Michael D. McRaeMichael D. McRae

Location: Cedartown, Georgia
Phone: (770) 749-6723
Direct: (470) 296-2406
Fax: (770) 749-6729
Email: E-mail Me

With over fifty years of practicing law, Mike’s primary focus today is mediation and alternative dispute resolution. A certified mediator with the State of Georgia, he has presided over numerous arbitrations, served as a special master, and successfully mediated or arbitrated more than 200 cases to conclusion. He mediates a wide range of civil disputes (excluding domestic relations), and parties often choose him for his steady approach, practical solutions, and ability to help move past impasse.

Mike is a native of Rockmart, Georgia and practices in the firm’s Cedartown office. He has been lead counsel on numerous matters of complex litigation in federal and state courts, including successful appeals. He served as lead counsel in a precedent setting case involving litigation over governmental finance in Regions Bank vs. City of Bremen, 274 Ga. 733 (2002). More recently, after years of litigation, Mike was successful in a precedent setting case involving noise nuisance in the State of Georgia in Oglethorpe Power Corp. v. Forrister, 289 Ga. 331 (2011). He has served as City Attorney for the City of Cedartown, Rockmart, and other cities in Northwest Georgia for over forty years. In addition, he has served as legal counsel for the Haralson County Water Authority and several area development authorities. He has been a frequent lecturer and guest speaker in the area of municipal law, especially ethics in government. He authored and co-founded the Georgia Municipal Association’s Model Code of Ethics. Mike has been designated as a Georgia “Super Lawyer” and “Top Attorneys in Georgia”, along with several other recognitions.

Mike has served his community and church in Cedartown in many different capacities. In the State of Georgia he has served on the State Ethics Commission and The Advisory Board of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division as a municipal representative in the creation of the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund. Mike has been serving on the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors since 2003. He and his wife, Beverly, have three children and 10 grandchildren.

Areas of Practice

Bar Admissions

Georgia, 1975
U.S. Supreme Court
Georgia Supreme Court
Georgia Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia

Education

Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, Georgia
J.D – 1975
University of Georgia
A.B – 1972

Professional Associations and Memberships

Polk County and Tallapoosa Circuit Bar Associations
State Bar of Georgia
City Attorney – Cities of Cedartown and Rockmart
Georgia Hazardous Waste Trust Fund Advisory Committee, 1994 – 1999
Georgia State Ethics Commission, 1995 – 2002
Georgia State Ethics Commission, Chairman, 2001 – 2002
Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia, 2003 – Present