Joseph R. Neal, Jr., Esq., is an AV pre-eminent rated, second generation Georgia trial lawyer with over two decades of litigation experience. Mr. Neal is the principal and founder of NEAL LAW, a law firm with offices in Atlanta and Augusta which provides first class legal representation for victims of Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful death. Mr. Neal handles a wide variety of tort cases across the State of Georgia. His success as an aggressive and compassionate Plaintiff’s trial lawyer in trucking cases, fire and burn cases, and medical malpractice cases has led to him being inducted into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, known as the “Top Trial Lawyers of America” and Rue Ratings’ “Best Attorneys of America” as a life-time charter member. Mr.
Neal considers his vocation an art and a craft and is a graduate of both Gerry’s Spence’s Trial Lawyers College and AAJ’s Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course, the Art of Persuasion at Harvard Law School. A fierce advocate for his clients, Mr.Neal dedicates all of his energies to achieving Justice for those wrongfully harmed.

Focus Areas of Practice

• Serious Road Wrecks:  auto, truck, train, bicycle, and motorcycle wrecks
• Fire Cases:  electrical, gas, and chemical fires
• Medical Malpractice:  hospital, nursing, doctor, pharmacy, and nursing home negligence
• Premises Liability: slip and fall, negligent security, defective conditions
• Defective Products: cars, drugs, electrical or gas fueled products
• Environmental Torts:  toxic contamination of land, housing, and businesses

Professional Honors

• Life Time Charter Member, Best Attorneys of America, Rue’s Ratings 2014
• Top Lawyers of Georgia, 2014, As Published in Atlanta Magazine
• Member, Multi-Million Dollar and Million Dollar Advocates Forum, “The Top Trial Lawyers In America” – 2012
• Mr. Neal has been nominated for the Litigator Awards for 2014 by the Trial Lawyer Board of Regents.
• AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, LexisNexis – 2013
• AVVO Client’s Choice Award, Personal Injury – 2012
• AVVO 10.0 Rating, Top Attorney Personal Injury – 2012

Representative Recoveries

• Vann v. Finley – double fatality trailer fire, over $4,000,000 recovered from three defendants. Defeated City of Augusta on claims of official and sovereign immunity in the trial court, Ga. Court of Appeals, and Ga. Supreme Court (2008-2012)
• Hill v. USA Truck Inc. – $3,000,000 jury verdict in Federal Court in Anderson, South Carolina in a tractor trailer v. bicycle wreck case that resulted in a broken leg and minor brain injury to client. (2007)
• Daniel v. Atl. Gas Light Co. – substantial confidential settlement in a wrongful death case resulting from negligent inspection of water heater (2011).
• Curry v. Board of Regents of Georgia, MCG Hospital – $1,530,000 structured settlement for two surviving minor children against the Medical College of Georgia for failure to diagnose and treat a cerebral brain aneurysm of their 27 year old mother (2003).
• Williams v. APAC and SC DOT – $1,050,000 cash settlement in favor of a 50 year old wife, mother, grandmother, and worker who was driving to work in the rain when she hit a patch of standing water on defective section of I-20 in Aiken, S. C. and hydroplaned into trees (2004).
• Peterson v. Board of Regents/MCG Hospital – $777,000 cash/structured settlement for a wife and two children against several doctors of the Medical College of Georgia for failure to diagnose and treat colon cancer of one of its landscaping employees (1999).
• Wilson v. Drew Enterprises – $650,000 cash settlement against a tractor trailer company in personal injury case (2011).
• Morris v. Willie Smith and Waste Mgmt. – $800,000 cash settlement in wreck between logging truck and commercial trash truck (2000).

Professional Leadership

• Georgia Trial Lawyer’s Association – Vice President and Super Champion Member 2011.  Active member since 1999.
• American Association for Justice – activemember since 2000
• Southern Trial Lawyer’s Association – activemember since 2007
• Melvin M. Belli Society – activemember since 2009
• State Bar of  Georgia – active member since 1993.  Board of Governors candidate in 2011.
• Augusta Bar Assoc. – active member 1993-2012
• Atlanta Bar Assoc. – active member since 2013
• Dekalb Co. Bar Assoc. – active member since 2013

Lectures

• “Double Fatality Trailer Fire – Creating a Case Where There Was None,”Southern Trial Lawyers’ Seminar, New Orleans,  La. 2012
• “Cruising The Deep Powder of Medicare Liens,” Georgia Trial Lawyers’ Seminar, Lake Tahoe, California, 2012
• “Cross-Examination:  Witness in the Cross-Hairs, Where Art & Science Intersect” Georgia Trial Lawyer’s Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia, 2008
• “$3,000,000 Jury Verdict in Hill v. USA Truck, Inc.,” Southern Trial Lawyers’ Seminar, New Orleans, La. 2007
• Guest Speaker at Annual Meeting of American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, Atlanta, Georgia 2004 – Tort Reform
• Guest Speaker at Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Callaway Gardens 2004 – Hospital/Doctor Liens
• Guest Speaker at Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia 2002 – Medicaid Liens

