Thomas S. Cullen

Partner

200 East Saint Julian Street
PO Box 9848
Savannah, GA 31412-0048

Tel 912.236.0261
Fax 912.236.4936

Tom Cullen is a partner in the Savannah office, where he practices in the areas of general corporate, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. His practice focuses on all aspects of general corporate representation, including the formation and organization of business entities, capitalization of such entities through debt or equity offerings, securities issues, commercial transactions, commercial loans, mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, restructurings and other reorganizations, shareholder rights issues, and contract drafting and negotiation.

Tom represents wide-spectrum companies operating in various industry groups. These client companies range from early-stage to established Fortune 500 companies. In these representations, Tom provides counsel on a broad range of legal issues and acts as the outside general counsel for many of these businesses. He has extensive experience in mergers, acquisitions, and change in control transactions. Tom’s value comes not only from his expertise and experience, but from his creative and practical problem-solving skills.

Tom holds or has held leadership roles within the Firm, including practice group leader and member of the management committee. He has served on many nonprofit boards, including acting as chairman of the board for the American Red Cross of Southeast and Coastal Georgia.

Tom graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Economics in 1991 and from the University of Georgia with a J.D., cum laude, in 1994. At the University of Georgia, he was a member of the editorial board of the Georgia Journal of Intellectual Property Law.


Experience

Representative Engagements

  • Represented seller in the sale of a nationwide insurance consulting company with multiple offices.
  • Represented seller in the sale of a long-standing insurance brokerage in southeast Georgia, involving rollover equity and an internal restructuring.
  • Represented seller in the sale of an international topical anesthetic and medical supplement company.
  • Represented buyer in the acquisition of a solid waste collection and disposal business, including residential, commercial, and industrial services.
  • Represented buyer in the acquisition of a bakery in Key West, Florida, including all assets and real property.
  • Represented owner in the sale of a company’s stock to a publicly traded manufacturer, including establishing new benefit plans and an internal restructuring.
  • Represented a multi-entity group of physician practices acquired by a private equity-backed healthcare company, focusing on skilled rehabilitation and transition care.
  • Represented client in a subchapter F reorganization and the sale of membership interests to a private equity buyer investing in water infrastructure.
  • Represented seller in the reorganization and sale of membership interests in specialty contracting services across Georgia and South Carolina.
  • Represented owners in the sale of 75% of a subchapter C corporation’s shares to an industry peer.
  • Represented seller in the reorganization and sale of a comprehensive financial and accounting services provider.
  • Represented seller in the reorganization and sale of a provider of IT support and security services.
  • Represented seller in the sale of a life insurance and annuities business operating in the Southeast.
  • Represented purchaser in the acquisition of three real estate holding companies, handling negotiations, due diligence, and loan assumptions.
  • Represented seller in the owner-financed sale of two dealer locations in Texas, managing all aspects of the transactions.
  • Represented purchaser in the acquisition of a solid waste business, including various waste management services.
  • Represented purchaser in the acquisition of properties and theaters in North Georgia, ensuring compliance with SBA Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.
  • Represented clients in the turnkey commercial foreclosure of a Vidalia onion farm, including real and personal property.
  • Represented a South Carolina-based software development company in the acquisition of all assets of a business developing pharmaceutical data analysis software.
  • Represented a healthcare business in the acquisition of a division of a publicly traded company manufacturing pharmaceutical products and related intellectual property.
  • Represented a pharmaceutical company in the acquisition of all assets of a business developing pharmaceutical products and intellectual property.
  • Represented the owner of a healthcare facility in the sale of a 51% interest to a medical education and research business.
  • Represented a software development company in the sale of a substantial minority interest to a health information technology solutions provider.
  • Represented seller of a wastewater treatment and technology business.
  • Represented a construction company in the acquisition of a business engaged in the construction industry.
  • Represented a healthcare provider in the acquisition of assets from a publicly traded company, including technology and intellectual property for pharmaceutical development.
  • Represented minority owners of a timber company in a tax-free spinoff of certain assets.

Community Work

  • American Red Cross of Southeast and Coastal Georgia: Board of Directors, Past Chair
  • Old Savannah City Mission: Board of Directors, Past Member
  • Armstrong State University Educational Properties Foundation: Board of Directors, Past Member
  • Leadership Savannah: Class of 2000-2002

Credentials

Education

University of Georgia School of Law: J.D., cum laude, 1994
University of Illinois: B.S., Economics, 1991

Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Savannah Bar Association
  • State Bar of Georgia: Legal Opinion Committee

Recognition

Best Lawyers in America: Corporate Law, 2013-2024
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most highly-respected peer review guide to the legal profession worldwide. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.

Georgia Trend Magazine Legal Elite: 2012-2013; 2015-2021; 2024
Georgia Trend Magazine’s annual listing of Georgia’s top attorneys, selected by their peers. The list includes eight practice areas: business law; personal injury litigation; criminal law; labor and employment; taxes, estates and trusts; bankruptcy and creditors’ rights; family law; and general practice/trial law.

Lawyer of the Year: Corporate Law, 2014 & 2020
The Best Lawyers in America named Tom Cullen the 2014 Lawyer of the Year for Savannah in the area of Corporate Law. Only one lawyer in each practice area and city is selected as the Lawyer of the Year. The award reflects the high level of respect an attorney has earned from his peers for his abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star: 2005-2006 & 2009
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

Martindale-Hubbell: AV Rated
The Martindale-Hubbell® PEER REVIEW RATINGS™ are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.

Licensed In

Georgia

Insights

Raising money for your business

September 18, 2004

By Thomas S. Cullen, published on September 18, 2004, in Savannah Morning News. At some point, most businesses experience a need for additional cash – whether it’s for normal growth,…

Presentations

Keeping a watchful eye on potential fraud from within your organization: Learn the latest trends and email tactics
Presented by Tom Cullen and Christopher Smith in Savannah, Georgia, on May 19, 2016.

News