Fayette | News

Bank of North Georgia Establishes Legal Practices Team

Fri, 05/23/2008 - 3:09pm
By: The Citizen

Fayetteville, Georgia ñ Bank of North Georgia has created a new department to cater to the unique financial needs of the legal community in metro Atlanta. To lead the effort, Toni Nunn has joined the bank as Senior Vice President and Legal Practice Group Manager.

Nunn has more than 25 years of banking experience. Most recently, she worked for Goldman, Sachs & Co. as Vice President of the Private Wealth Management Group in Atlanta. In her new role at Bank of North Georgia, she will be responsible for managing the new Legal Practice Group. Her team will serve the Atlanta legal community working to provide financial services specifically designed to meet the needs of both the firms and its attorneys. Nunn will also be responsible for the creation of Bank of North Georgiaís Professional Services Group, which will work to serve the needs of accountants, engineers, architects and other professional service groups in Atlanta.

Michelle Bailey is Vice President and Relationship Manager for the Legal Practice Group. Primarily focused on serving the legal community for the past ten years, Michelle was most recently employed by First Horizon Bank as Vice President and Senior Private Client Relationship Manager and joined Bank of North Georgia in December, 2007.† In 2000, Michelle was hired†by SunTrust to help form and build their Professional Private Banking Group where she primarily served the legal community in addition to CPAs, architects, and engineers.

Kevin Kell is a Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager for the Legal Practice Group. He joined Bank of North Georgiaís Private Banking team in 2003. He is a native Atlantan and†career banker who has†over 27 years of experience†working with clients in the Buckhead Private Banking arena.

Nicole Klein is a Vice President and Relationship Manager for the Legal Practice Group. She will expand her current focus of serving the Medical Market and other specialized Professional Service groups in Atlanta to include the legal community. Nicole has over 18 years of banking experience, having worked for Citizens Bank, Wachovia, and SunTrust. Nicole Joined Bank of North Georgia in November of 2004.

"Our team is empowered to make immediate decisions on the banking issues that matter most to our clients. We take great pride in offering exemplary customer service and can offer the full spectrum of financial products and services to meet the growing needs of the legal and professional services community in metro Atlanta,"Nunn said.

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"Legal practices team"
Submitted by sageadvice on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 3:38am.

Is there anyone on here who knows what the above article is all about? Why do lawyers, and Private Banking etc., need special bank departments?

Man, I'll just bet you those are a bunch of crooks!
Is this "Georgia" Bank, the same Bank as the old, old, Peachtree National Bank of Tennis Center fame?

No thanks, I don't want on the B of D.

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Explanation on lawyers’ banking needs
Submitted by helpful lawyer on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 9:41am.

State Bar rules require lawyers who hold funds for their clients to open and maintain an escrow (or trust) account to hold client funds. If a check on a lawyer’s trust account is ever dishonored (usually for insufficient funds), the bank is required to make an immediate report to the State Bar. (Then the disciplinary unit of the State Bar investigates.) When interest is earned on the account, it is generally payable to a so-called IOLTA fund used to finance criminal defense work for indigent defendants. (IOLTA means interest on lawyers’ trust accounts.)

Some of the more serious problems for lawyers involve handling the money upon the closing of real estate transactions. There are timing problems, because lenders want to wait until the last minute to provide funds so they do not lose any interest. At 6% annual interest, a lender will lose nearly $33 for every single day $200,000 set aside for a loan sits in the bank earning no interest. The closing lawyer, on the other hand, needs to be sure the funds are truly on hand at closing, because he cannot afford to have any of his trust account checks bounce on account of some bank rule requiring that funds sit in the account for a few days before the bank will pay up.

I suppose that a bank that understands all that will come up with appropriate rules and procedures that try to make life easier for everybody.

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