See You In Court

Appellate Law | Michael Terry

Description:

This week, Robin and Lester interview Appellate law specialist Michael B. Terry.

 

Guest Bio:

Mike Terry represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial and appellate matters, as well as class actions. Over the past 15 years, his practice has focused heavily on appellate litigation, particularly in the areas of class actions and punitive damages. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, an organization founded to advance the highest standards and practices of appellate advocacy and to recognize outstanding appellate lawyers.

 

Mike recently argued and achieved a 7-0 victory before the Georgia Supreme Court in a challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s caps on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases. In 2016, Mike argued and achieved a 7-0 reversal of the denial of class certification for a class of consumers alleging they had been charged usurious fees by their Bank. In 2015 Mike was selected by the Council of State Court Judges of Georgia to represent that body in a Georgia Supreme Court challenge to actions taken by Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission. That case remains pending.

 

A strong supporter of the Atlanta legal community, he recently served as president of the Atlanta Bar Association, where he set a focus on judicial funding and services for lawyers in transition. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia. Mike is a frequent lecturer and author on business litigation topics including class actions, punitive damages and appellate issues. He is also often asked to moderate debates and panel discussions involving judges.

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Links:

To learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, visit fairplay.org

Medical Malpractice | Jay Cook

Description:

Robin and Lester interview Jay Cook of Cook & Tolley, LLP. 

 

Guest Bio:

J. Vincent “Jay” Cook is the firm’s founder and managing partner, a veteran trial lawyer, and a respected leader in Georgia’s legal community. Jay has been specializing in medical malpractice since the 1970s, while continuing to handle a variety of other personal injury and general civil litigation cases.

 

A native of Savannah, Jay is a past president of the State Bar of Georgia; president of the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation; and former president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Georgia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Western Circuit Bar Association. Jay teaches the medical malpractice course at his alma mater, the University of Georgia School of Law.

 

Over the years, Jay has earned a reputation as a zealous advocate for individuals and families. His ability to get to the core of the issues in a case and hold a jury’s focus there has resulted in many successes at trial and through settlement.

Jay has written and edited numerous publications on the law and frequently teaches medical malpractice and other legal topics at continuing education courses. Additionally, Jay regularly writes op-eds on legal and consumer issues for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other newspapers around the state.

 

Jay is a proud father to Leanne Wallace of Savannah and Jay W. Cook, another partner at the firm. One of his greatest joys is being his grandchildren’s “Cookie.”

Jay has an AV® Preeminent™ rating by Martindale-Hubbell.

Read Full Bio

 

Links:

To learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, visit fairplay.org

 

In The Arena | A Conversation with Congressman George "Buddy" Darden

Description:

Robin and Lester interview Congressman George "Buddy" Darden.

 

Guest Bios:

George (Buddy) Darden joined Pope McGlamry in February 2018 where he became a member of our qui tam/false claims practice. Mr. Darden focuses on the areas of significant fraud, class actions, tort cases and white-collar matters.

Darden was first elected District Attorney for Cobb County in 1972 and next elected to the Georgia State House of representatives. In 1983 he was elected in a special election as a Representative to the United States Congress, where he served five additional terms.

After Congress, Darden served as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1996, 2000, and 2004 and was appointed by President Clinton to serve as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Mr. Darden later served as the chairman of the Judicial Nominating Commission during the administration of Governor Roy Barnes and served on numerous boards, including the Board of Trustees for LaGrange College. Beginning in 2009, he chaired the judicial selection committee in Georgia for the Obama Administration.

From 1995 until joining Pope McGlamry, Buddy was a partner with Long Aldridge and its successor firms, now Dentons. In 2010, he received the Tradition of Excellence Award from the State Bar of Georgia.

Buddy and his wife, Lillian, live in Marietta and are celebrating their fiftieth year of marriage this year. They are the parents of two adult children and have five grandchildren.

 

Links:

To learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, visit fairplay.org

Jury Trials in the Time of Coronavirus | Judge Carla Brown, Matt Moffett and Chris Clark

Description:

Robin and Lester host a panel of experts discussing jury trials in the time of Coronavirus. Guests include Judge Carla Brown, Matt Moffett and Chris Clark.

 

Guest Bios:

Judge Carla Brown

Carla Brown has served as a Gwinnett County State Court Judge since being appointed in 2003 by then-Governor Sonny Perdue. She has been re-elected to this position four (4) times. She is running for re-election on the May 2020 Ballot.

