Mr. James E. Elliott Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Butler Snow LLP

Jim is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets group. 

Mr. Matthew Christopher Welch Related Seminars and Products

DeKalb County Law Department

Matthew C. Welch (he/him) has served as Deputy County Attorney with the DeKalb County Law Department since 2018. Mr. Welch came to the DeKalb County Law Department in 2014 as a member of our infrastructure team, primarily assigned to the County’s ongoing Consent Decree related to the County’s sanitary sewer infrastructure. In his role as Deputy County Attorney, Mr. Welch serves as the County’s lead negotiator in the proposed modification of the Consent Decree. Mr. Welch also oversees litigation related to the assessment of real property by the County’s Board of Tax Assessors and manages the legal aspects of transactional matters arising from the County’s infrastructure departments.

Mr. Welch earned his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he graduated cum laude and served as a member of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law.  Prior to law school, he earned his undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University.  Mr. Welch has dedicated the majority of his career to local government law, having worked in the Fulton County Attorney’s Office for several years before joining the DeKalb County Law Department.  Mr. Welch lives in Atlanta with his family, where he is an active runner and serves as a volunteer in his neighborhood and at his son’s school.

Mr. Ryan Robert Bowersox Related Seminars and Products

Georgia Municipal Association

Ryan Bowersox is the Assistant General Counsel for the Georgia Municipal Association working on behalf of GMA and Georgia’s 536 cities. Ryan previously served as a Governmental Relations Associate for GMA where he advocated in the interest of Georgia’s cities at the state level. Prior to joining the GMA, Ryan worked for the Georgia State Senate Research Office as a Senior Policy Analyst where he assisted and advised in the passage of legislation relating to taxation, economic development, and banking law.

Ryan holds a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law where he served on Moot Court and as an editor of the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law. Ryan holds degrees in both Political Science and Advertising from the University of Georgia. He has lived in Georgia since 2000 and currently resides in Chamblee, Georgia with his wife, Erica and dog, Riley.

Mr. Blake Alan Travis Related Seminars and Products

Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG)

Blake Travis joined ACCG’s Legal Department in December 2023, after nearly ten years as an attorney in the Office of Legislative Counsel where he advised and drafted legislation for the members of the Georgia General Assembly, primarily in the areas of tax, retirement, and economic development.

Prior to his work with the General Assembly, Blake served as Assistant Regional Counsel for the National Association of Government Employees and as a Staff Attorney for the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings. 

Blake lives and was raised in the Atlanta metropolitan area.  He attended Wake Forest University for his undergraduate degree, obtained his law degree from the University of Georgia, and earned a Master of Public Administration from Georgia State University.

Mr. Roy Edward Hadley Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Morris Manning & Martin LLP

For over three decades, Roy has been a trusted advisor to a diverse clientele, including high-growth businesses, governmental bodies, and family-held enterprises. His international practice focuses on navigating intricate corporate landscapes, especially in areas such as technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, life sciences, economic development, telecommunications, outsourcing, and intellectual property.

In an ever-changing digital landscape, Roy’s experience extends to governments, governmental entities, and companies, aiding them and their boards in addressing data security and privacy concerns effectively.
As independent cybersecurity counsel, Roy plays a pivotal role in educating governmental officials, business leaders, and corporate boards about legal and operational risks in cyberspace. His guidance enables them to safeguard their interests and the entities they represent, ensuring proactive measures and responsive strategies in the face of potential cyber threats.

Roy's rich professional background spans various executive roles, including vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for a pubically-traded wireless communications firm, as well as vice president, general counsel, and chief privacy officer for an international travel services and technology corporation. He has also provided legal counsel within the telecommunications sector and held esteemed positions such as special counsel to the president of the American Bar Association and special assistant attorney general for the State of Georgia.

As a frequent speaker, lecturer and author, Roy has been featured on USAToday.com, FOXNews.com, Compliance Week, Healthcare Risk Management, Inside Counsel, Homeland Security Today, National Law Review, Sports Page Weekly, Law 360 and many other publications. He has also appeared on Georgia Public Broadcasting, TAG Radio, WXIA-TV (Tech Edge) and WUPA-TV (Focus Atlanta).

Ms. Viviane H. Ernstes Related Seminars and Products

Association of County Commissioners of Georgia

Viviane H. Ernstes (she/her) is the Chief Legal Officer for DeKalb County. She represents and provides legal advice to County departments and elected officials, including the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Commissioners, Sheriff, and Tax Commissioner. She is responsible for the operation of the County's Law Department comprised of over 30 staff members and she supervises and manages all civil litigation handled by the law department and its outside counsel. 

