Ms. Rachel Gleason George Related Seminars and Products

Aaron's Inc

RACHEL GLEASON GEORGE is executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, chief compliance officer, and chief corporate affairs officer at The Aaron’s Company, a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-to-own and retail purchase solutions. Rachel’s areas of responsibility include all aspects of legal, compliance, corporate governance, enterprise risk, information security, safety, physical security, government relations and corporate affairs to all business segments. When she joined the company in November 2020, Rachel brought with her more than 17 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently from Navient, a leading provider of education loan management and business processing solutions to education, healthcare, and government clients at the federal, state, and local levels. While at Navient, Rachel served as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. Previously she was a partner in the Banking Group at Chapman and Cutler LLP. Rachel attended Covenant College and Emory University School of Law. 

Mr. Joel Thomas May Related Seminars and Products

Jones Day

Joel May is co-chair of the Firm's corporate governance area and has more than 20 years of experience representing clients and their boards of directors in a broad range of financing and corporate transactions, as well as corporate governance, shareholder activism, proxy fights, and securities compliance matters. He has represented clients in domestic and international corporate financing transactions in the manufacturing, consumer products, chemical products, real estate, e-commerce, telecommunications, and information management industries, including public equity and debt offerings, initial public offerings (IPOs), special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions, Rule 144A high yield offerings, and reorganizations, restructurings, recapitalizations, and other M&A transactions.

Joel joined the Atlanta Office in 2012 after spending the first part of his career in Jones Day's Chicago Office. He currently serves as the administrative partner for Atlanta.

Joel has been recognized as a leading lawyer by The Legal 500 United States. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Georgia.

Joel serves on the board of directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Make-A-Wish Georgia.

Jamie Singer Related Seminars and Products

FTI Consulting

Jamie Singer co-leads FTI Consulting's Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Communications practice, and has counseled hundreds of organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to public sector organizations through some of the most high-profile and largest cybersecurity crises of the past decade. Jamie works closely with leading cybersecurity law firms, insurance companies and forensics providers to assist organizations with strategic communications and reputation management services before, during and after significant cyber incidents. She is recognized for her exceptional ability to strategically lead clients through the complexity of a high-impact crisis in a challenging environment with a critical eye on reputation management and responsive crisis communications. Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Jamie was an Executive Vice President and Director of Data Security, Privacy and Crisis Communications at Resolute Strategic Services, where she led the CyberStrategies division. Jamie also spent 7 years at Edelman, where she was a Senior Vice President in the firm’s Crisis & Risk practice and a senior lead in the U.S. Data Security & Privacy Group. Jamie has spoken and written on data security and privacy crisis communications topics for numerous industry-leading organizations, including NetDiligence, HIMSS, SANS Institute and Security Magazine.

Lori Geary Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Authenticity Partners

Emmy Award Winning Political Reporter, Lori Geary, is a Partner with Lexicon Strategies and President of Lori Geary Media, a NWBE™ certified firm. Geary is also a Partner at Authenticity Partners, a media buying firm. She has spent decades in the media industry covering local, state and national campaigns along with state government. Lori joined the reporting team of WSB-TV in 1997 while anchoring at CNN Headline News. She stays active in the broadcasting world as the Host and Executive Producer of WAGA’s “The Georgia Gang.” Her expertise is now in media training, media strategy, corporate communications, marketing and branding, crisis communications and video storytelling. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp appointed Lori as Co-Executive Director of the Statewide Marketing Campaign for the 2020 Census.

Ms. Geary was named “One of the Best State Political Reporters” by the Washington Post and “One of the Most Influential Georgians” by James Magazine. She has won several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Georgia Associated Press. She is also proud of the two Emmys she received during her tenure at WSB-TV, along with a Telly for her investigative work in Haiti. Ms. Geary was also a 2018 Telly Award winner for a video production focusing on the life of African American Entrepreneur, Alonzo F. Herndon. Ms. Geary has received top honors from the League of Women Voters and Common Cause Georgia. She is also a 2006 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

Ms. Geary majored in Broadcast Journalism at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. She graduated magna cum laude in three years and started her first reporting job at WRDW-TV. She then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where she covered politics for three years before her career brought her to Atlanta. Ms. Geary spent most of her tenure at WSB-TV as the political reporter which included international travel, covering stories in Dubai, China, Haiti and Cuba.

Ms. Geary served as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for Sunshine on a Ranney Day. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit provides dream home and room make-overs for children with special needs. With the help of Ms. Geary’s leadership, the charity raised $1 million annually. She also served on the Advisory Board of the Zell Miller Foundation, a 501(c)(3) focusing on developing young leaders committed to public service.

