Residential Real Estate

Ms. Tamara C. Brooks Related Seminars and Products

Agents National Title Insurance Company

Tamara Brooks is the Georgia State Manager and Underwriting Counsel for WFG National Title Insurance Company. She has been practicing real estate law in Georgia for over 17 years.  Tamara began her career doing residential real estate closings including new construction, REO transactions and HUD. She has also worked on real estate title litigation matters representing lenders.  Tamara has been an underwriter for 7 years.  As underwriting counsel, Tamara works with Georgia issuing agents, assists with claims and provides continuing education for WFG agents. 

Tamara earned her J.D. degree from Georgia State University in 2004 and her B.A. from the University of Hawaii.  She is an active member of the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (“NAPMW”) and serves on the Education Committee for the Southeast Land Title Association (“SLTA”).  In her free time Tamara works with a local dog rescue group as a foster mommy and mentor for new foster volunteers.  She is also the proud mom to 6 awesome dogs of her own.

Ms. Katharine B. Oates Related Seminars and Products

Weissman PC

Katharine Oates brings two decades of residential and commercial real estate experience to Weissman PC, where she helps oversee the operations of the firm’s residential closing practice, which includes professional development, support and growth of brokerage relationships, and development and implementation of systems to maximize efficiency and customer service. In addition to a successful legal practice working closely with real estate agents, lenders, builders, and investors, Katharine develops and teaches continuing education classes for Georgia lawyers and real estate agents. Prior to joining Weissman, Katharine successfully managed multiple real estate closing offices handling residential and commercial real estate matters with an emphasis on real estate transactions, title clearance, and contract drafting and review.

Katharine is a member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law Section. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorneys Association for which she holds the Officer position of Secretary. Throughout her career, Katharine has served on the boards of multiple other industry-related organizations and service organizations. Katharine is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia as a member of the Real Property Law Section and the District of Columbia Bar as a member of the Real Estate and Land Use Section. She is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the Court of Appeals for the State of Georgia, and the Georgia Supreme Court.

Katharine is the co-author of Done Deal! A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Mastering Negotiations.

Mr. Thomas M. Mashburn Related Seminars and Products

Aldridge Pite LLP

Matt is the 2022 recipient of the prestigious George A. Pindar Award.

He was born in Atlanta, GA and grew up in Decatur, Georgia and was educated in the public schools of DeKalb County.  He currently resides in Cartersville, Georgia but he works in Buckhead.  He went to the University of Georgia for undergraduate and law school.  Undergraduate, he was Phi Beta Kappa in political science magna cum laude and was Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa.  While in law school, he was Executive Editor of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law which published his Note which was an extensive review of Presidential Powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.  His law school Note is still being cited in law review articles to this day over thirty years later.

He’s a Member of the Georgia and Montana Bars (where he’s a member of the Water Law section). 

He taught real estate law in the paralegal program at Kennesaw State for 25 years.

He served as the Chair of the Litigation Committee of the Executive Committee of the Real Property Law Section in Georgia for four years.  He has been a frequent contributor of articles for the Real Property Law Section newsletter.  Since 2013 until very recently, every single edition of the newsletter contained at least one of his articles.

He has been publishing his own particular brand of case write-ups for twelve years now currently under the name Distilled Clarity previously known as Undiluted Clarity.

He practices in all areas of commercial finance and secured lending. 

Mr. Charles Spraggins Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Spraggins Law Firm, LLC

Charles Spraggins is a Georgia native, lawyer, and founding member of Spraggins Law Firm, LLC.  He is licensed to practice law in the states of New York (2007) and Georgia (2019).  Charles began his career in New York City conducting due diligence, handling residential real estate closings, and counseling condominium and cooperative boards.  He also litigated commercial and real property disputes throughout all five boroughs of New York and Long Island.  In Georgia, his law practice focuses on real estate law including residential and commercial closings and title curative work.  Charles earned his B.A. degree from Georgia State University School of Music and his J.D. degree from Georgia State University College of Law. 

Mr. Leonard R. Gray Jr. Related Seminars and Products

First American Title Insurance Company

Leonard R. Gray, Jr. is Senior Underwriting Counsel in the Atlanta Agency office of First American Title Insurance Company, specializing in insuring Commercial -High Liability transactions.

Mr. Gray started his title insurance career in 1998 with First American with the National Commercial Services office in Atlanta. Mr. Gray has also served as Georgia State Counsel for both Lawyers Title and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Companies, as well as Commercial Underwriting Counsel for Fidelity in their National Commercial (NTS) Office.

