Stephen N. Barnes, Jr.

Education & Accomplishments

University of Georgia School of Law, Juris Doctorate 

• Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1998

• Vice President of Christian Legal Society, 1996-97

• Member, Federalist Society

• Student Member, American Bar Association

• Mock Trial

Vanderbilt University, Bachelor's Degree 

• 1994, Cum Laude, Honors in History

• History Department Honors in Southern American History

• Founding Member, Project Dialogue

• Member, Dean's List

• Urban Ministries Development at Vanderbilt

Stephen is the owner and founder of the firm.  After graduating with honors from Vanderbilt University in 1994, Stephen worked with the Mississippi Center for Public Policy in Jackson, Mississippi as a Research Director, assisting legislators with research on a variety of issues affecting the families of Mississippi. This work, along with a passion for knowing the source of Law (capital "L"), spurred Stephen to apply to law school. 

He attended the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia, and graduated in 1998. After graduating, he married his lovely wife Christian and they moved to Macon, Georgia where Stephen practiced at two larger firms in the areas of business and corporate law.  In March of 2003, Stephen created Barnes+Law™, with the desire to help leaders develop their enterprises and meet their goals — with an entrepreneurial and covenantal flare.

Email: stephen@barnesbusinesslaw.com

Direct Dial: 478.292.7767

Licensure

• Certification to practice law in the state of Georgia. License current.

• Member, Health Lawyers Section of Georgia Bar

• Member, American Health Lawyers Association

• Member, Sports and Entertainment Section of Georgia Bar

• Member, Federalist Society

• Member, Business Law Section of Georgia Bar

• Member, Atlanta Bar Association

• Member, Macon Bar Association

Community & Speaking

• Member, Attorneys for Family Held Enterprises

• Board Member, Caring Solutions, Inc. 2011-2014

• Member, Planned Giving Committee for the MedCen Foundation - 2012-2014

• Former Member, Executive Committee of the Macon Bar Association; Media Coordinator - 2003-2005

• Founding President, Macon Young Lawyers Division, 2004-2005

• Board Member, Covenant Academy, Macon, Georgia, 2005-2006

Stephen and Christian, and their children, Emily, Owen, Anderson, and Palmer, live in beautiful Arrington, Tennessee, with their DachTzu Honey, as well as their ball python, Moses. 

Bryan N. Baird

Bryan graduated with honors from Mississippi State University in 1992 and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Psychology from Mississippi State University in 1996 and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Georgia in 2003. After teaching in the Philosophy Department at the University of Georgia for eight years, Bryan sought to put the sharp analytical skills and keen sense of detail he acquired through years of practice to work in the field of law.

Bryan assists with and oversees trademark applications, contract negotiation, mergers, and other business matters for our clients. He develops research memoranda for complex issues and supports the team in corporate formation and development. 

In 2011, Bryan attended the Georgia State University College of Law and graduated in 2014. His wife Kathryn, and their four boys, Miller, Andrew, Matthew, and Luke, live in Atlanta.

Email: bryan@barnesbusinesslaw.com

Direct Dial: 770.631.5919

Community:

Leadership, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Athens, Georgia

Benevolence Coordinator, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Athens, Georgia

Conor McCullough

Conor received his B.A. from the University of Georgia in 2003 and his law degree from the Saint Louis University School of Law in 2012.  During law school, he was a member of the Saint Louis University Law Journal and a finalist for the David C. Grant Clinic Student Award (recognizing outstanding clinical advocacy).  After law school, Conor worked for a labor and employment law firm in St. Louis where his practice centered on complex collective action litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act. He returned to Athens and opened McCullough Legal in late 2014. He joined the Barnes+Law team in June of 2018.

Conor's past or present associations include the Georgia Bar Association; Western Judicial Circuit (Georgia) Bar Association; American Bar Association; the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (St. Louis); and Georgia Lawyers for the Arts.  Conor is also a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Bar Entertainment & Sports and Intellectual Property sections.

Email: conor@barnesbusinesslaw.com

Direct Dial: 706.438.6126

Melinda McGinness - Paralegal

Since 2010, Melinda has been responsible for client and office coordination, communication, and process management. She is a junior paralegal and legal assistant, coordinating estate planning, corporate formation and other needs for our clients.

Melinda is responsible to ensure seamless coordination with clients in our business support group. For clients on our retainer program, Melinda helps organize all corporate and business matters.

When you call our firm, Melinda will likely be the first person you speak with. She makes sure all information in the firm is organized. She is the primary liaison with new clients and vendors, and her involvement means the job is getting done.

Melinda's experience and organizational skills help to further the priorities of our clients in a way that helps our clients accomplish their goals.

Email: melinda@barnesbusinesslaw.com

Direct Dial: 478.292.7751

Colleagues

Our unique clients face uncommon challenges that require special collaboration with multiple trusted advisors. To navigate complex issues, we connect with expert colleagues to bring peace at work and at home. We regularly work with family office advisors, CPAs, financial advisors, exit planners, insurance advisors, and other law firms to coordinate excellent services for our clients. This seamless coordination allows our clients to benefit from the highest quality network of advisors, while keeping relationships personal and professional.

Collaborative Services

We collaborate with the world-class team at WorkHeartily to Empower Scale — through:

Executive Coaching => driving accountability through personalized executive coaching and identify strengths, areas for growth, and tactics for achieving specific goals.

Advisory Services => empowering owners to achieve the vision they have for the business and provide ever-increasing levels of good through propietary methodology.

Fractional Executive Leadership => framing fractional leadership as delivering the right amount of executive talent at a level that fits the budget and business needs.

Our firm collaborates with the Brewer Firm for mutual clients and various M&A work — providing tax preparation & planning, bookkeeping services, and consulting services for affluent family clients and businesses experiencing rapid growth. Though we work with many different CPA firms, the Brewer Firm is typically “on-call” for our mutual clients.

Blaine is a brilliant bulldog trial lawyer with a knack for making the other side tremble in and out of a courtroom setting. His quick wit and brilliant strategies have assisted numerous clients in quelling a potential litigation. If you have pending litigation or potential litigation, Blaine works with Barnes+Law™ to calm the storm. Our firms work together on the following types of matters:

Personal Injury Matters

Business Litigation

Partnership Disputes