A. Todd Merolla

Todd is a principal at Merolla & Gold, LLP.  He is a general business practitioner, primarily focused on commercial, real estate, and intellectual property litigation.  He also practices in corporate law, consisting of corporate formation, corporate governance, and securities regulation matters related to the Securities Act, Securities Exchange Act, and local “blue sky” regulations.  He regularly practices in the state and federal courts of Georgia, Florida, and New York.  Todd has an AV Preeminent Peer Review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating for legal abilities and ethical standards.

Practice Areas

• Commercial, Real Estate, and Intellectual Property Litigation

• Securities Law, Business Formations, and Commercial Transactions

• Construction Law

• Trademark, Copyright, and Internet Law

• Creditor’s Rights – Collection and Bankruptcy

• Mediation and Arbitration

• Immigration

Representative Experience

• Lead counsel in successful litigation, FINRA and AAA arbitrations that yielded significant recoveries against private and publicly traded companies.

• Successfully assisted numerous commercial and residential developers, builders, and homeowners defend claims initiated after the 2008 real estate crash, including those asserted by Lennar Corporation/Rialto Capital Advisors, the FDIC, and successors to failed banks.

• Effectively assisted an individual debtor immersed in large and complex bankruptcy proceedings to receive summary judgment on certain claims by the Bankruptcy Trustee objecting to a discharge, who was ultimately conferred a “fresh start” by a full and complete bankruptcy discharge.

• Successfully defended businessmen from claims of fraud and racketeering by former disgruntled employees.

• Successfully overturned a trial court decision to disqualify where serving as lead counsel, in the first case interpreting Rule 3.7 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct – Lawyer as Witness. Clough v. Richelo, 274 Ga. App. 129 (2005).

• Successfully defended an internet-based business and its principals against 21 counts of alleged intentional interference and consumer protection act violations that resulted in complete defense verdict after a week-long jury trial in federal court.

• Served as general counsel to an Atlanta-based Internet Service Provider prior to selling its customer base to Earthlink.

• Recovered substantial debts for clients through garnishment and other post-judgment devices in situations where the defendants would not simply pay their obligations that were already reduced to judgment. In one instance, seized ownership of two operating aviation companies through court order after entry of default judgment against the parent corporation which refused to pay the judgment. Once ordered to transfer ownership of the subsidiaries, they paid the judgment in full within a few days by certified funds.

Admitted to Practice

• Georgia (all State Courts and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia)

• Florida (all State and Federal Courts)

• New York (all State Courts and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York)

• Supreme Court of the United States, and the Eleventh and Second Circuit Courts of Appeal

Education

• College of the Holy Cross (B.A., 1991)

• Emory University School of Law (J.D., 1995)

• Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (Ph.D. in Economics, 1995)

Memberships, Publications, Awards and Recognition

• State Bar of Georgia

  • Intellectual Property Law Section

  • General Practice and Law Section

• State Bar of Florida

• State Bar of New York

• Catholic Bar Association

• National and Georgia Italian American Bar Associations

• St. Thomas More Legal Society

• The Federalist Society

• Ansley Golf Club

• Sherwood Forest Homeowners Association

• 2010 Verdict Search Top Georgia Verdict for Tortious Interference

• “The Effect of Latent Hazards on Firm Exit in Manufacturing Industries” in the International Review of Law and Economics (March 1998). 

• All-American rugby, College of the Holy Cross (1991).