Joshua D. Huckaby

Joshua D. Huckaby

Joshua Huckaby is the managing attorney for O’Kelley & Sorohan’s litigation, business and family law practices.  Since joining the firm in 2004, Mr. Huckaby has handled several divorces, child custody disputes, and other family law matters.  In addition to his family law practice, Mr. Huckaby manages the firm’s default services litigation practice. Mr. Huckaby is an active member of the Gwinnett County Bar Association, where he currently serves as Secretary.

Josefina C. Knapp

Josefina Knapp has been a Georgia resident, residing in Alpharetta, for more than 15 years.  In 1993, Ms. Knapp received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from The Ohio State University and then went on to receive her Juris Doctor from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio in 1996.  Ms. Knapp has been a closing attorney for over 10 years.  Since 2001, she has been with O’Kelley & Sorohan, concentrating her practice in residential real estate.  Ms. Knapp became a Member of the firm in 2006.  She currently manages the firm’s Alpharetta office, in addition to supervising important lender and realtor alliance accounts.
Ms. Knapp is a native Spanish speaker with family roots in Argentina.  She has served as a mentor for the State Bar of Georgia and is an active member of Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (“NAHREP”), the Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention and Awareness Coalition (“GREFPAC”) and the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorney’s Association (“GRECAA”).
In her free time, Ms. Knapp is a multi-sport enthusiast (Triathlons) and has conducted fundraising events for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with their Team in Training programs.

Dell W. Murphy

Dell Murphy primarily focuses her practice in residential real estate closings but has experience in resolving title issues and in dealing with REO transactions, builders and developers.  Prior to joining O’Kelley & Sorohan, Dell was a managing attorney with other firms, served as in-house counsel for a volume residential builder and was an owner and partner in her own firm.

 

Dell earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History, with a minor in Real Estate from Georgia State University in 1989.  The minor in Real Estate fueled her interest in the field and also allowed her to qualify for and obtain her Georgia Real Estate Broker’s license.  Dell went on to earn her Juris Doctor from Atlanta’s John Marshall School of Law, graduating in 1992.

 

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Dell has lived in Georgia for over 30 years.  Prior to her law career, Dell was a stay at home mom and has two grown children and four grandchildren. Dell and her husband live in Canton.

Cate S. Hoskins

Cate Hoskins began practicing in the area of real property law in 2001 and joined the Law Offices of O’Kelley & Sorohan, Attorneys at Law, LLC in 2003.  She was named a Member of O’Kelley & Sorohan in 2008.  She currently manages the firm’s Kennesaw, Georgia office.   Ms. Hoskins primarily focuses her practice in the areas of real estate closings, title clearance, and contract drafting and review.  She has developed classes and taught on subjects such as Georgia Association of Realtors contracts, short sales and pre-foreclosure, mortgage fraud issues, real property litigation issues and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures, as well as many other topics.

 

Ms. Hoskins earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990.  She attended Wake Forest University School of Law as a Law Faculty Scholar and earned her Juris Doctor in 1994.

 

Ms. Hoskins is admitted to the Georgia State Bar as a member of the Real Property Law Section and the North Carolina State Bar. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law Section for which she has served on the Title Standards subcommittee and has chaired the Residential Practice and Pro Bono committees. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorneys Association since 2009 and held the Officer positions of Treasurer and then Vice President prior to her election as GRECAA President for the 2016-2017 term. Ms. Hoskins is an active affiliate member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia, 400 North Board of Realtors (Board of Directors 2012-2014), Cherokee Association of Realtors, Cobb Association of Realtors and Atlanta Realtors Association.

Walter E. Manuel Jr.

Gene Manuel has been practicing law in Gwinnett County since 1994. His experience includes a focus on residential real estate closings, Wills and probate, business incorporations and contracts, commercial leases, and foreclosures. He joined O’Kelley & Sorohan in 2015 as a residential closing attorney in the Snellville office.

 

Gene and his wife reside in Gwinnett County. They have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.

