John M. Moorhead is a native of Albany, Georgia, where he graduated from high school at Deerfield-Windsor School in 1997 after attending the school for 13 years. After graduation, John attended college at the University of Georgia where he graduated in 2001 with a BBA in Finance, summa cum laude with honors. While attending the University of Georgia as an undergraduate, John:
- was initiated into the Gridiron Secret Society his junior year
- was in the Honors program four years
- served as a student advocate in the student judiciary four years
- received the Charter Scholarship four years
- was inducted into several academic honor societies
John then attended the University of Georgia School of Law, where he received the degree of Juris Doctor in 2004, cum laude. In his second and third years, John pursued two extracurricular passions – moot court and the Federalist Society.
John was very active in the law school’s moot court program where he:
- competed in the Jessup International Moot Court Competition where the UGA team took runner-up in the Southeast United States Regional tournament in Memphis, Tennessee, in his second year;
- participated on the Gray’s Inn Moot Court Team, which competes against Gray’s Inn, London, England; he mooted in Atlanta, Georgia, before the Georgia Supreme Court and in London, England, where he was judged and hosted by solicitors of the Queen’s Council;
- served as chairman of the Moot Court Board in his third year;
- was inducted into the Joseph Henry Lumpkin Inn of Court, Atlanta, Georgia, as a pupil; and
- upon graduation, was awarded the Kerry Harike Joedecke Memorial Award for excellence, which is given to the outstanding moot court board member in each graduating class.
John, along with another law student a year ahead of him, resurrected the Federalist Society Chapter of the Law School, where he served as vice-president his second year and president his third year. During those two years, the Chapter hosted over a dozen debates on current legal issues with an attendance that grew to average over 150 attendees in his third year with two events filling 300-person capacity lecture halls with standing room only. This outlet fulfilled John’s desire for important issues to be debated by the sharpest minds on each side of the issue in an academic environment.
Upon graduating from law school, John formed Moorhead Law Firm LLC with his father, Bill, and focuses his practice in both practice areas of the firm – trusts and estates and business law. John:
- is well versed in drafting wills and trusts from simple wills to more complex estate planning techniques that bridge both practice areas
- regularly assists clients in organizing new business entities including corporations, limited liability companies (LLC’s) and various types of partnerships
- advises clients on contractual matters
- represents clients in the buying and selling of businesses
- advises clients on business succession to the next generation or to an unrelated person for a controlled liquidation of a closely held business
- in limited circumstances, advises clients on the raising of capital
John also represents litigants in both practice areas specializing in contested estate matters, guardianships, and business disputes. John represents several agricultural-based clients and is growing this area of his expertise to better serve the needs of clients in Southwest Georgia.
John is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is licensed to practice in all state courts, the United States Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, and is a member of his local Dougherty County Bar Association.
John is active in his community. He served three years as a deacon at Calvary Baptist Church and has served on many charitable boards, including Girls Inc., The Artesian City Sertoma Club, his neighborhood association, Paws Patrol Inc., and a local ministry. John has presented seminars to local attorneys and accountants in the estate planning field and has made numerous presentations to the general public regarding the importance of proper estate planning, including seminars to civil service personnel retiring from the Marine Corps Logistics Base and seminars to local groups in connection with Dougherty County Bar Association programs. John annually participates in the Dougherty Circuit Bar Association’s program that provides estate counsel on a pro bono basis to indigent clients and serves on the Advisory Council to the paralegal program at Darton College.
John is married to the former Amanda Leigh Hardee of Sugar Hill, Georgia, and they have three children, Elizabeth, William, and Samuel. John enjoys spending time with his wife and children and particularly enjoys playing sports, hunting, and fishing with them.