Legal Services & Lawyers

Practice Areas
Mr. Tharp practice areas include both business litigation and family law matters. Much like his law partner, Mr. Meriwether, he finds that handling both types of cases provides unique advantages for his clients. His business litigation and small business experience helps provide extensive financial expertise in handling divorces with large, complicated estates. His family law practice helps provide more frequent courtroom experiences that help him to continue to learn how to best present cases in front of judges and juries.
Mr. Tharp handles a broad range of family law cases including divorce, modification actions, contempt proceedings, and appellant work. He regularly handles estates with large and unique assets, such as a business which can be difficult to value during a divorce proceeding. Mr. Tharp has completed formal mediation training and utilizes this knowledge to achieve favorable results while amicably trying to resolve matters for his clients. Although Mr. Tharp strongly believes that parties should try to resolve matters in a collaborative fashion whenever possible, he also willing, when necessary and appropriate, to utilize his extensive debate skills in a courtroom for his client’s advantage.
General Background and Education
Robert L. Tharp was born on Beale Air Force Base, California. As a child of a military family, he has lived all across the United States and abroad. In high school, Mr. Tharp started to compete at a national level in high school debate.

Mr. Tharp went college at Emory University and graduated in 1993. While in college, Mr. Tharp served as an active leader on campus and was president of the College Republicans, statewide officer of the College Republicans, president of the Georgia Conservancy, student representative to the Southern Accreditation Committee, and officer of Delta Tau Delta. Mr. Tharp also continued to develop his debate skills in college winning numerous college debate tournament awards including best freshman debater, most improved debater, and 1st place at Vanderbilt’s national debate competition. Mr. Tharp also reached elimination rounds for the national debate championship during his time in college.
Mr. Tharp stayed at Emory for law school and received his Juris Doctor Degree in May of 1996. In addition to the rigors of a law school curriculum, Mr. Tharp remained active within the college and high school debate community by helping to coach Emory University’s college debate program and serving as an assistant debate coach for several local high schools including Milton high school in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Mr. Tharp has continued to advance his education and skills since graduation from law school, most recently with his completion of formal mediation training to help better serve his client’s needs in this growing area of dispute resolution.
Civic Involvement
Mr. Tharp served on the Board of Directors for Emory University’s debate program, the Barkley Forum for a number of years. As part of Mr. Tharp’s contributions to Emory during this time period, he ran the Lincoln Douglas portion of the annual Barkley Forum for high school debate tournament at Emory University (the largest high school debate tournament in the nation) while supervising and coaching Emory students during the school year and high school students and high school teachers during annual summer debate workshops. Mr. Tharp also provided extensive help to the Georgia’s high school debate community by helping to run twenty plus high school tournaments a year throughout the greater Atlanta area including tournaments at Milton and Chattahoochee high school.

In addition, Mr. Tharp helped to establish and provided extensive hands-on service for the Urban Debate League program for high school and junior high school students. Mr. Tharp worked with establishing three of the initial Urban debate league programs in this country in Atlanta, Baltimore, and New York – a program that has expanded to 18 of the nation’s largest cities, served 311 urban high schools, 51 urban middle schools, and 37,000 urban public school students.

For these accomplishments, Mr. Tharp was the sole recipient of Emory University’s prestigious Warren Akin Outstanding Alumni Contribution award in 1998.

Political Background
Over the years, Mr. Tharp has been active in numerous state and federal campaigns for local, state and federal races from judges and state representatives to United States Congressmen. He has served various campaign roles from volunteer to campaign coordinator.

In addition, Robert L. Tharp was one of the founding members of a political consulting firm that managed various state and local level campaigns. Not only did this firm provide him with invaluable experience developing and executing comprehensive campaign plans, issues and materials, it also taught him lessons of how to run a business and the struggles that small businesses must manage.

Practice Areas

Since 2000, Mr. Meriwether has focused seventy percent (70%) of his practice on family law and thirty percent (30%) on business law. Through time, he has found that family and business law complement each other well in practice, as his skills from one area transfer easily to the other. Business litigation cases tend to require fewer Court appearances, but the family law cases of Mr. Meriwether's practice has afforded him the opportunity to appear in Court more often and hone skills necessary both for family law and business litigation. Mr. Meriwether's business litigation and transactional work provide the experience and ability to examine and tirelessly move through financial documents, both for business cases, including personal and small businesses, as well as family law cases involving large marital estates in need of equitable division.

Mr. Meriwether utilizes the latest computer software to maintain detailed and comprehensive records of his complex cases. This software allows Mr. Meriwether and his clients to quickly access case information and ensures that no details of the case are overlooked.

