Practice Areas

Alternative Dispute Resolution

  • Many of our clients want to avoid litigation whenever reasonably practical, and we agree.
  • Our attorneys have training in the latest alternative dispute resolution techniques, including arbitration, mediation, negotiation with opposing parties, and other methods of non-judicial resolution.
  • We are committed to advising clients on this approach and using it when possible to resolve disputes without litigation. As part of that commitment, each of our principal attorneys is a certified mediator.

Practicing Attorneys:

Jonathan C. Anderson Peter D. Muller Charles W. Barrow Robert M. Darroch Stephanie F. Glickauf James T. Hankins, III David M. Havlicek Adam C. Joffe C. Wade McGuffey, Jr. Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo

Appellate Practice

  • Our attorneys have over 30 years of experience handling appeals not only in cases we directly handled before the trial courts, but also in cases where we are specifically retained to handle an appeal after an adverse decision against our client in a lower court.
  • We handle high-stakes, complex, and unique issues for our clients. We have briefed, argued, and won many cases before appellate courts.
  • We have also filed several amicus curiae briefs on behalf of defense industry groups in federal and state courts.

Practicing Attorneys:

Stephanie F. Glickauf Robert M. Darroch David M. Havlicek Adam C. Joffe C. Wade McGuffey, Jr. Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo

Auto Bodily Injury and Property Damage

  • We represent insurers and their insureds in a wide variety of auto and trucking accident liability cases.
  • We have successfully litigated severe, complex, and multi-party claims with varying levels of liability exposure.
  • We draw on our relationships with accident reconstruction experts and engineers nationwide.
  • We advise our clients on settlement value based on venue, potential exposure, and first and third-party coverage concerns.
  • We also specialize in the recovery of uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe Peter D. Muller Stephanie F. Glickauf

Condemnation

  • Governmental entities, on occasion, need private property to widen roads, create parks, or for other public needs.
  • The representation of the government in a condemnation matter is necessary to keep the cost of the project reasonable and to save taxpayer dollars.
  • Our firm has the experience to represent any governmental body when it becomes necessary to exercise its condemnation power.

Practicing Attorneys:

Charles W. Barrow

Construction Law

  • Construction litigation involves defending contractors and subcontractors in both property damage and personal injury claims arising out of all aspects of residential, industrial and commercial construction.
  • Our experience includes investigating and defending construction accidents and workers’ compensation claims, as well as litigation of complex actions involving manufacturing defects.
  • We have also represented land developers in actions related to professional and product liability.
  • The firm represents insurers in analyzing insurance coverage and in coverage litigation regarding the scope and extent of applicable insurance related to construction projects or completed operations.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe Peter D. Muller Adam E. Whitten

Cyber Liability

  • We resolve disputes related to commercial liability, property losses, and insurance coverage, in connection with data breaches, cyber extortion, fraudulent transfers, and data loss/destruction.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch Stephanie F. Glickauf

Employers’ Liability

  • Our firm represents employers, carriers, and TPA’s in negligence claims not covered under workers’ compensation.
  • Our attorneys use our vast knowledge and experience to provide each case a specialized defense tailored to achieve the most efficient outcome.
  • We have successfully defended hundreds of claims in all types of litigation arising out of work-place accidents.

Practicing Attorneys:

C. Wade McGuffey, Jr. Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo David M. Havlicek

Employment Law

  • We work with supervisors, managers, and Human Resources personnel to minimize risk and assist with pre-litigation avoidance techniques.
  • We assist aggressively and effectively to resolve disputes before and after litigation commences.
  • Whether a claim is at the EEOC stage or in litigation in a federal or state court in the southeast, we are prepared to ensure our clients’ goals are met.

Practicing Attorneys:

C. Wade McGuffey, Jr. Peter D. Muller Adam E. Whitten

Environmental Litigation

  • We represent insurance companies, landowners, land developers, manufacturers, and other potentially responsible parties.
  • Our attorneys provide advice on environmental coverage and defense of claims brought by state or federal agencies, companies, or individuals alleging environmental damage and liability.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch Stephanie F. Glickauf James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe

Government and Municipal Liability

  • This practice group is led by attorneys with former roles such as Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia, and General Counsel.
  • Our firm serves as general counsel for local area cities and counties and represents various specific county entities including school districts, police departments, and individual governmental employees.
  • The claims defended include alleged civil rights violations, Section 1983 suits, Title VII actions, and workers’ compensation claims, among others.
  • The firm also advises entities on risk management and loss prevention.

Practicing Attorneys:

Charles W. Barrow David M. Havlicek Peter D. Muller Adam C. Joffe

Insurance Coverage

  • We assist clients in resolving coverage disputes between the insurance company and the insured.
  • These disputes include questions concerning alleged bad faith practices, timeliness of notice, completed operations, intentional acts, fraud, collusion, misrepresentation, and contractual exclusions.
  • We represent insurers in declaratory judgment actions defend actions brought by insureds against their insurance providers.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch Stephanie F. Glickauf James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe

Nursing Home/Long-Term Care Liability

  • We represent nursing homes, personal care homes, and other elderly care facilities in complex litigation.
  • Our attorneys have successfully defended these companies in state and federal courts.

