Areas of Concentration
· Securities law
· Directors and officers liability
· Entertainment law
· Legal malpractice
· Accounting malpractice
Significant Representations
· Represented broker-dealers, including Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., FirsTrust (China) and Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.; corporations and securities matters, including General Steel Holdings, Inc. (China); insurers in securities matters, including Swiss Re and the Travelers; insurers, including Travelers, as well as banks and other companies involving directors and officers liability; law firms and accounting firms, including Deloitte & Touche LLP, in securities, quality control and ethics matters.
· Mediated and arbitrated in the areas of securities, legal malpractice and accounting malpractice.
· Provided expert witness services in securities and legal malpractice matters for plaintiffs and defendants, including for the FDIC and formerly for the RTC.
· Represented entertainment companies, including casinos, themed restaurants and hotels, computer game companies, record companies, publishing companies and recording artists in various securities and other financial transactions, including joint ventures, in which clients have included: Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, Magic Johnson, Def Leppard, Michael Jackson Estate, Margaritaville Enterprises, Bob Marley Estate, Bret Michaels, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, George Strait, Social Fortress, Justin Timberlake and Virgin Gaming.
· Represented sports-related individuals and entities, including Magic Johnson, Olympic speed skater, Apolo Ohno, the National Basketball Association and various entertainers connected with sports, such as naming rights to the Miami Dolphins Stadium for Jimmy Buffett's LandShark Lager.
· Participated in traditional and nontraditional movie transactions, including renting an entire town for a period of time to a major movie company.
· Represented leading entertainers in hotel, casino, restaurant and night club transactions, within securities transactions, licensing agreements and franchising agreements.
Professional & Community Involvement
· Legal Advisor, National Association of Chinese Americans (2010-Present)
· Appointed, State Bar of Georgia Continuing Lawyer Competency Commission (2009-Present)
· Pro Bono Arbitrator, State Bar of Georgia (1990-Present)
· Member, Consultative Group, American Law Institute, Restatement of the Law-The Law Governing Lawyers (1986-Present)
· Appointed Chairperson, Georgia Institute of Continuing Legal Education's Professionalism, Ethics and Malpractice Seminar (2011)
· Member, Board of Directors, UNICEF (USA) (2007-2009)
· Pro Bono General Counsel
- Atlanta Community Food Bank (1989-2009)
- Ronald McDonald House (Children's Oncology Services of Georgia, Inc.) (1990-1995)
- Georgia March of Dimes (1994-1997)
- Georgia Heart Association (1978-1989)
- Atlanta Association for Retarded Citizens (1979-1982)
· Co-Chairperson, Atlanta Policeman's Ball (2008)
· Member, Board of Directors, Atlanta Community Food Bank (2007-2009)
· Pro Bono English Instructor, Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharmsala, India (2003-2004)
· Member, ABA Standing Committee on Lawyer Competence (1993-1995)
· Chairperson (1985-1987), Member (1981-1985), ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability
· Chairperson, Committee (1983-1984), Vice-Chairperson (1979-1983), ABA Torts and Insurance Practice Section
· Vice-Chairperson, General Practice Section Professional Liability Committee (1980-1982)
Awards & Recognition
· Named, U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Law Firm of the Year" in Entertainment Law - Music (2011-2012)
· Listed, Best Lawyers in America® (1995-2012)
· Recipient, "ALI-ABA Special Award of Merit" for writing and lecturing in the areas of ethics and malpractice (1984)
· Recipient, "Service Award," American Heart Association, Georgia Affiliate (1982)
· Recipient, "Vital Service Award," Atlanta Association for Retarded Citizens (1979)
· Recipient, "Service Award," University of Minnesota Law School Council (1973)
· Recipient, "Corpus Juris Award" for the Best Contribution to Legal Research, West Publishing Company, University of Minnesota Law School (1972-1973)
· Selected, Super Lawyers magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers magazine, Securities Law (2004, 2006 and 2009-2012)
· Listed, Who's Who in American Law
· Listed, Who's Who in America
· Listed, Who's Who in the World
· Listed, Top Legal Malpractice and Ethics Lawyers, The American Lawyer
· Rated, AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5
· Recipient, "1985 Bronze Medal for Professional Films," 28th Annual International Film and T.V. Festival of New York (for writing and producing Preventing Legal Malpractice: A Guide for the General Practitioner)
Other Experience
Jeffrey has lectured on the subjects of entertainment and securities, as well as legal and accounting malpractice, at 11 universities, including full semester courses at Duke, Emory and Vanderbilt. He has also lectured on the subjects of entertainment, securities, as well as legal and accounting malpractice at 24 meetings of the American Bar Association, and at more than 50 state bar association meetings.
· Honorary Professor and Lecturer, Central University of Finance and Economics, securities law and legal opinions, Beijing, China, 2008-Present
· Lecturer, Suzhou University, School of Business, securities law, Beijing, China, 2009
· Lecturer, Shanghai University Business School, securities law and legal opinions, Shanghai, China, 2008
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
Jeffrey has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles on securities, accounting, legal opinions, legal malpractice, quality control, ethics and entertainment joint ventures
· Co-Author, Legal Opinions in Business Transactions, 2011 (being translated into Mandarin)
· Co-Author, Legal Malpractice, West Publishing, 2011
· Co-Author, Preventing Legal Malpractice, 1998
· Editor and Reviewer, Levinson, Accountant's Legal Liability, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1981