Mr. Hester concentrates in financial institutions law. He provides regulatory and transactional counsel on lending, securities, and corporate matters. He focuses on consumer compliance and electronic payments and is the co-author of a survey of federal and state electronic wage and salary instrument regulation, including direct deposit and prepaid card law.  Regular representation concerns the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the review of policies in light of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the actions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Mr. Hester also provides foreclosure and other problem loan services.  Prior to joining the firm, he was a Municipal Court prosecutor for the City of Atlanta.

During law school, Mr. Hester was Symposium Editor for the Georgia State University Law Review and a member of the school’s Public Interest Law Association. He also worked for the Georgia State University Office of Legal Affairs, where he advised university administrators and researchers on intellectual property, personnel, and real estate issues.  Prior to attending law school, Mr. Hester earned a Ph.D. in Forestry at North Carolina State University. In his dissertation research, he developed novel methods for using satellite imagery to analyze land use policy. Mr. Hester has a background in agriculture and natural resource management.

Bar and Court Admissions

Georgia, 2009

Education

Georgia State University, J.D., 2009

North Carolina State University, Ph.D., 2008

University of Georgia, B.S., 2001

Publications

• “SBLF: Helping Those Who Need it Least?”, CFO.com, September 2011
• “The New World of Mortgage Loan Originator Compensation,”  co-authored with Andrew Brummel, Missouri Bankers Association Compliance Corner, May 2011
• Survey of Laws: Wage and Payment Instruments, co-authored with Jennifer Crowder, 2011
• “Opportunity Costs: Nonjudicial Foreclosure in Georgia and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis,” Note, 25 Ga. St. U. L.R. 1205, 2009

• “SR 996," 25 Ga. St. U. L.R. 297 (legislative history of a proposed amendment to the Georgia Constitution authorizing tax allocation district finance), co-authored with Scott Lange, 2008
• “Analysis of Impervious Surface and Suburban Form Using High Spatial Resolution Satellite Imagery,” in Environmental Informatics Series (II): Environmental Remote Sensing and System Analysis, edited by Ni-Bin Chang, Taylor & Francis Group / CRC Press, co-authored with H.I. Cakir, S.A.C. Nelson, S. Khorram, H. Cheshire, and Ernst F. Hain (book chapter), 2010

• "High-resolution land cover change detection based on fuzzy uncertainty analysis and change reasoning,"  International Journal of Remote Sensing. 31(2), 455-475, co-authored with S.A.C. Nelson, H.I. Cakir, S. Khorram, and H. Cheshire, 2010
• "Per-pixel classification of high spatial resolution satellite imagery for urban land cover mapping," Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 74(4), 463-71, co-authored with H.I. Cakir, S.A.C. Nelson, and S. Khorram, 2008

Professional Affiliations

• American Bankers Association, Associate Member
• Community Bankers Association of Georgia, Associate Member
• Georgia Bankers Association, Associate Member
• Independent Community Bankers of America, Associate Member
• American Bar Association - Consumer Financial Services Committee
• Fayette County Bar Association

Civic Involvement and Honors

• Georgia Urban Forest Council
• AmeriCorps Education Award