Scott Cole is a Partner in the Atlanta office and works with several of the firm’s practice groups. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Cole has a civil engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law. Mr. Cole is a senior member of the Transactional Practice Group. He focuses his energy on the sale of medical offices, including dental offices, to larger groups. In connection with this, he has worked with many of the larger national and regional DSOs. He represents clients, including technology, communications and energy companies, on a variety of matters ranging from entity selection, organizational structuring, transaction structuring, and working with clients through day-to-day and extraordinary business transactions. Mr. Cole works with corporate clients to identify strategic goals and assists them through initial planning, negotiations, and project completion. Mr. Cole worked as outside counsel to a suburban Atlanta county, local water authority, and currently serves as city attorney for Mansfield, GA. In those capacities, he drafted and reviewed various contracts, including GDOT and multi-million dollar construction contracts; drafted various ordinances and resolutions; and advised local officials on land acquisition, policy, and other matters.

I graduated cum laude in 2002 from the Georgia State University College of Law, where I was a member of Law Review. My undergraduate degree is in history from the University of Florida. Prior to and during law school, I worked at the Federal Trade Commission on consumer protection cases, primarily involving enforcement actions under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act relating to advertising and marketing practices. I started my legal career at a large international firm, where I defended FTC enforcement actions as well as represented international corporations in a diverse variety of high-stakes cases involving advertising, marketing, trademark and copyright protection, defamation, and business disputes. Desiring more trial work, I transitioned to a mid-size firm with other former big firm attorneys. There, I continued my diverse practice, tried over 40 cases, and made partner. In August 2021, I founded Bazinet Law, where I bring together my diverse legal background to help people with unique legal problems that touch on the area of social media, intellectual property, consumer protection, and sports. Outside of my law practice, I am licensed soccer coach who has worked with high-level competitive youth soccer for the better part of 30 years. I also play and am an avid fan.

Attorney Putnam C. Smith represents Main Street business owners and executives, professionals of all types and local, regional and national real estate investors, developers and operators, concentrating on business and commercial real estate transactions and tax and estate planning. Common transactions include start-ups, acquisitions and sales of closely held business, tax-free mergers and reorganizations, asset purchases, leveraged buyouts and joint ventures and partnerships in a wide range of industries. He has practiced corporate law in Atlanta and the surrounding metropolitan area since 1988, initially with Nall & Miller, LLP and later with Robert W. Fisher, P.C., a tax boutique that was instrumental in the creation of Nextel and a number of international ventures in the telecommunications industry before disbanding in 1994. Before attending law school, he incorporated Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign and worked as a legal assistant with other leading Atlanta law firms, including King & Spalding, LLP and Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP, gaining invaluable experience with public corporations and investment banks. During his tenure with Lipscomb, Johnson, Sleister, Dailey & Smith, LLP, Mr. Smith has handled private equity investments in shopping centers and industrial and commercial property in several southeastern states, land assemblages requiring services ranging from quiet title actions to road closures and a $116 million buyout to resolve a shareholder’s dispute involving a closely held technology business.

Andrea M. Johnson was born in the metro-Atlanta area. She graduated with a Bachelor's in Political Science from Columbus State University and later attended Mercer University School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate. Since graduating from law school, Attorney Johnson has been practicing in the area of family law. She has tried divorce and modification actions all over the metropolitan Atlanta area as well as around the entire state of Georgia . While she is no stranger to the courtroom, Attorney Johnson represents each client individually and has had great success in settling cases outside of the courtroom to the satisfaction of many clients. Over the recent years, Ms. Johnson has also been appointed in several counties to serve as a guardian ad litem in highly contested custody matters. She finds serving the best interests of a child to be very fulfilling both professionally and personally. Additionally, Ms. Johnson is an appointed Child Advocate Lawyer for the Jackson County Juvenile Court and regularly serves the children of that county who have been remove from their homes and need their voices to be heard. Additionally, Ms. Johnson's estate planning practice is designed to help clients customize their estate plans according to individual needs. Whether that includes preserving a child's inheritance after a divorce or ensuring that your healthcare wishes are met, Ms. Johnson recognizes that estate planning is not a one-size-fits-all practice and she focuses on individualization for each client based on their needs. Finally, if you have been in a car accident and want an honest, yet aggressive lawyer, Ms. Johnson can help you! Her first job in the legal field was during her law school years when she clerked for an insurance defense firm. She quickly became familiar with excuses and loop holes used by insurance companies to avoid payment. Following graduation from law school, she went to work for a small firm with a personal injury practice. Her knowledge of insurance defense was of great value to the firm as she transitioned to Plaintiff's work. Ms. Johnson's personal injury work is focused on motor vehicle accidents. Ms. Johnson has worked in small boutique firms and she served for over eight years with a large international firm. Over the years, she has come to learn that it is not the size of the firm, but the quality of representation that counts. That is why she focuses to make her clients her number one priority!! Attorney Johnson has been appointed to serve as a mentor for new attorneys through the Georgia State Bar Association. Attorney Johnson focuses on ethical representation and is committed to honesty and integrity with each client she represents. Ms. Johnson has office space in Lawrenceville, Cumming, and the Cobb Galleria area.

Brian Near began his legal practice in 1989 with a law firm located in the former IBM Tower (One Atlantic Center) in midtown Atlanta. He later moved his practice to Resurgens Plaza in Buckhead and eventually settled in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Mr. Near is an active lawyer handling cases involving litigation, bankruptcy/debt relief, estate planning, domestic disputes, personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and premises liability. "My goal is to provide guidance and support so that together, we can work toward a solution to help you move forward." Since entering solo private practice in 1994, Brian Near has acquired, operated, and sold two restaurant businesses, bought and sold various real estate investments, and had other practical experiences that are beneficial to his legal business clients. Mr. Near is married with two children, lives in Cumming, Georgia, and enjoys spending time with his family and traveling.