Attorney
Mel Mobley founded Accord Mediation, LLC, in 2018. He did this with a vision of bringing his professions, lawyer and sociologist, together with his long time involvement in community service.
Mel began life in Tifton, Georgia, but grew up in Florida, where he attended high school and college. Since his grandfather Omer W. Franklin, Sr., a lawyer, captained the Georgia Bulldogs from 1909 to 1910, Mel pulls for the Bulldogs, except for one barely noticed game that takes place in Jacksonville, Florida, each year.
Prior to entering law practice, Mel served on the faculties of Emory University and Georgia State University, directing a research center at Emory and teaching sociology. After law school he continued to teach a class on Law and Society as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgia State University. As a university professor he authored and co-authored a number of articles that were published in peer reviewed journals and one small book, a statistical survey of the thirteen United Methodist seminaries in the United States.
Mel volunteers in his community and his profession, currently serving on the City of Sandy Springs’ Board of Appeals. In the past he has served as the Vice President for Legal Affairs for Heritage Sandy Springs, as the vice chair of the Design Review Board of the City of Sandy Springs, and as the president of the Sandy Springs Civic Roundtable. He is an alumnus of Leadership Sandy Springs, Class of 2015.
In service to the State Bar of Georgia, as the State Bar’s Mentoring Program was developed, he served as a member of the Standards of the Profession Committee as the lawyer/sociologist on the committee. He also has served as a member of the Professionalism Committee, and has appeared on numerous CLE panels.
Mel received his B.A. degree from the University of Florida in 1970, a M.Div. from Duke University in 1973, a Ph.D. degree in 1980 from Emory University, and received his law degree from Georgia State University in 1987.
Mel has successfully tried cases in state and federal courts for over 30 years, and he has tried wrongful death cases to a jury verdict as the plaintiff’s lawyer and also as a defense lawyer.
Mel has received the AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell. He is admitted to all state courts, and the Bars of the Northern District and Middle District of the United States District Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, the Old War Horse Lawyers Club, and the Southern Sociological Society.
Mel is committed to providing mediation services as a public service at a reduced charge or at no charge, where the circumstances warrant, for community or church groups that have conflicts. He invites you to read more about this in the Community Conversations section of this website and in the blog section as well.
Legal Employment:
Mallis and Smith, 1987 – 1989
Lokey and Bowden, 1989 – 1995 (Partner, 1992)
Lokey and Smith, 1995 – 2005 (Partner)
Lokey, Mobley and Doyle, LLP, 2005 to present (Partner)
Mediation Training and Registration:
Henning Mediation & Arbitration Services, Inc.
Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution: Registered Mediator
Areas of Expertise:
Business Disputes
Catastrophic Personal Injury
Church Conflicts and Liability
Construction
Civil Rights/ Section 1983
Employment
FLSA, Title VII, ADEA, Age Discrimination
Governmental Liability
Insurance and Coverage Issues
Legal Malpractice
Medical Malpractice
Municipal Liability
Nursing Home Liability
Patent and Lanham Act
Premises Liability
Property Disputes and Condemnation
Psychological Malpractice
Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
Storm Water Damages
Zoning
Administrative Fee:
$75.00 per party per day
Mediation Rates:
2 Party Case: $200.00 per hour per party
3 Party Case: $175.00 per hour per party
4 Party Case: $150.00 per hour per party
$100.00 per hour for travel outside of Atlanta, portal to portal, plus customary charges for mileage and expenses, hotel, meals, airfare, etc.
No minimum: we will move to resolution as fast as possible.
We will come to your office, or two party mediations can be done in our office. There is no charge for travel in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area.
Additional work before or after the mediation will be charged at the same rate as the mediation.