Cohen Pollock Merlin & Small, P.C.

We believe an attorney has a responsibility not only to dispense competent legal advice and service, but also to serve a client as a counselor, in the fullest sense of that word.

Over time, as the nature of the legal profession has changed and become more of a bottom-line driven business, many practitioners have moved steadily away from the role of counselor - too frequently to the detriment, we believe, of the overall level of service provided to clients.

At Cohen Pollock Merlin & Small, we strive to fulfill the critical role of counselor to our clients - to combine care, common sense and a complete understanding of our clients' needs with experience and unsurpassed competence in our areas of legal service.

Our practice is built on a service ethic that only begins with the highest legal knowledge and skills. It also includes a commitment to client responsiveness and a rigorous attention to detail that is vital in the effective delivery of legal services.

Formed in 1977, we are a well-established law practice with continuing client relationships dating from the first days of our operations as a firm. We take great pride in serving the children and grandchildren of some of our original clients, not only as attorneys but also as counselors.

In the following pages, we proudly offer you a brief overview of our Firm, our practice, and the individuals who constitute CPMAS.

Elliott Cohen

Since our founding in 1977, we at Cohen Pollock Merlin & Small have, in a significantly changed legal environment, held fast to our original philosophy: to provide sophisticated and responsive legal services to individuals, institutions, and businesses by a group of highly qualified legal practitioners.

Through controlled growth consistent with our philosophy, we have successfully achieved a dynamic, yet stable law firm, minimal in size. While creating and maintaining the personal relationships characteristic of our Firm, each of our attorneys has expertise in one or more areas of vital importance to our clients, thus enabling us to serve most all of our clients' needs.

The heart of our practice is practical business and personal law with a concentration on our clients’ business development and planning, and the protection, preservation and enhancement of our clients’ assets.

From our beginnings as a tax firm, we have established an expanded practice that encompasses general business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, tax and estate planning, commercial real estate, health care, franchising, bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, finance, secured lending, employee benefits, domestic relations and litigation. From our office in Atlanta, Georgia, we serve a national client base and provide local counsel to international clients as well. All of our attorneys are admitted to practice before appropriate local, state and federal courts and agencies including the U.S. Supreme Court.

We at CPMAS have consummated innumerable business transactions, including the purchase, sale, acquisition, consolidation and divesture of businesses; complex mergers of high net worth entities; and complex joint ventures, multi-state sales, acquisitions and loan transactions.

We enjoy an unusually sophisticated expertise in both living and testamentary estate planning to facilitate wealth accumulation, preservation and transmission. This area draws heavily on, and complements, our other areas of expertise. In particular, extremely high competence and responsiveness are brought to planning for high net worth individuals and families with dedication to establishing long and mutually- beneficial relationships between us and our clients.

Our bankruptcy and reorganization practice offers clients expertise in bankruptcy, corporate reorganizations, workouts, debt restructuring, receiverships, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy financing, asset sales, claims administration, contested matters, preference actions, fraudulent conveyance, subordination and reclamation, and all types of adversary proceedings. We represent secured and unsecured creditors, debtors-in-possession, trustees and creditors’ committees in reorganization and liquidation proceedings.

The health care practice at CPMAS provides health industry clients with proactive, sophisticated, responsive and cost effective legal advice and planning. We have extensive experience in providing advice and counsel to health care industry clients regarding a wide range of matters. We represent health care industry clients in corporate transactions and in their compliance with the numerous federal and state laws regulating business practices. Our clients also benefit from the firm's expertise in disciplines such as general corporate law, tax, litigation and real estate.

Finally, our commercial litigation practice offers expertise in court and arbitration actions, contractual, lease and real estate disputes, matierialmen's and mechanics’ lien enforcement, franchise and other commercial matters.

At CPMAS, our responsibility goes well beyond the satisfaction of necessary legal requirements to a critical consultative role and creative approach to resolving sometimes competing business, personal and tax issues and crafting the substantive terms of final agreements. We combine practical advice, seasoned negotiation skills, and an emphasis on cost-effectiveness to provide clients with timely and result-oriented service.

Going forward, we at CPMAS are committed to developing our practice deliberately in ways which complement our existing expertise and capabilities and, most importantly, respond to the evolving needs of our clients.

If we can be of service to you, we welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your needs.