Family Law

Mr. Meriwether handles a broad range of family law cases, including divorce, adoption, child custody and support modification, adoption, domestic violence, and premarital agreements. He regularly deals with marital assets ranging from those of little or even negative value to those worth millions of dollars, and competently calculates spousal and child support when applicable.

Mr. Meriwether has said, "In the Courtroom, we zealously represent our clients. But often, fierce litigation is not the best way to resolve a divorce, and we work to settle cases through active negotiation. A divorce can be the most life altering and stressful event anyone can go through, but it does not have to be." To help alleviate the stress often involved in family law cases, Mr. Meriwether takes a collaborative approach to family law. This approach involves utilizing negotiation and mediation to help maintain an amicable relationship between the parties. In cases with children, collaborative law protects the children above all else, creates a win/win situation for the parties, and the parties walk away as satisfied as possible.

In some family law cases, collaborative law will not work, or is inappropriate. Mr. Meriwether evaluates every case on an individual basis to determine how aggressive to approach the case based on the facts, the Court in which the case will be heard, and the Judge who will hear the case. The goal is to achieve the best possible outcome for an individual client. In Mr. Meriwether's experience, compared to a more subtle approach, a "take no prisoners" attitude often results in higher lawyer's fees without a corresponding increase in the achieved result. As such, Mr. Meriwether aims to provide the correct level of aggressiveness to each case for the best result possible.

Business Law

Mr. Meriwether handles a variety of business law cases including simple and complicated business formations, and business divorces. He routinely forms Limited Liability Companies and Corporations. In so doing, he often is asked to draft complex contracts to assist the new business entity with its operations. He also assists clients with the buying and selling of businesses (including the due diligence associated with this process).

Mr. Meriwether views business formations involving a group of friends or acquaintances as marriages, albeit financial ones, and he excels in spotting potential pitfalls when parties are entering into a business relationship. He works hard to ensure that his clients enter into their business ventures well-informed and protected from whatever business complications they may encounter.

Membership

State Bar of Georgia (Member of the Family Law and Business Law Sections)
The Florida Bar
American Bar Association (Member of the Family Law and Business Law Sections)

Admissions
1996, Georgia
1996, Florida

Speaking Engagements
LLC Trends and Developments by National Business Institute. Continuing Legal Education for fellow attorneys.

Arbitration
In 2007, Mr. Meriwether obtained his certification for arbitration. He is ready to arbitrate any Family Law issues and most Business Law matters.

Professional Experience - Mr. Meriwether was admitted to practice law in Florida and Georgia in 1996. In 1998, Patrick L. Meriwether left the Atlanta office of Arthur Anderson and joined Robert Tharp to establish Meriwether & Tharp. His position at Arthur Anderson involved providing tax advice to a variety of large corporations. Mr. Meriwether; however, missed the personal satisfaction that comes with running his own practice and assisting small businesses and individuals with their legal needs. This is where he felt that he could really make the biggest difference.

Community Experience - Mr. Meriwether volunteers time to teach Judo to both children and adults. He holds a Black Belt in Judo and, when he competed in law school, he was the Florida State Champion in his weight division two years in a row. At the 2007 Georgia State Games, he won the gold in his division.

At The Law Office of Bukhari Nuriddin, our clients come first. Every client is treated with courtesy and is guaranteed effective representation. Our expertise and integrity have earned us a reputation as one of Atlanta's premier legal firms.

Our consistent track record of uncompromising ethics instills confidence and trust. We use cutting edge technologies that allow us to respond quickly, and give you the most relevant information and perspectives.

The Law Office of Bukhari Nuriddin is dedicated to achieving the best outcome for every client. With The Law Office of Bukhari Nuriddin on your side, you will come out on top.

Bukhari Nuriddin earned his J.D. degree from Howard University School of Law in 2008. After passing the Georgia Bar, Mr. Nuriddin entered private practice representing both small businesses and individual clients. In 2009, Mr. Nuriddin founded The Law Office of Bukhari Nuriddin. Mr. Nuriddin believed that in starting his own practice, he could be more effective in helping people deal with a variety of legal issues. Since then, Mr. Nuriddin has represented numerous high-profile clients in the pursuit of their transactional goals and has appeared on behalf of individual clients in State Court. Mr. Nuriddin practices exclusively in the areas of intellectual property and entertainment law, criminal defense, tax, wills, trusts & estate planning, and real estate. The Law Office of Bukhari Nuriddin has allowed Mr. Nuriddin to fully realize his passion for advocating for those who are unable to advocate for themselves.

Mr. Nuriddin is active in a number of professional organizations including the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia.

