Education
University of Michigan Law School
Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1995
Vanderbilt University
B.A., cum laude, 1992
Court Admissions
•United States Supreme Court
•U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
•U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
•U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
•U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
•U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
•Georgia (trial and appellate courts)
Bar Admissions
• Georgia
BioGRAPHY
Nicole Jennings Wade is a trial lawyer and a co-founding partner of Wade, Grunberg & Wilson. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, she handles a variety of litigation, representing businesses and individuals throughout the country. Nicole was a lawyer in the Atlanta office of a national law firm for 20 years (13 as a partner and 7 as an associate) before joining a boutique litigation firm in 2015 and then starting WGW in February 2020.
For over 25 years, Nicole has focused a significant amount of her practice on fiduciary litigation. She has represented individuals and institutions in trial courts and on appeal in many types of trusts and estates litigation, including claims for breaches of fiduciary duty, fraud, will contests based on competency and undue influence, contested guardianships, and will and trust construction. She has represented personal representatives of a number of high profile estates, including the corporate Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Estates of Curtis Mayfield, Rankin Smith Sr., and Robert Rauschenberg.
For nearly 20 years, Nicole also has focused a large percentage of her practice on defamation litigation. She has assisted numerous individuals and corporations across the country in protecting and defending their reputations through litigation or pre-litigation negotiations. She has handled libel and slander cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, achieving favorable resolutions on motion, in mediation, and through jury verdict.
Additionally, throughout her entire legal career, Nicole has handled a wide variety of commercial and business litigation disputes. These include claims for breach of contract, fraud, rescission, RICO, and other types of business claims across a wide variety of industries. She has been successful in resolving many of these disputes through mediation, helping to craft creative solutions that add to the bottom line instead of draining resources through costly litigation.
Nicole has received significant recognition during her career, including achieving a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® rating (the highest possible rating) every year since 2011, for both Peer Review™ and the Judicial Edition, in recognition of her successful track record and superb ethics. She has been recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers since 2011, and prior to that, she was recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2005-2010 (no publication in 2008). She has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® (Commercial Litigation) since 2015, as well as American Registry’s Top 1% of America’s Most Honored Lawyers since 2020, and prior to that in American Registry’s Top 1% of Professionals from 2015-2019. She also was included in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™ in 2013 and in Georgia Trend’s Legal Elite (Taxes, Estates & Trusts) in 2007.
A 1995 cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Nicole is admitted to practice in Georgia. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States. A participant in several legal organizations, her memberships include the Estate Planning & Probate Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. She has been a regular speaker on various litigation topics throughout her career.
Nicole also enjoys community involvement and served on the Board of the non-profit Partnership Against Domestic Violence from 2010 through 2017, including as Chair of the Board from 2015-2017.
RECOGNITION
AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating™ and Judicial Edition Rating: 2011 - 2024
Martindale-Hubbell®
Rated AV Preeminent® since 2011, the highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies that a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills, and ethical standards. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.
Georgia Super Lawyers: 2011 - 2024
Super Lawyers
Selected to the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Georgia Super Lawyers lists. 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 patented selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. No more than 5% of attorneys in each state are recognized in the annual Super Lawyers list.
Best Lawyers in America® (Commercial Litigation): 2015 - 2024
Best Lawyers®
Recognized in Best Lawyers in America in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. The 2024 Edition of Best Lawyers in America highlights the top 5% of private practicing attorneys in the United States and is based on more than 13.7 million evaluations. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers in America is considered a singular honor. Click here for Nicole’s Best Lawyers profile.
America's Most Honored Lawyers, Top 1%: 2020 - 2024
America’s Most Honored Professionals, Top 1%: 2015 - 2019
American Registry
Awarded by American Registry for continuous professional recognition, an accomplishment realized by the Top 1% of American lawyers. All qualifying public recognitions of excellence are certified by The American Registry and include significant mentions in the press, honors by recognized trade groups, and acclaimed recognitions by peers or clients.
Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™: 2013
Martindale-Hubbell®
Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.
Georgia Rising Stars: 2005 - 2007 and 2009 - 2010 (no publication in 2008)
Super Lawyers
Selected to the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010 Georgia Rising Stars list (no publication in 2008). 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 patented selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Candidates are eligible for Rising Stars if they are 40 or younger, or have been in practice 10 years or less. No more than 2.5% of attorneys in each state are recognized in the annual Rising Stars list.
Georgia's Legal Elite (Taxes, Estates & Trusts): 2007
Georgia Trend
In Georgia Trend's Annual Listing of Georgia’s top attorneys, Nicole was selected by her peers as a member of the Legal Elite list. The names of the top vote recipients, including Nicole’s, appeared in the December 2007 issue of Georgia Trend Magazine.