Practicing Attorneys:

Adam E. Whitten Adam C. Joffe

Premises Liability

  • Premises Liability law governs the responsibilities of those who own, occupy or maintain land or premises to those present on the premises.
  • We have broad experience representing people and entities who own and maintain property in a variety of claims, such as slip and falls, code violations, construction defects, insufficient lighting, crumbling curbs or stairs, uneven floors or walkways, falling objects, inadequate security, concealed defects, improperly secured mats, defects in chairs or benches, failure to fix unsafe conditions, and failure to warn.
  • Premises Liability Property Damage deals with losses to real or personal property. We also offer insight and solutions to properly determine the value of the lost property and the appropriate amount of recovery.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe Peter D. Muller Stephanie F. Glickauf

Products Liability

  • As product liability suits for injury to persons and property have proliferated, effective defense for insured and self-insured companies and manufacturers has increased in importance.
  • The firm has the experience necessary to provide an aggressive and effective defense in a cost-efficient manner.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe Peter D. Muller

Professional Liability

  • The firm represents a wide array of professionals in medical malpractice cases including hospitals, physician practice groups, skilled nursing facilities, physicians, nurses, oral surgeons, emergency personnel, nursing homes, and other healthcare industry specialists and professional entities.
  • We also actively work with clients and risk managers pre-litigation, to identify, avoid, and resolve risk.

Practicing Attorneys:

James T. Hankins, III Peter D. Muller Adam C. Joffe

Questionable/Fraudulent Insurance Claims

  • Our questionable claims practice involves working with insurers and Special Investigation Units on a broad spectrum of matters including first party and third party fraudulent bodily injury claims, auto theft, commercial and residential losses, arson, life, and health insurance fraud, staged theft losses and agency fraud.

Practicing Attorneys:

James T. Hankins, III Adam C. Joffe Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo David M. Havlicek

Religious Institutions and Private School Litigation

  • The firm represents a large number of religious institutions and private schools in a wide variety of lawsuits, such as Title VI and Title IX discrimination suits, sexual harassment or molestation claims, employment actions, libel and slander suits, premises and tort liability allegations, workers’ compensation claims.

Practicing Attorneys:

Robert M. Darroch Peter D. Muller

Retail, Restaurant & Hospitality Defense

  • Our firm represents a large number of restaurant, retail, and hospitality institutions in a wide variety of areas, including premises liability, liquor liability, negligent security, employment actions, and workers’ compensation claims.
  • Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies to local “mom and pop” operations.
  • Similarly, our firm’s services include everything from counseling, large scale pre-litigation mediation programs, regional lawsuit defense to claim prevention risk management.
  • Our attorneys are involved in many national and local industry organizations, which allows us to be intimately connected to the industry developments, legislative initiatives, and current trends.

Practicing Attorneys:

James T. Hankins, III Peter D. Muller Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo C. Wade McGuffey, Jr.

Sexual Misconduct

  • Our firm represents many different types of organizations, including, schools, daycares, religious institutions, large/small corporations, and individuals, in alleged sexual misconduct matters.
  • Recent cases we have defended involve rape and assault claims against the insured property owners, as well as other personal injury claims occurring on the property.
  • We advise our clients on the disposition of these claims and we defend against such claims when required to protect our clients’ interests.
  • With our vast experience in these matters, we understand the unique and sensitive nature of these cases, resulting in better representation for our clients while better understanding the alleged victims.
  • Our attorneys stay current in the emerging trends, claims, and strategies in this field through participation in a variety of sexual misconduct seminars.

Practicing Attorneys:

James T. Hankins, III Peter D. Muller Adam E. Whitten

Subrogation

  • The firm represents insurers and companies directly in a wide variety of subrogation claims, from automobile property damage subrogation claims to large losses related to negligent construction.
  • Through the firm’s extensive experience in subrogating negligent construction claims, we have acquired expertise in the interpretation of the AIA form contracts that usually govern a construction loss.
  • The firm has been successful in recovering in all types of subrogation claims through its use of cost-effective strategies.

Practicing Attorneys:

James T. Hankins, III Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo Stephanie F. Glickauf

Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA)

  • Our ever-changing society and expanding industry produce numerous claims and lawsuits involving chemical and occupational exposures and diseases alleged to have developed from the work environment.
  • Such claims and lawsuits often are new and novel. Our firm regularly represents businesses in such claims and lawsuits and has the training and experience to defend such actions effectively.

Practicing Attorneys:

C. Wade McGuffey, Jr. Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo

Workers’ Compensation

  • For more than 30 years, we have represented insurance companies, self-insured employers, and governmental entities in all matters before the State Boards of Workers’ Compensation and courts in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
  • Efficient and cost-effective defense of claims based on the individual needs of our clients, whether for claim prevention, litigating claims, or settlement.
  • We specialize in innovative defense strategies to move even the most unique claims quickly toward a conclusion.

Practicing Attorneys:

Jonathan C. Anderson Charles W. Barrow David M. Havlicek C. Wade McGuffey, Jr. Adam E. Whitten Teri Alpert Zarrillo David M. Bornemann