ABOUT US
G. LANIER COULTER, JR.
ATTORNEY
Lanier is a 1998 graduate of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia and a 2001 graduate of Emory University School of Law. Lanier is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. Since graduating from Emory Law in 2001, Lanier has practiced primarily in the areas of condominium law and community association law. Lanier assists community associations in the interpretation and enforcement of their governing documents and in the negotiation, financing, and execution of major renovation and rehabilitation projects. Lanier is an instructor of continuing education courses for community association managers and attorneys, including courses entitled “Dealing With Difficult People,” “Problem Solving for Planned Communities,” and “Condominium Law.” He served on CAI-Georgia’s Legislative Action Committee for more than a decade and served as chair of the Committee in 2018 when it won CAI-National’s Legislative Action Committee of the Year Award. Currently, he serves on CAI-Georgia’s Golf Committee.
Lanier was selected as a Rising Star by Georgia Super Lawyers six times and a Super Lawyer by Georgia Super Lawyers seven years in a row. From the CAI-Georgia Chapter Lanier has been the recipient of: the 2011 Rising Star Award; 2015 Leadership Award; 2018 President’s Award; and 2022 Educator of the Year Award. In 2019, Lanier received the Rita Kennedy Award and in 2023, he was inducted as a fellow into CAI-National’s College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL).
MARY BETH SIERRA
ATTORNEY
Mary Beth is a 2002 graduate of Agnes Scott College where she majored in Economics and Music and a 2006 graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Mary Beth is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice before all Georgia courts. Since graduating from Cumberland School of Law, Mary Beth’s practice has been primarily focused on condominium law and community association law.
Mary Beth manages the firm’s litigation team, which is largely focused on the collection of assessments, covenant enforcement and foreclosure matters. For almost 20 years, she has represented community association clients in courtrooms throughout the Metro Atlanta area.
Mary Beth is a member of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and has served on several Georgia CAI Committees including the Magazine, Public Relations Committees, Membership Committee and currently serves on the Legislative Action Committee. She has authored various publications, including “A Seamless Transition” and “Trespassers Beware: Is Barbed Wire The Answer” which appeared in the CAI Georgia publication, “Georgia Commons.” She regularly teaches continuing education classes for community association managers and attorneys.
Mary Beth has been actively involved with Lekotek of Georgia since 2013, when she was elected to serve on its Board of Directors. Since then she has served on numerous committees for the organization, as the organization’s Vice-Chairperson and Chairperson.
Madeline Krontiras Bader*
ATTORNEY
Madeline focuses her practice on representing condominium and homeowner association clients. She works closely with boards of directors and property managers on the day-to-day business, management and operational aspects of governing their communities. Madeline assists community associations with drafting, interpreting and amending their legal documents, reviewing contracts and transitioning from developer to owner control. She handles community association-related litigation in both Alabama and Georgia, including collections and covenant enforcement.
Madeline’s professional experience includes representing mortgage lenders and related entities in a variety of civil litigation matters, in both state and federal courts throughout Georgia. She also worked as Georgia counsel for a Birmingham-based financial institution’s garnishments and levies division.
A Birmingham, Alabama native, Madeline is a 2010 graduate of the Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, where she was on the Dean’s List and received Scholar of Merit Awards in Advanced Trial Advocacy and International Business Transactions. While in law school, Madeline worked as an Executive Law Clerk for the Alabama Attorney General’s office, where she focused on legislation and compliance-related issues. She is a 2006 graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she majored in both International Studies and French. A member of the Alabama State Bar and the State Bar of Georgia, Madeline is admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia and the Northern District of Alabama.
Her professional involvement outside of work includes serving on various committees over the years with Community Associations Institute (CAI), including the Magazine Committee and Education Seminar Committee, for the Georgia Chapter, and the Education Committee and Golf Committee, for the Alabama Chapter. She also served on the Strategic Partnerships Committee for the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL). She frequently teaches community association board training classes and continuing education classes for managers, in both Georgia and Alabama through her firm and CAI.
*Licensed to practice in Alabama and Georgia
AMY H. BRAY
ATTORNEY
Amy is a 1995 graduate of the University of Georgia and a 1998 graduate of Emory University School of Law. She focuses her practice on real estate, encompassing both residential and commercial closings and extensive experience in community association law, specifically drafting the governing documents for residential and commercial community associations, including mixed use “green”, and age-restricted community documents. She has experience in negotiating and resolving complex covenant and easement issues in developments all over Georgia and throughout the country. She is also a certified mediator and has been brought in to help resolve ongoing litigation involving real estate and community association issues.
Amy is one of approximately 150 members of the prestigious College of Community Association Lawyers. From 2013–2024 she was awarded the distinction of Georgia SuperLawyer. In 2007 and 2009 through 2012 she was named a Georgia SuperLawyer “Rising Star.” Additionally, from 2019-2024 she has been on the “Best Lawyers” list for real estate. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Board of Editors for The Practical Real Estate Lawyer, a publication of the American Law Institute.
Amy has contributed as author and editor to a number of local and national publications through the years, from the Gwinnett Business Journal to the Community Association Institute’s Common Ground magazine. Most notable of her many publications, is 2004’s “What a Wicked (World Wide) Web: Helping Community Associations Deal with New Internet Issues,” published in the Journal of Community Association Law, Vol. 7, No. 1; “On the Board—Eco-Friendly Choices” published in Common Ground magazine in 2008; “How to Create a Green Community, Take eco-friendly building a step further,” published in The Practical Real Estate Lawyer in 2008; “Constructive Advice for Dealing with Banks Holding (Unconstructed) Lots,” (Co-author), Georgia Commons in 2012; and was a contributing author of “Best Practices—Report #9, Green Communities,” a national publication of the Foundation for Community Association Research in 2009.
Additionally, she presents topics related to community associations, condominiums, and all types of easement arrangements to a variety of audiences, including homeowners and community managers, developers, builders, real estate brokers, bankers, and fellow attorneys at both local and national seminars.
Frank E. Budde
ATTORNEY
Frank is a 2005 graduate of the University of Michigan and a 2008 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice before the Northern District of Georgia, the Middle District of Georgia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Frank’s practice is focused on representing condominium and homeowner association clients. He has extensive litigation experience before administrative agencies and in federal court, including multiple victories before the United States Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Frank worked as a law clerk to Senior Judge Peter T. Fay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Magistrate Judge Gerrilyn G. Brill of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
ALLISON LUMBATIS
ATTORNEY
Allison is a 2006 summa cum laude graduate of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, where she received a full Presidential Scholarship and graduated in the top 1% of her class. She also received her Bachelor of Arts from Samford University, summa cum laude, with honors, in 2003. During law school, she served as Copy Editor of the Cumberland Law Review, and upon graduation, she was awarded membership in Curia Honoris, Cumberland’s national alumni honor society. Allison is a member of the Alabama State Bar and the Houston County Bar Association. After beginning her law practice with a large Birmingham firm, she moved back to her hometown of Dothan, Alabama, and joined a small firm with a practice specializing in contracts, estates, and commercial and residential real estate. Now at Coulter & Sierra, she practices condominium and community association law, representing the firm’s Alabama clients.
Brianne L. Wingate
ATTORNEY
Brianne is an experienced attorney with a strong background in real estate law. She graduated from Cornell University in 2010 and went on to earn her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 2013. Brianne has worked extensively in both residential and commercial real estate, gaining valuable experience in title curative work, residential closings, and secured transactions. She also has worked in the foreclosure realm. Currently, Brianne’s practice focuses on condominium and community association law, primarily assisting associations with the proper enforcement of their covenants.