trust is earned

Charles holds Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses. He was an active member of NAREIT, the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (served as Board Member, and on the Executive Committee, and as Chair of the Legal and Tax Affairs Committee), The Real Estate Roundtable (President’s Council, Tax Policy Advisory Committee, and Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee), the American Institute of CPAs, and The Georgia Society of CPAs. He has authored many articles on tax and structure issues and has been a presenter at numerous forums on REITs and international taxation.

Prior to founding REIT Funding in 1998, Charles spent 25 years with Arthur Andersen & CO, SC, where he was a partner with a focus in fields related to real estate and international taxation. He was a leader on the firm's International Business and Tax Teams and an active participant on the Real Estate and Partnership Tax Specialty Groups, where he advised on the formation and operation of numerous REITs. Charles is a graduate of Georgia State University with studies in accounting, finance, and taxation.

Scott holds Series 7, 24, and 63 securities licenses and is an active member of NAREIT, the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate and The Real Estate Roundtable.

Prior to joining REIT Funding in 2004, Scott was a consultant for Accenture and North Highland. He earned a BS from Georgia Tech in Computer Science and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, with an emphasis in real estate and finance.

Having closed thousands of successful private placements of equity securities, Patrick spends time counseling our clients on the REIT ownership rules, educating them regarding our services, and offering his experience on related securities law and compliance issues.

As in-house general counsel, he supervises our Form D/Blue Sky filing program, maintains our library of sample documents for client use, assists with broker-dealer compliance for H & L Equities, and provides legal support for our administration, risk management, and human resources functions.

Patrick holds Series 7 and 63 licenses, is a registered representative of H & L Equities, LLC, and is a member of both the State Bar of Georgia and the American Bar Association.

Prior to joining REIT Funding in 2006, Patrick was in private practice for 10 years in Atlanta, most recently with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. During this time, he served as general outside counsel to businesses in several industries and routinely represented fund sponsors, issuers, and investors in private equity transactions. Patrick holds a BS from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and a Juris Doctor from Tulane University School of Law, where he was a DeBlois Scholar.

Lori’s licenses include: Series 27, Financial and Operations Principal; Series 7 and Series 63, General Securities Representative; Series 79, Limited Representative – Investment Banker; Certified Management Accountant (CMA); Certified Financial Manager (CFM); and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). She is also a member of the Institute of Management Accountants and is registered with FINRA.

Prior to joining REIT Funding and H & L Equities in 2006, Lori served in several financial positions with BellSouth and MCI Telecom, was a consultant with North Highland, and was Controller of StillPoint Advisors and CFO of StillPoint Wealth Management. She earned a BS in Economics from Vanderbilt University and her MBA in Finance and Accounting from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

Prior to joining REIT Funding in 2006, Laura served as a paralegal with Banc of America Securities in New York City, Ronin Capital, LLC/Stafford Trading, Inc., and Lord, Bissell & Brook in Chicago. She holds a BA from Colorado State University and her paralegal certificate from Emory University.

Prior to joining REIT Funding in 2007, Kate was a manager at North Highland with experience in process improvement, financial software selection and development, and reporting application development. Kate earned a BS from the University of Georgia.

Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Sandra assists REIT Funding’s general counsel with document review, marketing research, and legal research, including tracking the latest Regulation D developments. She also ensures all Form D state and federal filings are on time and Blue Sky compliance is maintained. In addition, Sandra helps in preparing proposal letters, processing offering documents, and tracking new offerings.

Prior to joining REIT Funding and H & L Equities in 2012, Sandra served as a legal secretary and executive assistant for more than 25 years with a national and international law firm specializing in corporate and commercial real estate law.

Alea began at REIT Funding as a seasonal temp in 2016 while attending graduate school, and joined the team full time in 2019. She earned a BS from Christopher Newport University and an MS from Georgia State University.

Prior to joining REIT Funding in 2021, Leighann attended the University of Central Florida, graduating with a BS in Event Management in 2016. After graduating, she was the Operations Director for a Chick-fil-A restaurant before moving into consulting for Chick-fil-A’s corporate office.

Prior to joining REIT Funding, Sawyer was a senior associate in the private equity M&A departments of major international law firms, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. From New York, Tokyo and Atlanta, Sawyer advised on more than $150 billion in global M&A deals, projects, and special situations in over 75 jurisdictions for financial sponsors such as Apollo Global Management, Ares, Crestview Partners, Blackstone, HIG Capital, KKR, Koch Equity Development, Kohlberg & Co., Mitsui & Co., Oak Hill Capital Partners, Roark Capital Group and Starwood Capital Group.

Sawyer was recognized by The M&A Advisor in 2018 as a top M&A lawyer under 40 years of age and received the American Bar Association’s highest award for legal writing in 2020. Sawyer has also been listed by BestLawyers, Financier Worldwide, SuperLawyers, and The Daily Report. His publications on corporate law and M&A-related topics have been featured by Bloomberg, Law360, Thomson Reuters Practical Law Company and DealLawyers.

Sawyer holds a Series 63 license and is a member of the New York State Bar and the State Bar of Georgia. Sawyer graduated with degrees in business and political science from Furman University, where he captained the men’s tennis team, and from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Prior to joining REIT Funding in 2022, Melissa attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a BBA in Finance in 2019. After graduation, she worked as an Accountant and Credit Sales Coordinator at Resource Environmental Solutions.