Tharon Johnson Related Seminars and Products

Paramount Consulting

THARON JOHNSON, FOUNDER & CEO, PARAMOUNT CONSULTING GROUP

Tharon Johnson is the founder and CEO of Paramount Consulting Group, a full service, bipartisan government affairs and communications firm based in Atlanta, serving clients in the corporate and political sectors. A nationally recognized political strategist and trusted community leader, Tharon appears each week on Fox 5 Atlanta’s longest-running public affairs program, “The Georgia Gang” and on 90.1 WABE-FM’s popular “Political Breakfast” podcast, ranked among the top 40 political podcasts nationally.
 

Tharon advises elected officials at the highest levels of government. Most recently he served as a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris campaign in the battleground state of Georgia. He has served at senior levels of federal, state, and local campaigns, including for President Barack Obama, Congressman John Lewis, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Congressman John Barrow and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

He appears regularly as a key contributor on news shows, including CNN, MSNBC and Atlanta’s WSB-TV, providing timely insights and analysis of political developments at the national, state and local levels. He also is frequently quoted in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Political Insider blog, Politico, Roll Call, The Hill and other notable publications.

Tharon has received “40 Under 40” awards from both Georgia Trend Magazine and Atlanta
Business Chronicle and was named one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Georgians” by James Magazine. He was the youngest and first African American to receive the “Campaign Manager of the Year” distinction from the American Association of Political Consultants. In addition to his political honors, Tharon was also awarded the “Unsung Hero Award” by his alma mater Clark Atlanta University for outstanding contributions in Arts & Sciences. He is also on the board of advisors for Inclusivv.

With his astute grasp of not only politics, but economic and corporate climate, Tharon continues to lead his firm to success. Paramount has over a decade of experience providing effective results for clients, from raising the dollars needed to push campaigns over the top, to securing strategic contracts for clients, while keeping them engaged and connected with the community.

Paramount Consulting Group specializes in government affairs, lobbying, campaign strategy and communications. Leveraging deep relationships from across the aisle, the firm supports clients through a variety of complex needs, providing strategic guidance and solutions that drive results.

Tharon Johnson | Paramount Consulting Group | tjohnson@paramountconsults.com | 404-392-3175

Brian Robinson Related Seminars and Products

Robinson Republic

Brian Robinson owns Robinson Republic, a communications consulting firm that specializes in public affairs messaging throughout the state of Georgia. His clients include corporations, issue advocacy groups, chambers of commerce, public officials and political campaigns. Robinson Republic assists clients with message development, issue advocacy, media training, media relations and crisis management. He is a weekly political commentator in metro Atlanta media’s leading outlets and national cable news channels. He’s cohost of WABE’s Political Breakfast and a regular on Fox 5’s Georgia Gang and Road to November, and he’s the go-to for insight on Georgia politics for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico and others. He writes a column on politics in each edition of Georgia Trend magazine.

Prior to opening his own business, Robinson worked as deputy chief of staff for communications for Gov. Nathan Deal. In this capacity, he managed the governor’s communications staff and served as a senior adviser to the governor. Robinson also ran the communications efforts for the Deal for Governor campaigns in 2010 and 2014.

Robinson came to the 2010 campaign via Capitol Hill, where he served seven years as a communications director in the Georgia delegation for Rep. Phil Gingrey and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. He began his career as a journalist at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, where in the fall semester of 2016 he was an adjunct professor teaching public affairs communications. He is also a member of the Grady College Board of Trust and a former member of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Board of Governors.

Robinson has suffered a lifetime as a Georgia Bulldogs fan but is currently experiencing ongoing euphoria from the Dawgs’ back-to-back National Championships. He was named to the University of Georgia’s 2012 40 Under 40 class and is an alumnus of the 2015 Leadership Georgia class. He and his wife, Corinna, live in Brookhaven with their daughter, Quinn Paces, and their son, Asher, an English cream retriever. They are members of Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

Mr. Jeffrey M. Smith Related Seminars and Products

Greenberg Traurig LLP

A.  PRACTICE

Securities law, including ethics and malpractice litigation involving attorneys and accountants; entertainment industry joint ventures and audits; and food and beverage industry joint ventures and audits. 

B.  EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, University of Minnesota, 1970.  University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1966-67.  Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, University of Minnesota, 1973. Member, 1971-72, and President 1972-73, Minnesota Law Review.