Daniel Woodring was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but has lived in Florida for the past twenty years. In Florida, he has lived and worked in Pensacola, Clearwater, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Tallahassee. His wife Jean, who is also an attorney, was born in Miami, and grew up in Ft. Myers.

Daniel Woodring is a member of the Florida and Georgia Bars, and is admitted to practice before the Florida Federal Southern, Middle and Northern District Courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has worked at the trial level on cases in many of Florida's 20 judicial circuits, in addition to cases in state administrative tribunals, and has argued cases at the Florida Supreme Court and Florida District Courts of Appeal, and briefed cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.

He graduated from the University of Florida, College of Law with a Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, and received his B.A. degree from Clearwater Christian College, Summa Cum Laude.

After law school, Mr. Woodring was in private practice doing general civil and appellate work. He then left for a two year appellate clerkship at the First District Court of Appeal. During his time at the court, he worked on cases including, but not limited to: criminal; family law; administrative law; workers' compensation; civil and constitutional law.

Mr. Woodring next worked as a counsel in the Executive Office of the Governor, Office of the General Counsel. During his time in Governor Bush's Legal Office he had diverse responsibilities, including oversight and strategic litigation management of significant legal matters at numerous Governor's agencies, including the Department of Education; Department of Management Services; Department of Business and Professional Regulation; Department of Health; Agency for Health Care Administration; Department of Children and Families; Department of Community Affairs; Department of Elder affairs; Agency for Workforce Innovation; Department of Transportation, and the Department of State. He was also legally responsible for topics as diverse as emergency operations; advising the Governor on the selection of judges; implementation of civil service reform; reform of workers' compensation; budget and appropriation matters; Indian gaming law; and advice to the Florida Cabinet sitting in its many capacities, such as the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission.

Daniel Woodring was then asked to be the General Counsel for the Florida Department of Education, which encompassed Pre-K though 12th Grade, community colleges and the Florida University System. He was also the Charter General Counsel for The Board of Governors, when that board was constitutionally created to manage the State University System. During his tenure at the Department of Education, Mr. Woodring advised and litigated on matters including, but not limited to: constitutional challenges to Florida's education programs, including Opportunity Scholarships and the charter school approval and appeal process; doing away with race as a preference in university admissions and state contracting; teacher and professional discipline cases; union, labor and employment matters; state procurement and bid protest proceedings; administrative rule challenges and rule making proceedings; IDEA and Section 504 proceedings; public records, government in the sunshine and ethical matters; contract negotiations and disputes.

Since 2007, Mr. Woodring has been back in private practice as the principal of the Woodring Law Firm, located in Tallahassee, Florida, and practicing statewide and in Georgia. He concentrates his practice on appeals; constitutional cases instate and federal court; education law matters; and state administrative matters, including state procurement, regulation and licensing.

I have been in practice since 1992. My practice primarily focuses on business and probate litigation. I have handled numerous appeals to the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court for my clients.

My firm is a small firm specializing in superior service to our clients. Prior to practicing law, I owned a large printing, publishing company that I sold.

My team consists of two lawyers and a paralegal who has worked with me for many years. We are technologically savvy and communicate with our clients via email where possible.

Through the other attorney in my office, we handle domestic matters as well as other civil litigation.

Gerry Balboni is an experienced deal lawyer representing growth companies, investors, and buyers and sellers of growth companies.

He has distinctive expertise in venture capital, private equity, acquisitions, and licensing and distribution of technology and software.

Gerry brings a results-oriented approach to every engagement. He knows what works and what doesn't.

Gerry graduated from the University of South Florida in 1975 with a B.A. in English, from the Graduate School of Business of Stetson University in 1977 with an MBA, and from the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 1984 with a J.D., cum laude.

Prior to attending law school Gerry sold computers and software for NCR.

When not practing law, Gerry likes to sail, flyfish, ride bikes, garden, and drink good wine.

Gerry is a past Senior Warden of St. Patrick's Episcopal Chruch in Dunwoody, GA, and is on the Board of Ring Lake Ranch, in Dubois, WY.

Rhys T. Wilson is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and Co-Leader of the Firm's National M&A Practice Group. Mr. Wilson has been selected by his peers as a Georgia Super Lawyer in Mergers and Acquisitions. More information about Mr. Wilson and his M&A work and other experience can be found at LinkedIn, Martindale, Avvo and the Nelson Mullins websites (see links at right).

Kurt Raulin is the founding member and principal lawyer of The Raulin Professional Group, an Atlanta, Georgia commercial law firm. Immediately prior to forming the firm, Kurt served as the general counsel for Tivoli Properties, an Atlanta developer of high-rise condominiums, apartments and hotels.

