Photo of a man named Jim

James C. “Jim” Weidner

Jim Weidner was born in Buffalo, New York. He graduated cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1982 with degrees in History and Political Science. He moved to Georgia as soon as he could and arrived in Atlanta in 1982. He graduated from Georgia State University’s College of Law in 1987, and worked full-time as a clerk with the FBI in Atlanta while attending law school.

Jim Weidner began his legal career in 1987 with the law firm of Drew, Eckl & Farnham, a large insurance defense firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • In 1988, he began working as an associate with Jack Carey and Chris Walker in Gainesville, Georgia. 
  • On January 1, 1990, Carey & Walker merged with the law firm of Deal & Jarrard to form the law firm Carey, Deal, Jarrard & Walker. Nathan Deal, one of Jim’s former law partners, was elected to the U.S. Congress in November 1992 and when Nathan withdrew from the practice of law, the partnership became Carey, Jarrard & Walker. (Nathan was elected as the 82nd Governor of the State of Georgia in 2010, an office to which he was re-elected in 2014).
  • On March 1, 1998, Jim moved his practice to Clarkesville, Georgia as a sole practitioner.
  • On January 1, 2006, he formed his law partnership with William R. “Bill” Oliver.
  • On January 18, 2010, retired Chief Superior Court Judge for the Mountain Judicial Circuit, Ernest H. “Bucky” Woods, III joined the firm.
  • On February 8, 2021, former US Representative Doug Collins joined the firm.
  • In December 2022, law partner, Bill Oliver, was named to the Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Bench by Governor Brian Kemp
Jim is admitted to:
  • The State Bar of Georgia (1987); 
  • The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (1987);
  • The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (1987);
  • The United States Supreme Court (1993);
  • The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (1997); and
  • The Mountain Judicial Bar Association (1998)

Jim concentrates his practice in residential and commercial real estate; estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney; adoptions; business and commercial litigation; and personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

Appointments:
  • By Governor J. Nathan Deal and reappointed by Governor Brian P. Kemp to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority [GSCCCA] (2012-present)
  • By Governor Brian P. Kemp to the Georgia Student Finance Commission (2024)
Civic Involvement:
  • Member, United Way of Habersham County, Board of Directors (2001-2009 & 2011-2019)
  • Chairman, United Way Board of Directors (2003, 2004, 2014-2016)
  • Member of Habersham County Chamber of Commerce (1998-present; Board member 2020-present)
  • Member of Clarkesville Business Association (1999-present)
  • Member of Habersham Medical Center Foundation (2001-2016)
  • Habersham County Board of Education (2003-2007)
Other:
  • Trustee, Tallulah Falls School, Tallulah Falls, Georgia (2012-present)
    • Chairman of the Board (2022-present)
    • Vice-Chairman/Chairman Elect of the Board (2018-2022)
    • Secretary of the Board (2014-2018)
    • Member of the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees (2012-present)
  • Organizing Director and Secretary for Southern Bancorp, Inc. (2005-2020)
  • Organizing Director of Southern Bank & Trust (2005-2020).
    • On April 1, 2020 Southern Bank & Trust merged with Pinnacle Financial Corporation (Pinnacle Bank).