EMMET BONDURANT

Antitrust Appellate Business Torts Class Actions Commercial Litigation Corporate Governance Employment & Civil Rights Environmental Litigation False Claims Act Intellectual Property Internal Investigations Professional Liability RICO White Collar Crime

Contact Emmet Bondurant

Phone 404.881.4126
Fax 404.881.4111
Email bondurant@bmelaw.com

Emmet Bondurant has represented clients in nearly every forum available for a legal dispute, from rural trial courts through the United States Supreme Court (Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69 (1984), Toombs v. Fortson, 379 U.S. 809 (1965), Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964)).

During the course of his career he has earned a reputation as an independent and implacable adversary who does not shy away from controversial cases, and combines innovative legal theories with sheer determination. These skills have been recognized by his peers with membership in numerous prestigious organizations, such as the American Law Institute, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

In July 2001, Emmet was recognized as one of the top ten trial lawyers in the United States by the National Law Journal and as one of the leading lawyers in Georgia by Georgia Trend Magazine in December 2003.

Also in 2001, Emmet received the Georgia Indigent Defense Council's Harold G. Clarke Equal Justice Award and the Anti-Defamation League's Elbert P. Tuttle Jurisprudence Award. In January 2003, he was honored by Emory Law School's Public Interest Committee.

Emmet's career has always included a strong commitment to community service and pro bono litigation, including death penalty habeas corpus (Nelson v. Zant, 261 Ga. 358, 405 S.E.2d 250 (1991)) and reapportionment cases (Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1965)). He currently serves as Chairman of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, the Georgia Appellate Practice Education & Resource Center, is a Trustee of the American Inns of Court Foundation. He formerly chaired the Atlanta Charter Commission (1971-72), the University of Georgia Law School Association, and the Fulton Indigent Defense Commission (1991-93). Emmet is also a past President of Common Cause/Georgia.

Position:

Partner

Education & Background:

University of Georgia (A.B., cum laude, 1958; LL.B., magna cum laude, 1960); Harvard University (LL.M., 1962); Law Clerk to the late Honorable Judge Clement F. Haynsworth, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1960-1961.

Admitted:

State Bar of Georgia
United States Supreme Court
United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Eleventh and Federal Circuits United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia

Representative Cases:

In Re: Southeast Banking Corp. (Beck v. Steel, Hector & Davis), No. 97-5471 (11th Cir. June 27, 2000); AmeriPride Distribution, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 98-3045 (11th Cir. July 6, 2000); Andrews v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 95 F.3d 1014 (11th Cir. 1996); In Re: Domestic Air Transp. Antitrust Litigation, 148 F.R.D. 297 (N.D. Ga. 1993); Nelson v. Zant, 261 Ga. 358, 405 S.E.2d 250 (1991); Coca-Cola Company of Elizabethtown, Inc., et al. v. The Coca-Cola Company (16 reported decisions, citations omitted); Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69 (1984); Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 84 S. Ct. 526, 11 L.Ed.2d 48 (1964).

Practice Areas:

Antitrust and Unfair Competition, Appellate, Business Torts, Constitutional, Dispute Resolution, Franchise, Professional Liability, Securities, White Collar Criminal Defense Litigation

Other Activities:

Chairman: Atlanta Charter Commission, 1971-72. President: Atlanta Legal Aid Society, 1972-1973. President: University of Georgia Law School Association, 1996. Fellow: American Bar Foundation. Member: Atlanta Bar Association (Member: Executive Committee 1974-1981 and Litigation Section; Chair: Fulton Indigent Defense Commission 1991--1993); State Bar of Georgia (Antitrust Section (Chair: 1972-1973)); American Bar Association (Member: Antitrust, Business, Litigation, and Individual Rights and Responsibilities Sections); American Law Institute; American College of Trial Lawyers; American Academy of Appellate Lawyers; American Inns of Court (Member: Executive Committee, Bleckley and Lumpkin Inns).