Diedra L. Sorohan

Diedra L. Sorohan co-founded O’Kelley & Sorohan, Attorneys At Law, LLC in 2001. She graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from John Marshall School of Law in 1993. Prior to co-founding O’Kelley & Sorohan, Diedra joined Morris Manning & Martin in 1993, where she managed the Gwinnett branch and became heavily familiar with the Gwinnett area.

Diedra is currently one of O’Kelley & Sorohan’s managing partners, and co-founder of OS National a nationwide title insurance company, founded in 2012. She has an extensive background in construction, final purchase residential real estate transactions, and general business matters.

She is admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia; is a member of the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorneys Association; and the State Bar of Georgia, Real Estate Section, where she served on the board for six years. She is a part of the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women, is a member of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Sales and Marketing Council and Professional Women in Building, and is a part of Commercial Real Estate Women of Atlanta.

Joe F. O’Kelley Jr.

Mr. O’Kelley concentrates his practice on residential real estate transactions.  Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. O’Kelley worked in corporate banking with Wachovia Bank, N.A., as a merchant and investment banker with Power Capital Corporation, and as an international tax consultant with Meridian VAT Reclaim, Inc.   Mr. O’Kelley has an extensive background in construction and final purchase residential real estate transactions as well as in strategic business development, hands on operational management, marketing, legal analysis, business/legal negotiations, deal making and other complex corporate matters.  Additionally, Mr. O’Kelley has been involved in and on boards of several organizations in the real estate industry.  Mr. O’Kelley received his B.B.A. in Finance in 1983 from the University of Georgia.  In 1988, he received his M.B.A. in Finance from Emory University.  He received his J.D. degree in 1997 from Georgia State University.  He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia.

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For more on Mr. O’Kelley’s background, please find an article the Title Report published on June 21, 2018 below.

 

The Joe F. O’Kelley, Jr. Story
“Teaching the Be-Attitudes”

Click here to read the Trendsetters article.

 

 

Phillip O. Erickson

Phil Erickson served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, serving on the U.S.S. Independence (CV-62) where he was awarded two Navy Achievement Medals.  Prior to serving in the Navy, Mr. Erickson graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Finance in 1986.  After serving in the Navy, Mr. Erickson attended the University of Florida School of Law, where he graduated with honors in 1997.  During law school, Mr. Erickson received the Book Award for excellence in the field of Income Taxation.

 

After graduating from law school, Mr. Erickson moved to Atlanta and joined Jackson & Tyler, LLP, specializing in estate planning, corporate matters and tax controversy, and became a partner of the firm in 2002.  Mr. Erickson remained with Jackson & Tyler until 2004, and then joined Ganek, Wright & Dobkin, P.C.  While at that firm, Mr. Erickson oversaw the firm’s estate planning practice, specializing in wills, trusts, living wills and probate matters.  Mr. Erickson then joined O’Kelley & Sorohan where he also oversees the firm’s estate planning practice and works in the firm’s Litigation Department.

 

Mr. Erickson is a member of both the Florida and Georgia bars.  Mr. Erickson has worked for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program since 1996.  In his free time, Mr. Erickson is an avid, albeit not very gifted, golfer.

Nicole W. Rhodes

Nicole Rhodes was born in Miami, Florida. She graduated from The Florida State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminology and a minor in Biology. Nicole earned her Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School, graduating in 2014. Nicole was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2015. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Young Lawyers Division in the Real Estate Section and Intellectual Property Section.

Tiffany T. McWhorter

Tiffany McWhorter joined O’Kelley & Sorohan in 2007.  She graduated from The University of Georgia Cum Laude in 2003 with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Real Estate. Tiffany earned her Juris Doctorate at Georgia State University College of Law  and was admitted into the State Bar of Georgia in 2007. Ms. McWhorter is a Gwinnett County native and her primary practice areas are Gwinnett, Hall, Barrow, Jackson and Forsyth counties. Tiffany concentrates her practice on residential real estate transactions.