smcginnis@wargofrench.com		Download V-Card		Printer Friendly Page

Practice Areas: Ms. McGinnis litigates in the following areas: Lender Liability Consumer Financial Services Complex Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution

Representative Matters:

• Defended lenders and national financial services organizations in numerous state and federal court individual and class actions by customers asserting violations of the Truth-In-Lending Act (“TILA”), Regulation Z, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Fair Credit Billing Act (“FCBA”), and various other federal and state consumer protection statutes. In each matter, obtained early dismissal, summary judgment, and/or favorable settlement for the client.
  
  
• Represented national financial services organizations and lenders in litigation involving identity theft, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, deceptive trade practices, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, successor liability, negligence, fraud, Uniform Commercial Code, and licensing claims.
  
  
• Defended lenders and national financial services organizations in actions by borrowers asserting mortgage-related claims, including allegations of wrongful foreclosure, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”) violations, slander to title, breach of contract, and state mortgage statute violations.
  
  
• Defended publicly-traded and private companies in individual and class actions brought by current and former employees and by independent contractors, including wage-and-hour and discrimination claims.
  
  
• Represented publicly-traded company in multi-million dollar bad faith denial of coverage litigation and obtained summary judgment finding coverage available, which ultimately let to favorable settlement.
  
  
• Defended actions arising from merger and acquisition of certain or all assets, including letter of intent and contract interpretation disputes.
  
  
• Defeated TRO attempt for business client involved in partnership dispute and dissolution.
  
  
• Represented clients in patent infringement actions in federal courts and before the International Trade Commission.
  
  
• Represented clients in both defense and prosecution of copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, Lanham Act and state trademark claims in state and federal courts.
  
  
• Represented former President and Board of Director member in federal alter ego litigation.
  
  
• Represented clients, including both business and technology clients, in general commercial matters including breach of contract, licensing, software, and securities disputes.
  
  
• Represented securities broker-dealers and affiliated persons in arbitration and litigation with customers involving claims of unsuitability, unauthorized trading, failure to supervise, churning, fraud, negligence, and breach of duty.
  
  
• Represented billboard companies in First Amendment actions challenging appropriateness of city and county sign ordinances.

Education and Background:

• Southern Methodist University School of Law, Dallas, Texas
  J.D., cum laude, 1998
  
  
• Honors & Activities:
  • Southern Methodist University Law Review, Articles Editor 1996-1998
  • Order of the Coif
  • Best Brief Winner, Jackson-Walker Moot Court Competition

• University of Southern California School of Journalism, Los Angeles, California
  B.A., 1994
  Major: Broadcast Journalism
  
  
• Honors & Activities:
  • Dean's Scholar and Dean's Scholarship Recipient, 1990-1994
  • Dean's List - all four years

 

Professional Activities:

• Recognized as one of Georgia's "Rising Stars" by Atlanta Magazine in 2010
  
  
• Member of the Georgia State Bar and admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the Georgia Court of Appeals
  
  
• Member of the Business Law and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association and the Committee on Consumer Financial Services
  
  
• Member of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers
  
  
• Member and serving on the board of the Atlanta Chapter of the Women’s Finance Exchange

Published Decisions:

• Dees v. Washington Mutual Bank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, No. 3:10-cv-0045 (CAR), 2010 WL 5349865 (M.D. Ga. Dec. 21, 2010)
  
  
• Reynolds v. Chase Home Finance LLC, et al., No. 5:10-cv-249-MTT, 2010 WL 4026117 (M.D. Ga. Oct. 13, 2010)
  
  
• Ray v. Equifax Information Services, LLC, et al., No. 1:04-cv-482, 2009 WL 1025319 (N.D. Ga. April 19, 2009)
  
  
• Mercer v. Washington Mutual Home Loans, 651 S.E.2d 499 (Ga. App. 2007)
  
  
• Tillotson v. Shijiazhaung Hongray Plastic Products, Ltd., 244 F.R.D. 683 (N.D. Ga. 2007)
  
  
• In re Towne Services, Inc. Securities Litigation, 184 F. Supp. 2d 1308 (N.D. Ga. 2001)