prior to joining UGA, Kris was an Assistant District Attorney in both the Piedmont and Western Judicial Circuits from 2006-2020.  As an ADA, Kris first chaired approximately 100 jury trials, including those of defendants charged with sexual assault, child molestation, domestic violence, and human trafficking.  He was the supervising attorney for the Western Circuit's Special Victim's Unit from 2017-2020.

Anna Bolden is a 2005 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.  She worked as a prosecutor in the Barrow County District Attorney's Office for eight years, and has been in private practice at Daniels & Rothman, P.C. in Athens, Georgia for over ten years.  Anna practices family law and criminal defense.  Anna is past president of the Piedmont Circuit Bar Association, served on the State Bar Investigative Panel, and has served as a part time Municipal Court judge since 2020.

Michael Ruppersburg is a trial lawyer specializing in personal injury and wrongful death cases. He lives in Athens and handles cases across Georgia. He's seen the Drive-By Truckers and Widespread Panic too many times to count but regrets never seeing the Grateful Dead and consoles himself by listening to the Spring 77 Tour more times than is probably healthy. When he retires, which is hopefully soon, he wants to become a professional fly fisherman, bartender at The Globe and barbecue reviewer. Please don't call him between 1-2 PM to refer him a case, because he'll probably be taking a nap. He judges lawyers that take themselves too seriously (they're mainly from Atlanta) and use words like "heretofore" and "whereas."He and his wife Sarah met in college, where he deservedly earned a spot on her "do not date" list. Fellow presenter Wick Cauthorn can tell you more about that. They've been married for 12 years and have three children, who all need to learn to put themselves to bed.  

Will Martin is a Partner with Drew Eckl & Farnham representing businesses in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. His practice focuses on all types of premises liability, product liability, and commercial transportation cases.

Will frequently represents property owners, managers, and business operators in high-stakes litigation arising from third-party criminal acts on their property. His experience includes handling cases dealing with gang violence, kidnappings, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Will has served as national, local, and trial counsel defending product manufacturers in litigation involving industrial equipment components, construction equipment, and automotive products. He has represented clients at all stages of litigation in more than 35 states.

Since 2021, Will has served on the Board for the General Practice & Trial Law Section for the State Bar of Georgia.  He is an active member of DRI, the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, and the ABA. In 2024, Will was named to Best Lawyers in America for Personal Injury Litigation.  He was named a Georgia Super Lawyer Rising Star every year from 2013 through 2020, and he has an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell.

Sarah Lamar is a partner in the Firm’s Savannah office and practices in the area of employment law.

Sarah has experience representing employers in employment litigation in federal and state courts regarding discrimination and other employment laws such as Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Fair Labor Standards Act, among others. She represents employers in breach of contract actions, including non-competes and tort claims, and in agency investigations brought by the U.S. and Georgia Departments of Labor, the EEOC, OFCCP, and U.S. ICE. She conducts in-house training for employers and advises clients on a variety of human resource issues, including their non-discrimination/harassment, wage/hour, federal affirmative action, and immigration law obligations. Sarah also performs internal investigations in response to harassment and other workplace complaints.

Sarah has been named a Georgia Super Lawyer and one of the Best Lawyers in America in Labor and Employment Law. The highly competitive Chambers USA legal directory highlighted Sarah in its Georgia Employment Law rankings. She was named Lawyer of the Year in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of employment law.

Sarah was the first female chair of ALFA International, a global legal networking organization, and continues to serve on ALFA International’s Employment Practice Group Steering Committee and in other roles. Sarah was also a long-serving chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the Georgia Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and speaks around the state on legislative and employment issues affecting the workplace.

She received her B.A. in History from Yale University in 1988 and her J.D. from Emory University in 1991. At Emory, she served as senior notes and comment editor for the Emory International Law Review. Following law school, Sarah was a law clerk from 1991 to 1992 for the Honorable Richard B. Kellam, Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia.