Lee Meadows | Atlanta Real Estate Lawyer

In the early days of his practice, Lee helped introduce the modern use of direct agency title insurance to rural lending agencies and banks, and eventually became regional counsel for a national title company. As a lobbyist for the non-conforming loan industry, Lee worked closely with various legislative elements in the structure and amendment of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act, and continued in that role as an active member of GRECAA (Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorney's Association), where he served on the board and acted as liaison with the Georgia State Bar. In 2008, with the rise in title claims and the need for title curative services, Lee began work with Pendergast & Associates, a regionally recognized default services firm. There, servicing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and various national and international insurance, banking and investment firms, Lee became well known as a knowledgeable sounding board and the source of practical advice in title cure. Currently, Lee’s practice also includes residential and commercial closings, coupled with a broad spectrum of services for individual and corporate clients, including wills, trusts and estates, business matters, portfolio transfer, land development and finance.

Lee has served on the Midtown Atlanta land use planning and zoning committee for two decades and has participated in a number of other civic and charitable endeavors. He remains close to his family in joint management of their ongoing South Georgia forestry business. Lee’s idea of the best of days is one reading a great book in the cool of the mountains of North Carolina or one working on his Dad’s fishing shack on the Georgia coast.

In several recent cases, my detailed practical approach and extensive experience have proved critical in quick resolution of contentious estate and property matters. Several, in particular, come to mind. Recently, a client was preparing to sell an apartment complex, but, on survey and upon examination of title, it was realized that a great deal of the parking lot was in the right of way of a previously unopened street. I walked the site and the property of all neighbors, contacted the city and laid out a plan for resolution. After I sat down with all parties and secured the neighborhood backing, my client's title insurance company agreed to pay the city and others a relatively small amount. I prepared the documents and, in a total ten month period, all was resolved. Another case of interest involved the boundaries of residential lots first developed over a century ago. Each neighbor was claiming rights to a strip of land that lay between their respective homes. The matter had consumed two years of their time and that of the courts and approximately $52,000.00 in court/attorney costs. The attorneys involved invited me to intervene. After talking with each neighbor and determining their wants and needs, I met with all parties at the site. Once we had walked the relevant boundary, and staked and marked an agreeable line, we had the rough outline of a settlement. With the help of my dozen survey stakes and ball of twine and the work of one of my surveyors, within the month, I was able to hammer out a complete and final land-line agreement and have all claims dismissed. A third case involves all the horror-story technicalities that professors use to scare the newbies in law school. Here, an individual, who had not been in contact with his family in forty years, died at age eighty six. The sole substantial asset of the estate the was a lot on which the home of the deceased sat. Title abstract revealed that three others, besides the deceased, owned the realty. Our first owner with was an out of state corporate entity which had purchased at a tax auction. The second was an individual who had died a quarter of a century ago, who had left no known will and no known family. Our third additional owner seemed to disappear after a political scandal in 1976. Several attorneys and private detectives had apparently worked on the title issues through the years, but all had run into dead ends. Through familiarity with national and local historical records, I was able to locate heirs as are now scattered in North Carolina, Virginia and Thailand. As for our ghost who disappeared in 1976, I found she had a few aliases (27 to be exact), but was now living the quiet life in an Atlanta suburb. With a little arm-twisting, was able to secure her interest. We thereafter contracted to sell and agreed to pay the holder of the tax deed at closing. We worked through necessary court actions while working with a dozen heirs and were still able to cure title, liquidate the realty, and complete the estate within fourteen months In closing, the last case will interest all those now moving back to the historic core of the city. As re-gentrification is now rampant, these type cases are more and more prevalent. Many older neighborhoods were originally mapped and sold with service alleys running through each block. These were promoted as the means by which coal and ice was to be delivered, by which the privy was to be serviced, by which garbage was to be disposed, and the route by which the servants came and went. The developers' promotional material often failed to take into consideration either topographic impediments or lack of actual land space in the block. Many of these alleys were never opened or, many that were, were abandoned when the city ceased to use them and surrendered its rights fifty years ago. With the various twists in ""alley law"", many people absorbed these parcels into their backyards or constructed improvements in the rights of way. Fast-forwarding to today, we find new urban homeowners who want rear access for a garage and the ever present developer who desires to expand the alley route for access to his entire new subdivision. As this type of dispute has grown, we have favorably negotiated an end to several disputes and, in the necessary instance, put forward a number of innovative and successful theories in court.

My advantage in building a practice is that I have a broad view of the law, a bent for addressing issues on a practical basis, and that I truly enjoy working on the most twisted of problems .

Clients should always inquire about the attorney's experience, utilize an attorney who gives a balanced overview of probabilities, and, if the representation is to be for any extended period, clients should insure the attorney someone with whom they can not only work, but with whom they can be absolutely candid.

Although some cases are a matter of an experienced reading and implementation of the rules, regulations and law, local knowledge and relationships are an absolute necessity in others.

• Member | Georgia State Bar Association
  Member | Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorney's Association
  Member | Midtown Atlanta Land Use Planning & Zoning Committee

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