Ms. Ernstes has practiced law for 30 years and has served DeKalb County for the last 20 years. Prior to joining the County's Law Department, she supervised all litigation for the Fulton County Law Department and served as a part-time municipal court judge for the City of Decatur, where she also served as President of the State of Georgia Counseil of Municipal Court Judges. Ms. Ernstes earned her bachelor's degree from Agnes Scott College, having been accepted to the early admissions program at the age of sixteen, and earned her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she received the American Jurisprudence Award for Constitutional Litigation. Ms. Ernstes has also received the AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®.

Mr. Thomas Monroe Mitchell Related Seminars and Products

Carothers & Mitchell, LLC

Thomas M. Mitchell is a partner of the law firm of Carothers & Mitchell, LLC, located in Buford. He serves as city attorney for Demorest and Hiawassee, while his firm represents several other cities. Mr. Mitchell represents various counties in the areas of civil rights, land use, eminent domain and nuisance. His litigation practice includes representation of numerous cities and counties, as well as several small businesses and individuals. Mr. Mitchell also represents clients with regard to real estate, zoning and permitting, access and boundary disputes, construction, and foreclosure. Another significant part of his practice is representing law enforcement officers and agencies in Section 1983. Mr. Mitchell earned his undergraduate degree, with distinction, from the University of Virginia and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia Law School.

Mr. Christopher Dean Balch Related Seminars and Products

Balch Law Group

Chris Balch has more than 30 years of experience bridging gaps and building consensus so local government leaders can navigate complex legal matters, encourage economic development, and foster community investment. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal and the Good Conduct Medal, Chris brings the skills, discipline, and mission focus he learned to the challenges and opportunities your community faces.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and Mercer University Law School. He clerked for United States District Judge Duross Fitzpatrick in the Middle District of Georgia for 2 years before entering private practice. He moved to Atlanta in 1996.

He is also an acknowledged and sought-after expert and speaker at programs for local government lawyers across the Country. His legal scholarship regularly appears in newsletters and professional journals, including Municipal Lawyer. He is an IMLA Local Government Fellow and former member of the IMLA Board of Directors. He has been the chair or co-chair of the Litigation Committee for IMLA since 2020. He served as City Attorney for the City of Brookhaven for 8 years and has represented local government officials and law enforcement officers throughout his career.  

Hon. Andrew Alan Pinson Related Seminars and Products

Supreme Court of Georgia

Justice Andrew A. Pinson was appointed to the Supreme Court of Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp and was sworn in on July 20, 2022.

Justice Pinson was born in DeKalb County, Georgia, and grew up in Lithonia and Lawrenceville. In middle school, he moved to Lincolnton, and he graduated from Briarwood Academy in Warrenton.

Justice Pinson is a “Double Dawg” with a Finance Degree from the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business and a law degree from the University of Georgia’s Lumpkin School of Law. He graduated at the top of his class in law school and interned with Governor Sonny Perdue, Jones Day in Atlanta, and Fortson, Bentley, & Griffin in Athens.

After graduating from law school, Justice Pinson served as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for then-Chief Judge David B. Sentelle, and later served as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Clarence Thomas.

In private practice, Justice Pinson has twice worked for Jones Day, once in Washington D.C., between his two clerkships, and later here in Atlanta, after serving with Justice Clarence Thomas. At Jones Day, he was part of the firm’s Issues and Appeals Practice, and he handled a broad range of matters in both trial and appeals courts.

In 2017, Justice Pinson joined the Office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, and in 2018, he was appointed Solicitor General of Georgia. As Solicitor General, he led the State’s appellate and multistate litigation practice and served as the Attorney General’s chief constitutional advisor. He personally handled high-profile and complex appeals, including in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and several other courts in Georgia and across the country. And he oversaw matters of special importance to the State in all phases of litigation, including the successful defense of the State’s water resources in the critical “water wars” litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Pinson currently serves as an advisor to the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. He also serves as a Master of the Clarke-Carley Inn of Court and the Bleckley Inn of Court, and he serves on the Advisory Board for the Atlanta Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society.

Justice Pinson and his wife Sara Beth live just north of Tucker in DeKalb County. Sara Beth earned a Ph.D. in Poultry Science from the University of Georgia and now works for a software company and as a professional dog trainer. They enjoy hiking in the North Georgia mountains and playing dog sports like Frisbee and agility with their three dogs (Nimbus, Goomba, and Elphie). They attend Embry Hills United Methodist Church.

Robert W. Bowcock Related Seminars and Products