• T:   770.464.9323
• C:  404.304.2123
• E:  watts@fsblegal.com

• Rogers & Hardin, LLP

• Georgia

• Florida State University, J.D., with high honors, 1995
• University of Georgia, B.B.A. Finance, 1991

Thomas has spent his entire career practicing corporate and securities law helping national and international corporations organize, raise capital, procure goods and services and execute their business plans.  As a senior attorney at one of Atlanta's most prestigious corporate and securities law firms and as a partner at one of Metro Atlanta's oldest continuing business and litigation law firms, Thomas has perfected his expertise in private debt and equity placements, mergers and acquisitions, domestic and international commercial transactions, customs compliance matters, corporate financing transactions, corporate governance issues, and business dissolutions.  His corporate practice has given him the opportunity to serve as the primary outside legal counsel for several large private and publicly-traded corporations.

Among his many achievements as a corporate securities attorney, Thomas:

• completed the sale of a large, publicly-traded nursing home operator to a worldwide owner and operator of assisted living and dementia care facilities;
• represented a regional, publicly-traded bank holding company in connection with the acquisition of $800 million in banking assets through mergers and acquisitions and with the sale of its credit card loan portfolio to a global banking concern;
• represented the United States partner in a Chinese joint venture for the manufacture and distribution of copper and steel wire and cable in China and its territories;
• assisted the host Olympic Broadcasting Organization with its negotiation of host broadcaster agreements and with the provision, structuring and delivery of broadcasting services for the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Sydney, Australia and Athens, Greece, and the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan and Salt Lake City, Utah;
• successfully completed the restructuring and reorganization of the development joint venture for the purchase and renovation of the historic City Hall East building in Downtown Atlanta; and
• represented a global joint venture with its venture capital investments in several small and mid-sized technology companies throughout the United States.

Thomas enjoys advising and consulting with his corporate clients in all aspects of their businesses and assisting them with all their legal needs, and his varied experiences in the practice of corporate law have taught him how to think on his feet and manage complex tasks.