Rick Giovannelli

Seaira Wolf represents institutional and nonbank lenders, focusing on the origination and servicing of CMBS loans. A partner in Alston & Bird’s Real Estate Group, Seaira focuses her practice on commercial real estate finance and loan servicing. Seaira represents institutional and nonbank lenders, financial institutions, and servicers in a broad range of commercial real estate finance transactions, including commercial mortgage conduit, bridge, and construction loan originations, rep...

3 Things to Know About Paul Dickinson: He represented civilian victims in the Blackwater Massacre case. He has a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating.* He was honored on the 2026 North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leaders in Law “Icons” list.* Paul R. Dickinson , Jr. is a Partner at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin and a seasoned trial attorney on the firm’s litigation team who is known for taking on challenging, high-stakes cases. With decades of courtroom experience, he...

John Chinuntdet co-heads the firm’s Investment group and offers extensive experience in private equity and mezzanine finance. John primarily represents institutional investors, hedge funds, business development companies, private equity groups, small business investment companies and sponsors in their buy-out, investment and finance transactions. He also represents companies in their merger and acquisition transactions, including representing stockholders in the sales of their companies.

Josh Lanning brings considerable trial and litigation experience to his cases with a wide-ranging background in complex commercial disputes. Josh has tried and won numerous cases to jury verdict and has successfully argued state and federal appeals in areas ranging from constitutional law to securities entitlements. Josh focuses his practice on class action defense, antitrust and commercial litigation, including matters involving state and federal antitrust laws; complex contractual disputes;...

Susan S. Jackson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Copyright Law, Patent Law and Trademark Law. Susan S., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2009. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Susan S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

M. Andrew Avram is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Workers' Compensation Law - Employers. M. Andrew, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which M. Andrew is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Evan Bass is head of the firm’s Commercial Real Estate group. Evan represents clients in their ongoing business affairs and focuses his practice on commercial real estate, real estate finance and real estate related corporate law matters. He is also a member of the Investment Management practice, with a focus on REITs and private real estate investment funds. Evan's experience includes advising investors, developers, lenders and major corporations on a variety of commercial estate trans...

Doak Barnhardt engages in a broad range of finance-related areas, with an emphasis on senior bank debt and syndicated loan finance. Doak has considerable experience in corporate and commercial lending arrangements, including secured lending, acquisition and recapitalization finance, subordinated debt transactions, and work-out and restructure. Further, he represents a number of public and private companies as borrowers under syndicated credit facilities. Since joining the firm in 1984, he has...

John D. Cole is a litigator with broad experience across the spectrum of employment law and labor law. For more than 20 years, John has represented employers of all sizes in cases throughout the eastern United States. He has handled numerous cases involving virtually all aspects of employment law before various federal courts, federal and state administrative agencies, and the state courts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. He has also handled employment arbitration cases before A...

Bryan Ives is co-chair of the Firm’s Corporate Transactions & Securities Group and has recently concluded a 4-year term on the Firm’s management committee and service as the Firm’s Financial Partner. Bryan has deep experience in a wide range of areas, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, taxation and corporate governance, and debt and equity financing. Bryan began his career as a tax lawyer and is a member of the American College of Tax Counsel. Using his ...