Executive Committee

Below are the current officers and other representatives of the Technology Law Section. To contact these individuals, please use the Contact page, or if provided, their email address.

Chuck Ross is Chair of the Section. Chuck is a Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit. Although he handles all manners of felony criminal cases, his specialty is technology related crime. Mr. Ross was recently featured on Dateline NBC for his role in the prosecution of Dr. Barton Corbin, a Georgia dentist convicted of committing two murders fourteen years apart, and has also appeared on 48 Hours, Forensic Files and Discovery Channel’s, Solved. A frequent instructor and lecturer on cyber-crime, Mr. Ross is often contacted by in-house counsel and law firms regarding clients who have been victims of crimes. Mr. Ross was the first prosecutor in Georgia to be certified by the National White Collar Crime Center in forensic data recovery and analysis. He is often called upon to give his opinion regarding the viability of intellectual property based prosecutions, and is also recognized for his thorough understanding of Federal and State privacy laws regarding telecommunications and electronic data. In this capacity he deals with several major Internet service providers regarding subpoena, search warrant, and court-ordered surveillance compliance. Mr. Ross received his JD from Ohio Northern University, where he served as the Lead Articles Editor of the Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Kentucky and also holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Eastern Kentucky University. Mr. Ross is Past Chairman of the Net Ethics Committee. He is admitted to practice before all of the State Courts of Georgia and the United States Supreme Court.

Ben Young is Vice Chair of the Section. Ben is an associate at Troutman Sanders (www.troutmansanders.com). Ben’s practice area includes acting as transaction and intellectual property counsel to wireless carriers, technology companies, public utility companies, energy companies.

Stephen Combs is Secretary and Web Site Editor of the Section. Stephen is Director, Legal at HowStuffWorks, Inc. (www.howstuffworks.com), a subsidiary of Discovery Communications, LLC (NASDQ: DISCK). Discovery is the number one nonfiction media company. Stephen was formerly an attorney at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP in the firm’s corporate technology group. Stephen was corporate counsel at Home Depot for IT and e-commerce matters. He was the sixth employee of Monorail Computer Corporation which was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the top 25 coolest technology companies of 1997. Stephen has published numerous articles on topics such as leveraging intellectual property assets and revenue recognition. He has a law degree from Emory University and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Finance at Florida State University.

Gaines Carter is Chair Emeritus of the Section. Gaines is Intellectual Property Counsel at Arris International, Inc. (www.arrisi.com). ARRIS is a global communications technology company specializing in the design and engineering of broadband networks. ARRIS is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of cable telephony, video and high-speed data equipment, as well as outside plant construction and maintenance equipment for cable system operators.

Brett Lockwood is Editor of the Section’s Georgia Journal of Technology Law. Brett is a partner in the Corporate Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and chairs the Firm’s Technology Law Practice Group.Mr. Lockwood devotes a substantial portion of his practice to acting as principal outside counsel with his clients, advising on corporate and technology issues and significant transactions matters. His practice areas include corporate governance, commercial and venture finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate technology transactions, licensing law, outsourcing, strategic alliances, distribution arrangements, and executive compensation and general business law matters.