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ATLANTA—One day, Bernard Coleman might be negotiating a nine-figure corporate acquisition. The next, he might be helping a struggling filmmaker find funding for her next project. Or he could be advising a celebrity athlete on a promising new business venture.
 

One thing is for sure: Coleman, a Womble Carlyle Corporate and Securities attorney, is making deals happen in the Atlanta market. That’s why he has been named one of Atlanta’s “40 Under 40” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The awards honor local business leaders under the age of 40. Coleman was honored at an awards ceremony at the Georgia Aquarium on November 11, 2010.
 

Coleman has negotiated, structured and closed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars, finding success even when the market is otherwise sluggish.
 

In addition to his significant transactional experience, Bernard also leads Womble Carlyle’s Sports and Entertainment Practice. In this role, he utilizes his extensive business experience to counsel professional athletes and entertainers in various business deals, such as evaluating, negotiating and structuring investment opportunities, product endorsements (including, television commercials and strategic partnerships), and reality television shows.
 

Perhaps Bernard’s most famous client is legendary boxing champion and hometown Atlanta icon Evander Holyfield. Bernard has become a trusted business advisor to Holyfield and is helping the Champ develop and market a line of revolutionary nutritional supplement products and develop a line of fitness centers in India.
 

Bernard also works with film industry clients in Georgia. Using his extensive business experience and vast network of contacts, Bernard counsels independent filmmakers on organizing, structuring and raising capital for film productions. Bernard understands the market, and knows how to help obtain funding from lenders and investors, including creative strategies such as micro-financing, co-productions deals, and tax incentives programs. He works with filmmakers to help their projects qualify for tax credits from the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
 

Bernard serves on the Board of Advisors for the Peachtree Village International Film Festival and Southern Television and Film Summit. He has organized, led and spoken at numerous events designed to help filmmakers finance, develop and distribute motion pictures. Bernard also has written extensively about legal issues pertaining to the sports and entertainment fields.
 

Active in the community, Bernard has served onBoard of Directors of the National Kidney Foundation of Georgia, and is a Member of the Corporate Leadership Council for the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Since joining Womble Carlyle in May 2009, he has been active in the firm’s Striking Back at Cancer Bowl-A-Thon to benefit the Aflac Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare, including bringing in a number of celebrities to promote the charity event.
 

“Bernard is highly deserving of this award. He is an outstanding attorney and a community leader, and we are proud to call him our colleague,” said John F. “Sandy” Smith, senior Member in Womble Carlyle’s Atlanta Corporate and Securities practice.