Prior to taking the State Court bench, Judge Brown had a wealth of judicial experience, including:

- Associate Judge for the City of Suwanee
- Judge for Gwinnett County State Court (by Designation)
- Associate Judge for the City of Lilburn (continuous service since 1998)

Judge Brown, along with her colleagues, worked to establish Gwinnett County's DUI Court, designed to provide intensive supervision and treatment to DUI offenders with multiple convictions. DUI courts have been shown to successfully lower the recidivism rate to offenders. In 2016, she worked with colleagues and established a State Court accountability program for veterans charged with misdemeanors. This program, called the Veteran's Intervention Program (VIP), was developed in conjunction with the Solicitor General of Gwinnett. It offers resources and guidance to our veterans who are facing legal issues within the State Court. VIP became a fully-certified program by the Council of Accountability Court Judges in 2018 and holds bi-monthly court sessions for its participants.

 

 

Matt Moffett

Matt Moffett is a civil defense trial lawyer of 29 years, having tried well over 100 cases involving serious injury or death. He is listed among the top 100 lawyers in Georgia in Atlanta Magazine and among the Legal Elite in Georgia in Georgia Trend magazine.

Over the last several years, Matt has secured defense verdicts in many wrongful death and serious injury cases. One notable defense verdict occurred in a wrongful death case where the plaintiff attorney asked the jury to award $20 million. His last seven defense verdicts were in cases wherein each plaintiff attorney asked for either a seven or eight-figure jury award.

Matt is a past president of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, and a current faculty member of the GDLA Trial Academy. He also serves as the state representative (Georgia) for the Defense Research Institute.

Over the last ten years, Matt has been the keynote speaker at the annual meetings of many legal organizations. From Florida to Washington, he has presented on effective and professional trial practice.

Matt is a Charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a member of The Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) and member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a Fellow of the Atlanta Bar Foundation, which supports public service projects that assist youth, provides pro bono legal services, and promotes higher education through scholarships. He also is a current board member for Action Ministries, an organization that mobilizes communities to address the challenges of poverty by focusing on hunger relief, housing and education.

 

Chris Clark

Chris represents severely injured individuals, or the families of persons killed through negligence. He has handled numerous cases against commercial trucking companies, nursing homes, product manufacturers, hospitals, insurance companies and other businesses. A large portion of his work is referred by other lawyers and law firms seeking assistance with substantial and complex personal injury matters.

 

Chris received “Best Lawyers in America” designation each year since 2009 and is listed as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of personal injury. He has been selected as a Georgia Super Lawyer each year since 2007. In September 2009, the Atlanta Business Chronicle selected Chris as one of “The 100 Most Influential Individuals Who Help Shape & Guide Atlanta’s Legal Industries.” Chris was a Governor for the State Bar of Georgia from 2011-2017. Chris was president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, President of the Macon Bar Association from 2008-2009, and President of the Middle Georgia Trial Lawyers Association from 1999-2000. The Traditions of Excellence and Service Award was presented to Chris at the Annual State Bar Meeting in June of 2018.

 

Links:

To learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, visit fairplay.org

An Introduction | See You In Court Podcast

See You In Court is a production of the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation whose mission is to educate the public about the Georgia Civil Justice System and their rights within the system.

 

To learn more about the Foundation and the Civil Justice System, visit fairplay.org

 

See You In Court is hosted by Robin Frazer Clark and Lester Tate.

 

Robin Frazer Clark

Robin is a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, GA. She has been practicing law in Georgia for 31 years, all in personal injury.

 

Robin is a past president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and served as the 2012-13 President of the State Bar of Georgia, which consists of about 55,000 lawyers.* She is also a past president of Lawyers Club of Atlanta and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

 

Robin graduated from Vanderbilt University and Emory University School of Law.

 

She is married and is the mother of two adult children.

 

You may find out more about Robin at her website gatriallawyers.net and on her blog atlantainjurylawyerblog.com. Robin is also on Facebook as Robin Frazer Clark, P.C. and on Twitter as @robinfclark.

 

*The State Bar of Georgia is the mandatory bar association that every lawyer who practices in Georgia, including judges, must belong to practice law in this state.

 

Lester Tate

Lester is the principal and owner of the law firm of Akin & Tate located in Cartersville, Georgia. He has practiced law in Georgia since 1987. His practice consists of most everything, including personal injury, workers’ compensation, and criminal defense.

 

Lester served as the 48th president of the State Bar of Georgia and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He serves on the Board of the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Literature, Media, and Communication. He also worked in Congress as the Press Secretary for Congressman Buddy Darden.

 

Lester graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology and from the University of South Carolina Law School. He is the father of two adult children.

You may learn more about Lester on his website akintate.com