 C.  HONORS AND AWARDS

1. The Best Lawyers in America: Plaintiffs’ Legal Malpractice;
2. The Best Lawyers in America: Defendants’ Legal Malpractice;
3. The Best Lawyers in America: Corporate Law;
4.   Who’s Who in American Law;
5.  Who’s Who in America and;
6.  Who’s Who in the World.

D.  SUMMARY OF TEACHING ACTIVITIES

1. Semester courses in Ethics and Legal Malpractice at Duke, Emory and Vanderbilt Law Schools.
2. Chair, 1983 – 2022, Georgia ICLE Professionalism, Ethics and Malpractice Seminar.
3. Southwestern University of Finance and Economics: Guest Lecturer, English Language Instruction, 2013 (Chengdue, China).   
4. Central University of Finance and Economics:  Honorary Professor and Guest Lecturer, Securities Laws, and Legal Opinions, 2008-present (Beijing, China).
5. Suzhou Institute:  Guest Lecturer, Securities Regulation, 2009 (Suzhou, China).
6. China Supreme Court: Guest Lecturer, Evolution of the Federal Securities Laws in the United States and comparison to China’s Securities Laws, May 13, 2008 (Beijing, China).   

E. PUBLICATION

1.  1976: Author, Preventing Legal Malpractice (West Publishing), the first book on this subject.
2.  1981:  Editor and reviewer, Levinson, Accountant’s Legal Liability (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.).
3.  1999: Co-author, Fourth Edition of Preventing Legal Malpractice (Thomson/West).  4.  1985-2015:  Co-author, Legal Malpractice (Thomson/West), a five-volume, 7,000-page treatise.           
5.   2007-Present:  Co-author, Second, Third and Fourth Editions, Legal Opinions In Business   Transactions (American Bar Association), a three-volume, 2,000-page treatise. 
6.   2021: Co-editor, Harvard Professor Michael Witzel, The Veda in Kashmir (Harvard Press). 
7.   2023: (estimated):  Co-author with Harvard Professor Michael Witzel, Teaching English Strategically to Native Mandarin Speakers.

Amy Manning Related Seminars and Products

McGuire Woods

Amy is the chair of the firm’s Antitrust, Trade and Commercial Litigation Department. She has served on the firm’s Executive Committee, on the Board of Partners, as the Managing Partner of the McGuireWoods Chicago office, as co-chair of the Life Sciences Industry Group and as co-chair of the firm’s Recruiting Committee.

Amy has extensive experience handling criminal and civil antitrust matters for international and U.S. companies, as well as individuals, in federal and state courts and arbitration tribunals throughout the United States. Her cases involve international cartels, price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, tying arrangements, bundling, monopolization, attempted monopolization, and Robinson-Patman Act claims. In addition, she regularly advises clients on distribution relationships, compliance matters, and other antitrust issues related to day-to-day business operations. She is a frequent author and speaker on numerous topics relating to antitrust, government investigations, and compliance issues. She also has designed and implemented numerous national and international compliance programs.

Amy’s practice also focuses on complex commercial litigation, including class actions, breach of contract actions, commodities litigation, multi-district litigation, and intellectual property disputes. She has first chaired arbitrations, trials and appeals. Her arbitration practice includes international, domestic, and class action arbitrations before various tribunals. She has argued and handled federal appeals, and recently argued and won an appeal in an antitrust and patent case pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Andre Geverola Related Seminars and Products

Arnold & Porter LLP

Andre Geverola a partner at Arnold & Porter and leads the firm’s cartel investigations practice. Mr. Geverola was the first Director of Criminal Litigation in the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice, where he supervised antitrust litigation matters across the country.  Mr. Geverola represents companies and individuals involved in cartel investigations and litigation, and leverages his 14 years of DOJ experience to develop effective solutions in criminal and civil antitrust matters across a number of industries.  Mr. Geverola also advises clients on practical approaches to compliance and risk mitigation.

Ms. Rachel Epps Spears Related Seminars and Products

Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta

Ms. Heather Howdeshell Morlock Related Seminars and Products

Delta Air Lines Inc.

Heather Howdeshell Morlock is an Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Transactions & Marketing, at Delta Air Lines. Her practice focuses on Consumer Transactions/Marketing & Policy, Sustainability, and Innovation & Product. Prior to joining Delta, she practiced law as an associate with the Eversheds Sutherland Corporate Transactions group.

Heather serves as Chair of Delta’s Legal Department Pro Bono Committee and has volunteered extensively with Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta since 2010, including prior service as Chair of PBPA SpringBoard (the Young Lawyer’s Committee) and as a member of the PBPA Strategic Planning Committee.

