“I will become a criminal attorney,” was the last message he wrote in his high school yearbook. Those words became his mantra and focus. He embarked on this journey at the age of 18 after his parents moved to Japan. He enlisted into the military to serve his country, to learn new skills and to help himself financially. Then he began his educational journey as a dual degree Political Science and English Literature major. After completing his undergraduate studies, Germaine enrolled into the Juris Doctor, Master of Business Administration and ADR program, diving into an arduous and challenging educational path.
After completing his eight-year military commitment and graduating with his Master of Business Administration, certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution and his Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University, Germaine moved to Atlanta to be closer to his family. While in Atlanta, he connected with one of his mentors, and with his mentor’s support, he started his legal career at King and Spalding LLP as a transactional attorney for the Tort and Environmental law practice group. He worked on transactional matters for General Motors and a few other Fortune 500 clients. His second legal role made him a litigator. He managed his own trials as the lead attorney and occasionally as co-counsel, focusing on contract disputes, personal injury, medical malpractice, premise liability and insurance defense for the City of Atlanta, MARTA, United Parcel Service (UPS), Grady Hospital, American Family Insurance, Coca Cola and the State of Georgia.
His talents and experiences were recognized by a well-known mid-sized law firm in downtown Atlanta, and he was hired for the firm’s Corporate Transactions and Business Litigation Practice Group. A role he believed was a perfect match to his strong business and strong legal acumen. He was the practice group’s youngest and only minority attorney. While there, he worked on ESOPs, Mergers and Acquisitions, contract disputes, insurance disputes, intellectual property matters, business formation, regulatory compliance issues, contract drafting and negotiation, premise liability and toxic tort cases. He was able to secure business from start-up companies and well-established companies, eventually serving as outside counsel for UPS’s Intellectual Property Department and several small fitness and technology companies.
Germaine served as inhouse counsel for a major real estate technology company, where he worked independently and with different legal and business teams, to manage the day-to-day operations and provide advice, guidance and legal support on a wide range of matters for five lines of businesses in the Marketplace segment, including an e-commerce auction marketing platform, asset management services, real estate brokerage services, trustee services, and sales lines of businesses. He conducted research and analysis to provide sound risk-based advice regarding laws, rules, and regulations applicable to products, services, and offerings, and helped the Company create new business and bring new technology to market. He also provided oversight on compliance matters arising in the lines of businesses, worked to resolve issues raised by regulators and consumers, drafted and negotiated a wide variety of commercial contracts, and acted as subject matter expert on a number of regulatory issues, data privacy issues, commercial issues and consumer protection issues. He now manages Beliesol as Chief Executive Officer and Beliesol Legal LLC as Managing Counsel.