Before joining the title insurance industry 1998, he maintained a real estate closing and transactional practice in Atlanta with two large volume real estate law firms, starting with McCurdy and Candler law firm in Decatur, Georgia. He also has experience in bankruptcy, foreclosure, and lender representation, representing a large Savings and Loan in Georgia.  

He is an AV-Rated Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Gray graduated from the University of Georgia, School of Law.

Mr. Gray was honored with the George A. Pindar Award given by the Executive Committee of the Real Property Law Section at the 2023 Real Property Law Institute.

Mr. Patrick David Hagler Related Seminars and Products

First American Title Insurance Company

As Southeast Regional Counsel and Southeast Agency Manager, Patrick Hagler occupies a critical role within Alliant National Title Insurance Company. From reviewing and approving transactions to problem solving with the company’s network of independent agents, Patrick provides incredible value to Alliant National’s Southeast operations. Each day, he applies his vast knowledge, industry experience and raw skill for the betterment of the organization. His boundless enthusiasm for the work is self-evident, particularly when teaching classes to young, up-and-coming attorneys.

Patrick was born and raised in Texas. He got his start in the industry in 1996 while attending law school in San Antonio. After graduation, Patrick worked as in-house counsel for an independent agency and as an associate for a real estate law firm. In January 2005, Patrick made his way to Georgia to start his underwriting career, and he has been underwriting for 17 of the past 19 years.

              Patrick is a member of SLTA and ALTA.    He has been invited to speak at multiple seminars in Georgia and throughout the Southeast.

He recently moved to the North Georgia Mountains, where he has found great joy being in nature and exploring new hikes and waterfalls. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Patrick enjoys keeping busy with renovation projects and spending time with his two dachshunds: Sammy and Scarlett. He also collects and distributes supplies to the homeless, and has volunteered on the Lost and Found Hotline for homeless youth. In 2020, Patrick received the October Research Philanthropy Award at NS3 for this work.   

Ms. Kelsea Lila Sonne Laun Related Seminars and Products

Doma Title Insurance, Inc.

As regional underwriting counsel, Kelsea provides support to Doma agents throughout Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.  Kelsea began her legal career representing individuals in landlord-tenant disputes and later handled all aspects of consumer bankruptcy at a large metro Atlanta bankruptcy law firm. Prior to joining Doma f/k/a North American Title Insurance Company, she handled title insurance claims litigation with The Gilroy Firm. Kelsea is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. She serves on the communications committee and as Georgia Director of the Southeast Land Title Association and serves on the Executive Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the Georgia Bar. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University.  She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband, two children, and their sweet rescue pup, Alberta.  While most of her free time is spent as an active spectator at her children’s baseball, tennis, and lacrosse matches, Kelsea also enjoys playing tennis and exploring the great outdoors. 

Mr. James J. Larotonda Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

James J. LaRotonda, Jr. (Jim) Joined ORNTIC in December of 2018. In his current roll  Jim assists attorneys and agents and their staffs with all aspects of title underwriting and real estate transactions for the State of Georgia.

Jim has over 30 years of experience in the title industry, including extensive experience in the examination of title, bankruptcy, foreclosure and REO. Prior to earning his law degree, Jim started as a title examiner in the bowls of the Fulton County record room and later throughout the state, Jim then moved to a high-volume closing practice, and later ran a sole practice REO shop. Prior to joining Old Republic Jim worked for a default servicing firm representing creditors in title curative matters as well as foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction and REO. Jim has been active in numerous industry organizations including REOMAC, the Attorneys Legal and Financial Network and The Legal League 100 where he participated as a presenter in a number of trainings and seminars.

Jim was Admitted to the practice of law in 1988, having received his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Mexico, and  a Master’s Degree from Eastern Kentucky University.

Jim is licensed to practice in Georgia, before the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the US District Courts for the Northern and Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia. He is currently a member of GRECAA, the Real Property, Bankruptcy, and Creditor’s Rights sections of the Georgia State Bar.

Mr. Ethan Purvis Related Seminars and Products

FIRPTA Solutions

Ethan Purvis is the Marketing Director for FIPRTA Solutions located in Cape Coral, FL. Ethan's primary responsibility is informing the public of the FIRPTA withholding tax, and the services FIRPTA Solutions offers to aid clients in this complicated piece of the tax code. Ethan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelor's in Communication and Marketing.