Dave Root obtained summary judgment on behalf of their client, who served as the volunteer president of the Board of Directors of non-profit corporation, in a negligence suit resulting from the death of a minor.  The defense moved for summary judgment on the grounds that their client could not be liable under any tort theory because she was not directly involved in and did not instruct anyone to undertake the allegedly tortious conduct.  The defense also argued that there was no proximate cause between the allegedly tortious conduct and the death.  The Court agreed and granted summary judgment on those grounds.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Copeland, Stair, Valz & Lovell's Annual Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Seminar was held on Thursday September 12, 2019.  Located at the beautiful Atlanta Botanical Gardens, this two-track format addressed the emerging issues that keep you up at night.  Some session topics included: the rise in tort litigation, putting together the pieces of the wrongful death case, effective use of recorded statements and the material misrepresentation defense, liability exposure in the age of active shooters and the impact bias has on case evaluation and jury deliberations. For more information on this seminar, please contact Michelle Mattox.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair are proud to announce the following attorneys selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® lists for 2018. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers®. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers®, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers® undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.   Super Lawyers® Thomas S. Carlock - Civil Litigation: Defense Wade K. Copeland - Civil Litigation: Defense Eric J. Frisch - Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense Johannes S. Kingma - Professional Liability: Defense D. Gary Lovell, Jr. - Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense Rolfe Martin - Personal Injury General: Defense David F. Root - General Litigation Douglas W. Smith - Personal Injury General: Defense Kent T. Stair - Professional Liability: Defense Frederick M. Valz, III - Insurance Coverage Rising Stars® is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years of age or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars® list. Rising Stars® Lauren Meadows - Civil Litigation Defense Jay M. O'Brien - Personal Injury General: Defense

Copeland, Stair, Valz & Lovell, LLP is proud to announce that several of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® lists for 2021. Super Lawyers® recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice. Attorneys are chosen for this honor through a nomination process, peer review by practice area and independent research on candidates. The lengthy process identifies lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  Meet our Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars®! Only five percent of attorneys in the state of Georgia are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® list. Our Super Lawyers® are: Wade K. Copeland Eric J. Frisch D. Gary Lovell, Jr. Rolfe M. Martin Charles M. McDaniel, Jr. David F. Root Douglas W. Smith Kent T. Stair Fred M. Valz, III Rising Stars® list recognizes the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state – those who are 40 years old or younger, or those who have been practicing for 10 years or less. No more than 2.5 percent of eligible attorneys are named to the Rising Stars® list, here are ours in Atlanta: Melissa L. Bailey    

Copeland, Stair, Valz & Lovell, LLP is proud to announce that several of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® lists for 2020. Super Lawyers® recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice. Attorneys are chosen for this honor through a nomination process, peer review by practice area and independent research on candidates. The lengthy process identifies lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  Meet our Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars®! Only five percent of attorneys in the state of Georgia are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® list. Our Super Lawyers® are: Wade K. Copeland Eric J. Frisch D. Gary Lovell, Jr. Rolfe M. Martin Charles M. McDaniel, Jr. William D.  Newcomb David F. Root Douglas W. Smith Kent T. Stair Fred M. Valz, III Rising Stars® list recognizes the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state – those who are 40 years old or younger, or those who have been practicing for 10 years or less. No more than 2.5 percent of eligible attorneys are named to the Rising Stars® list, here are ours in Atlanta: Melissa L. Bailey Stephen J. Cohen  

Dave Root, Jennifer Guerra, Lee Weatherly and Caroline Niland examined the rise of verdicts in the Southeast within the past decade.  With such a significant surge in high verdicts, this presentation provided a review of verdicts over the past year as well as decisions from the appellate courts in Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.  The team provided attendees with insight into the factual and legal issues that contribute to eight and nine figure verdicts.  With this information, attendees were also given strategies to keep a case from becoming another "significant verdict." For more information on this presentation or firm seminars, please contact Michelle Mattox.