Heather is a graduate of the University of Florida Fredric C. Levin College of Law and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia.

Mr. Richard Joseph Valladares Related Seminars and Products

Greenberg Traurig LLP

Mr. Kevin Michael Young Related Seminars and Products

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Kevin defends and advises businesses on a wide array of workplace issues. He is
particularly well-versed in federal and state wage and hour laws (e.g., overtime, exempt
classification, independent contractor classification, meal and rest breaks, predictive
scheduling). Kevin also partners with his clients to tackle day-to-day needs and
sensitivities, from negotiating and enforcing employment agreements, to revising
handbooks and policies, to identifying and executing training opportunities.

Kevin’s aptitude in counseling employers derives from his front-line litigation experience.
He has spent nearly fifteen years defending employers facing single-plaintiff, collective
action, and class action lawsuits, as well as government investigations. From “bet the
company” litigation to complex matters involving legal issues of first impression, Kevin
and the attorneys with whom he partners have secured denials of class certification, won
dismissals and summary judgments, and secured trial court and appellate victories for
employers on groundbreaking arguments. Kevin has also successfully mediated cases of
all sizes, from single-claimant matters to nationwide class cases.

Drawing upon his litigation experience, Kevin helps businesses peek around the corner
to proactively identify and mitigate risk. From designing plans to assess compliance with
laws most likely to spawn litigation to crafting policies, trainings, and communications to
attack legal risk, Kevin partners with his clients at every step. Kevin also leans on his
litigation experience in advising businesses of all sizes and growth stages on day-to-day
employment issues that command real-time answers and practical solutions.

Kevin is known for his collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to solving problems. He
is well-networked across the firm and routinely leverages the assistance of colleagues
across offices and practice groups to provide the best possible solutions for his clients.
This includes not only other lawyers across the platform, but also Seyfarth’s deep bench
of skilled, non-attorney professionals, such as project managers, labor economists, and
software engineers.

Kevin took a unique path to employment law, first earning his undergraduate degree in
accounting, spending three summers interning for a “Big Four” tax firm, and devoting the
earliest chapter of his legal career to tax law. These experiences molded Kevin into an
attorney who is as comfortable developing a detailed exposure analysis as he is training
a roomful of supervisors on best employment practices and common pitfalls. A tech nerd
at heart, Kevin also leverages technology to enhance the delivery of legal service.

Kevin and his wife, Lindsay, are the proud parents of two sometimes behaved young
boys and a 10-year-old puppy. When he's not working or spending time with his family,
Kevin can be found on the ice hockey rink or Peloton, or coaching his oldest son’s tee
ball team. Kevin’s ice hockey team, the Crustaceans, won its rec league championship in
2016 (and has failed to make the playoffs each season since).

Ms. Diana Sarju Kim Related Seminars and Products

NCR ATLEOS CORPORATION

Diana Sarju Kim is an Atlanta native who has an Indo-Guyanese father and Colombian mother. She attended Emory University, where she earned her B.A. in International Studies. She then went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. She is currently an in-house employment counsel and advisor for NCR Atleos Corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia. She joined NCR Corporation in July 2023, as it finalized the process of spinning out its ATM/Banking aspect of its business to form a separate, publicly-traded company, NCR Atleos Corporation. Diana advises NCR Atleos’ HR team on a number of personnel and labor/employment compliance issues. She partners closely with HR and provides counsels on all employment matters, including terminations, reductions in force, accommodations, leaves of absence, wage & hour compliance, immigration, OSHA issues, restrictive covenants, OFCCP compliance, and labor disputes and negotiations. In her role, she also manages NCR Atleos’ employment litigation and pre-litigation matters.

Before joining NCR Atleos and NCR, Diana served as in-house employment counsel for Cox, where she supported the HR functions for both Cox Automotive and Cox Communications. Between 2017 through 2021, she was the in-house employment counsel for Rheem Manufacturing Company - a water heating/AC manufacturer based in Atlanta, GA. Before becoming an in-house lawyer, she worked in private practice for 10 years as a business advisor and litigator representing companies from various industries. In that capacity, she represented employers in commercial litigation, single-plaintiff employment, and class action matters involving commercial litigation disputes, claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and alleged wage and hour violations. She also represented employers, employee benefits plans, and fiduciaries in employee benefits litigation brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In all of her roles, Diana has been a problem solver, thought partner, and expert in keeping all things calm.