JAMES C. WEIDNER

Jim Weidner began his legal career in 1987 with the law firm of Drew, Eckl & Farnham, a large insurance defense firm in Atlanta, Georgia.  In 1988, he began working as an associate with Jack Carey and Chris Walker in Gainesville, Georgia.  On January 1, 1990, Carey & Walker merged with the law firm of Deal & Jarrard to form the law firm Carey, Deal, Jarrard & Walker.  Nathan Deal, one of Jim’s former partners in the firm, was elected to the U.S. Congress in November 1992 and in 2010, he was elected as the 82nd Governor of the State of Georgia.  As a result, Nathan withdrew from the practice of law and the law partnership became Carey, Jarrard & Walker.  On March 1, 1998, Jim moved his practice to Clarkesville, Georgia to begin practicing law as a sole practitioner and on January 1, 2006, formed his law partnership with William R. “Bill” Oliver.  In January 2010, retired Chief Superior Court Judge for the Mountain Judicial Circuit, Ernest H. "Bucky" Woods, III joined the firm; and in March 2012, retired Chief Superior Court Judge for the Enotah Circuit, David E. Barrett joined the firm.

Jim Weidner was born in Buffalo, New York, on February 15, 1960. He graduated cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1982 with a joint degree in History and Political Science. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1982 and graduated from Georgia State University's College of Law in 1987. Jim worked full-time as a clerk with the FBI in Atlanta while attending law school.

Jim is admitted to:

• The State Bar of Georgia (1987); 
• The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (1987);
• The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (1987);
• The United States Supreme Court (1993);
• The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (1997); and
• The Mountain Judicial Bar Association (2006);

Jim concentrates his practice in personal injury litigation, commercial and residential real estate, social security, workers’ compensation, corporations, wills and trusts, adoptions, and business litigation.

Elected Office:

• Habersham County Board of Education (2003-2007);

Appointed Office:

• Director, Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Coopertive Authority (GSCCCA)
  Appointed by Governer Nathan Deal, April 2012

Civic Involvement:

• Member, United Way of Habersham County, Board of Directors (2001-2009; & 2011 to the present);
• Chairman, United Way Board of Directors (2003 and 2004);
• Chairman, United Way Campaign (2002);
• Member of Habersham Medical Center Foundation (2001-Present);
• Member of Clarkesville Business Association (1999-Present);
• Member of Habersham County Chamber of Commerce (1998-Present);
• Member of White County Chamber of Commerce (2004-Present); and
• Member of Kiwanis International (1992-Present).

Other:

• Trustee, Tallulah Falls School, Tallulah Falls, Georgia, (2012-2106); Member of the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• Organizing Director and Secretary for Southern Bancorp, Inc.; and Organizing Director of Southern Bank & Trust, (2005).

Ernest H. "Bucky" Woods, III

Mr. Woods practice is varied; but generally, he handles litigation in the areas of criminal, DUI, domestic, and corporate law.

Education
He graduated from North Habersham High school in 1973; and after high school he received a B.A. degree in political science from Mercer University in 1977. He received his law degree in 1980 from Atlanta Law School and became a member of the State Bar of Georgia that same year.

Bucky is admitted to practice in State and Federal Courts. He has successfully argued cases before the Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Bucky is certified as lead counsel in death penalty cases in the Mountain Judicial Circuit.

Family
Bucky and his family reside in Habersham County, Georgia and attend church in Toccoa, Stephens County, Georgia at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Other
Organizing Director for Southern Bancorp, Inc and Southern Bank & Trust, 2005.

DAVID E. BARRETT

David E. Barrett was born in Hiawassee, Georgia.  Mr. Barrett began his legal career with Erwin, Epting, Gibson, McLeod and Blasingame and then Blasingame, Burch, Garrard and Bryant until 1984 when he opened his own practice in Hiawassee.  There he handled general civil and criminal litigation, real estate closings and litigation, as well as probate and corporate cases until August 10, 1992 when he became one of the two judges of the newly formed Enotah Judicial Circuit.  He served until his retirement from the bench on March 1, 2012.  During that time he received a number of honors, including Who’s Who in American Law.

Mr. Barrett’s current practice is as varied as it was prior to coming to serve as a judge, including all aspects of litigation.

Education: 

He attended University of Georgia for both his undergraduate degree where he received his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude, and his law degree wherein he graduated cum laude.  His academic honors included Phi Beta Kappa. Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, and Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities. 

Other: 

He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Blairsville; Helen Rotary Club; Towns (where he was a founding member) and White County Chambers of Commerce.  Formerly he served as a Director of the Towns County Bank; President of the Mountain Circuit Bar Association; and Secretary-Treasurer of the Western Circuit Bar Association. 

GELETA G. HUNT

Geleta began her practice of law in Atlanta, Georgia, as an attorney representing BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.  During her tenure with BellSouth, Geleta’s first practice area included employment law litigation, in both Federal and State Courts, ERISA litigation, labor arbitration, EEOC and NLRB complaints, and personnel and benefits matters.  Geleta was promoted to the level of General Attorney for BellSouth and became part of the team handling legal matters, including general civil litigation and account matters, arising from the state of Georgia.

After relocating to the Northeast Georgia area, Geleta was an attorney with the firm of McClure, Ramsay, Dickerson, and Escoe in Toccoa, Stephens, County, Georgia, where she practiced throughout Northeast Georgia in the areas of wills and probate, general civil litigation, and corporate.
A graduate of Truett McConnell, College in Cleveland, Georgia, Geleta was class valedictorian.  Subsequently, Geleta also graduated from North Georgia College in Dahlonega, Georgia, where she was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, class valedictorian, and the recipient of the Scholarship Award.   Geleta received her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she was the Research Editor of the Georgia Law Review.

Civic and community involvement have always been important to Geleta.  She served as a volunteer for the Stephens County Chamber of Commerce, where she received the Volunteer of the Year Award.  She chaired an Attractions Committee of community leaders seeking to bring new industry to the area on behalf of the Stephens County Development Authority.  Geleta is also a graduate of Leadership Toccoa, and was an active member of the Toccoa Rotary Club.  The Jean Harris Award for Volunteer Service was presented to Geleta in recognition of her community service.  Geleta is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville, Georgia, and previously has served as a Deacon and as an Elder in the Presbyterian Church.

A native of White County, Georgia, Geleta resides in Habersham County, Georgia, and is admitted to practice in all State and Federal Trial Courts and Appellate Courts in Georgia.  She is a member of the Mountain Bar Association.

CLAIR W. LANGMAID

Clair is "of counsel" with OLIVER & WEIDNER . His legal career spans more than 40 years in government and private practice. He is a member of the State Bars of Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. He received his BA and JD from the University of Toledo (Ohio).

His experience and expertise is in all types of business law, including contracts, franchise, acquisition and sales, securities and finance. More recently Clair's practice has concentrated on estate planning, wills, trusts and Elder law issues including planning for Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Clair is a member of the American Bar Association, and a member of the Business Law Section and the Real Estate and Pension Section of the ABA.

During his career, Clair served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio, Corporate Counsel to Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation, Assistant General Counsel to Heublein, Inc. and Assistant Director of Investigations for the Resolution Trust Corporation. He also spent more than ten years in private law practice with law firms in Philadelphia, PA and Atlanta. Clair has three grown children living in Georgia. He moved to the Clarkesville area from Atlanta in 2002 and is a member of Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church.

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