Meet Our Attorneys
OUR GAINESVILLE, GA LEGAL TEAM
Our firm is made up of attorneys who have dedicated their professional lives to providing high-quality legal service to clients in North Georgia. One of the distinguishing factors of our practice is the fact that our senior partners, our associates and even our legal assistants possess a high degree of experience, knowledge and skill in at least one focused area of the law.
This uncommon level of focus enables us to offer the service one might expect from a boutique law firm, backed by the broad-based experience, diverse skill-set and substantial resources of a larger practice.
Mark W. Alexander
Among his colleagues in the Georgia Bar, Mark Alexander is a well-respected trial attorney and partner in the litigation section of Stewart, Melvin & Frost. To his clients, he is best described as a “Crisis Navigator.”
Kristin K. Bloodworth
A seasoned litigator, Kristin joined the firm in September 2021. Kristin began her legal career as a Superior Court staff attorney in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, before entering private practice with a general litigation firm. In private practice, she managed business litigation, personal injury, products liability, adoptions, and domestic relations matters.
Whitney S. Brown
Whitney S. Brown, a partner, has been with our firm since 2017. A Gainesville native, Whitney moved back to her hometown to practice law after working in Atlanta. She focuses her practice on public finance, offering both bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel services. In addition to public finance, Whitney has expertise in local government law, general business law, commercial real estate matters, commercial lending, estate planning and probate.
Ronald F. Chicken
Ron Chicken is a partner in the firm’s civil litigation and alternate dispute resolution divisions. Primarily he focuses on business litigation and real estate related litigation, but his legal interests are as wide as his clients’ needs, as he is always eager to help serve those seeking sound legal counsel. Whether it is a small personal matter or a larger corporate dispute, Ron and the legal team at SMF are ready to help.
Steven A. Cornelison
Partner Steve Cornelison is known for his attention to detail, thorough knowledge, and wide experience in his practice areas, including ERISA, federal taxation and commercial business transactions in Gainesville, GA.
J. Randall Frost
Known for his dedication and high degree of professionalism, managing partner Randall Frost devotes his practice to general business, banking, commercial real estate and municipal and county government law.
Brook A. Davidson
Brook joined the firm’s probate litigation practice in February of 2015. She works with clients to develop estate plans and provide representation through the probate, administration, guardianship and conservatorship process.
J.C. Highsmith Jr.
Named partner in 1987, Bucky Highsmith has been with Stewart, Melvin & Frost since 1983. In his practice, Bucky specializes in trust administration, estate settlement, wills, trusts, estate planning, guardianship matters, probate, estate litigation, will contests, estate tax planning and financial protection for older people.
D. Thomas LeFevre
Tom LeFevre joined the firm in 1996 as a partner focusing on commercial real estate matters. He has practiced law in the Gainesville area since 1980.
Anna A. Orkins
After years of practicing law in the areas of wills, trusts, and estates, Anna Adams Orkins joined the firm’s estate planning and probate section in January of 2019. A partner in the firm, she continues to focus her practice on estate planning and probate, including the preparation of wills and trusts, incapacity planning, probate and administration, guardianships, conservatorships, and real estate issues. Prior to joining Stewart, Melvin & Frost, Anna was an attorney for several years at an estate planning law firm in Roswell, before opening her own estate planning and probate practice
Nancy Richardson
In addition to leading the firm’s collaborative practice, Nancy Richardson provides counsel and research in the firm’s litigation and corporate sections. Nancy was the first attorney in the Gainesville area to be trained in the flexible model of collaborative practice – an alternative to divorce litigation – in association with local mental health and financial professionals.
T. Treadwell Syfan
Tread Syfan, a partner in the firm, specializes in municipal bond law, securities law, commercial real estate matters and commercial lending. As bond counsel, Tread assists local governments in Northeast Georgia in obtaining tax-exempt financing for infrastructure projects, primarily schools and water and sewer improvements.
John P. Strupe
John Patrick Strupe, an associate in the firm’s probate and estate planning section, joined the firm in 2018 after earning his Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida. As a Certified Public Accountant, John worked in various accounting roles for both large public companies and small privately-held businesses. After several years in the accounting profession, he attended law school at Georgia State University where he earned his law degree.
Eric P. Wilborn
Eric is a Georgia native from Buford in Gwinnett County. He joined Stewart, Melvin & Frost’s probate and estate planning section in 2016. Eric previously practiced law with Hollberg & Weaver, LLP in Buckhead, a litigation law firm specializing in personal injury, federal court litigation, business and complex litigation, divorce defense, and estate planning. Previously, Eric practiced in Gwinnett County primarily in the areas of probate, guardianship and conservatorship issues.