Kurt brings a wealth of experience in contract, corporate and real estate-related matters to his practice of law. In particular, he has expertise in the acquisition and entitlement of real estate for development, the preparation of construction contract documents, the negotiation of equity and institutional financing, the formation of corporate, limited liability company and partnership investment vehicles, the structuring of commercial refinancing and work-outs, the drafting of condominium documents and subdivision covenants, and the negotiation of telecommunications agreements and related easements.

Before returning to Atlanta, Kurt previously served as the general counsel for two different South Florida real estate development and investment companies, based in Boca Raton and Miami, respectively. Kurt started his full-time legal career as a commercial real estate attorney in the Atlanta office of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin.

Kurt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) in Economics and Political Science from the University of Florida, a Juris Doctor degree (J.D.), with honors, from the University of Florida, and a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Real Property Development & Finance from the University of Miami. He also attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate and Oxford University as a law school exchange student, and completed two years of economics graduate work at the University of Florida graduate school of business.

Before Kurt attended graduate school and law school, he managed five political campaigns on behalf of U.S. congressional and state legislative candidates in Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.

Kurt is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the American Bar Association and the Federalist Society. He is admitted to practice before the Georgia Supreme Court, the Georgia Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Kurt serves as a member of the University of Florida Law Alumni Council, and is also a contributing life member of the alumni associations of the University of Florida, the University of Miami and the University of Virginia.

In his free time, Kurt enjoys running, sailing, snow skiing, tennis, hiking, hunting, trout fishing, and reading history and political biographies. He is also an avid college football fan.

Mr. Villanueva graduated from Emory University, Magna Cum Laude in 2000 majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics. Mr. Villanueva attended Syracuse University College of Law and obtained his juris doctor and masters in Economics from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2003. While at Syracuse Law, Mr. Villanueva had worked as an assistant to the Commercial Real Estate Practice Group at Pyramid Managment Group, Inc. in Syracuse, New York. Mr. Villanueva was an Associate Editor of the Syracuse Law and Technology Journal and member of the Corporate Counsel Certificate Program as well as the Law and Market Economy Program.

Mr. Villanueva is former judicial law clerk to the Honorable Diane J. Larsen of the Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, Illinois.

Mr. Villanueva practiced residential and commercial real estate, corporate law and bankruptcy and was previously employed by Krevolin & Horst, LLC, The Moss Law Firm, LLC and The Johnson Law Group ALG (Of Counsel) prior to opening his practice in 2007.

Mr. Villaneuva resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is a legal instructor at Gwinnett College where he continues to teach bankruptcy and family law. Mr. Villanueva is a probono volunteer Attorney with the Georgia Legal Services Program Piedmont Division in Atlanta as well as a member of the Gwinnett County Bar Association and the Syracuse Alumni Association of Atlanta.

Mr. Villanueva was born in 1977 in Agana, Guam (U.S. Territory) and is proud son of Chief Petty Officer Ricardo P. Villanueva United State Navy (deceased) and Nelly C. Villanueva, US Veterans Administration Registered Nurse and proud brother of Gigi Lynn Estrada Registered Nurse.

Mr. Villanueva enjoys playing guitar, singing, reading, volunteering, running and painting.

Amanda has Fought for the Best Interest of Children Involved in Hall County Juvenile Court and also as a Guardian ad Litem through out Georgia and Gainesville.

Gainesville, Georgia lawyer Amanda Dean has devoted much of her time to the practice of law for and on behalf of children. Attorney Dean has been selected by the Georgia Attorney General to be a Special Assistant Attorney General and represents the Hall County Department of Family and Children Services in Hall County Juvenile Court. Attorney Dean handles deprivation cases arising from allegations of abuse or neglect of children. As a lawyer, Attorney Dean is actively involved in all aspects of the court process from the initial removal of the child from a parentsâ home until either reunification of the child with the parent or termination of pa rental rights and adoption. Attorney Dean assists our clients in evaluating what is in the best interest of the child and then works to achieve the desired outcome, whether it is placement of the child with a relative or in the custody of the parents pursuant to a protective order.

Likewise, Attorney Dean in is a trained Guardian ad Litem charged with conducting an independent investigation in the Superior Courts of Georgia including divorce and child custody cases and then presenting a report and recommendation to the Judge regarding what is in the childâs best interest.

Additionally, Amanda assists our law firm clients in various areas including, but not limitedto Business Formation, Contracts, Collections, drafting of Wills and Estates, and assisting clients in Probate.

Please visit our website to learn more: www.GainesvilleGeorgiaLawyers.com