Published Cases

• Vann v. Finley, 313 Ga. App. 153, 721 S.E.2d 156 (2011), certiorari denied 2012 Ga. Lexis 387 (2012)
• Hill v. USA Truck Inc., 2007 WL 1574545 (D. S.C., Anderson Division, 2007)
• Lindsey v. State, 271 Ga. 657, 522 S.E.2d 459 (1999)

Community Leadership

• Chairman of the 2011 SummervilleSesquicentennial Celebration
• Chairman of the 2011 and 34th Annual Summerville Tour of Homes
• President Of Summerville Neighborhood Assoc. 2009-2011; Vice Pres. 2008-2009
• Chairman of the St. Johns Towers Advisory Board 2011; Member 2008-2010
• Assistant Football Coach, EDS Panthers, 2010-2011 (Defensive Coordinator)
• Assistant Football Coach (Defensive Coordinator), Neal Law Falcons, 2008
• Team Sponsor, North Augusta Recreation Department 2008
• Irish-American Heritage Society – Member since 2008
• Honorary Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army – 2009
• William Daniel National Mock Trial Championships – Juror – Atlanta, Ga. 2013
• American Mock Trial Association Championships – Presiding Judge – Furman University 2008
• Volunteer Assistant Coach – Rich. Co. Rec. Dept. Little League T-Ball and YMCA Soccer. 2001-2005
• Leadership Augusta – 2000
• Mentor, High School High Tech Program 2004
• Mentor, Junior Achievement Job Shadow Program 2003
• Member, Judiciary Subcommittee, Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Augusta-Richmond County Consolidation Taskforce – 1995
• Head Football Coach, Richmond County Recreation Department 1993-1996

Education

• J. D. – Walter F. Georgia School of Law, Mercer University, Macon, Ga. 1993
  Honors – Dean’s List, Highest Grade in Tax Class
• B.B.A. – J. M. Tull School of Accounting, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 1990
  Dean’s List, Accounting Honor Society
• Graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College – 2000, 2001
• Graduate of AAJ’s Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course, The Art of Persuasion, Harvard Law School, 2012

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Anne Tyler Hamby w/ Hamby Benefits Law, LLC

Prior to forming Hamby Benefits Law, LLC, Anne Tyler Hamby (“Anne Tyler”) practiced employee benefits law with Alston & Bird LLP and King & Spalding LLP, two of Atlanta’s largest law firms. She earned a Master of Laws in Taxation, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center and her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law. Anne Tyler earned a Master of Science in International Development from the University of Bath. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics, magna cum laude, from Birmingham-Southern College.

Representative Case/Client

• Multinational telecommunications company with Atlanta subsidiary
  Led negotiation of a reduction of more than 80 percent of the original 401(k) retirement plan penalty assessment by the Department of Labor.
• Staffing company, Atlanta, GA and Alpharetta, GA
  Prepared templates, policies and procedures for determination of full-time employee and variable hour employee status under the Affordable Care Act (to assist with defense in the event of a DOL audit).
• Community bank, Manchester, GA
  Advised on Code Section 409A issues related to a supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP), which prevented a compliance error that would have cost the client more than $100,000.
• Multinational company with San Diego, CA subsidiary
  Reviewed purchase agreement and advised parent company of its ERISA obligations with respect to provision of long-term disability benefits to a legacy employee of a recently acquired subsidiary.
• Closely held concrete company, Alpharetta, GA
  Drafted Section 162 executive bonus plan agreements; prepared DOL top hat plan filing.
• Vision clinic with offices throughout Atlanta
  Advised on design and legal requirements for cash-out option alternative under its Section 125 cafeteria plan.
• Marketing company in Roswell, GA
  Prepared and filed IRS 401(k) plan correction for plan loan errors.

Anne Tyler was the featured speaker at a fiduciary training seminar in November 2014.  She was the moderator for “Fiduciary Bootcamp: Department of Labor Update” at the Southern Employee Benefits Conference in September 2014 with speaker Robert Lewis, Regional Counsel for ERISA  and Employee Benefits at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Solicitor. She also spoke to a group of small business owners on “Retirement Plans: Washington Update” in September 2014. Anne Tyler spoke to the Community Bankers Association of Georgia on same sex spousal benefits and compliance issues in August 2014. Anne Tyler spoke to the Kettering Executive Network (KEN) Banking, Finance & Investment Group in June 2014 on employee benefit plan legal compliance issues. Anne Tyler spoke to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce CEO Roundtable in April 2014 on health care reform legal updates.  She spoke to the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance in March 2014 on employee benefits legal updates. In February 2014, Anne Tyler spoke to the Cetera Financial Advisors on retirement plan legal updates.  Anne Tyler spoke to a group of employee benefits consultants and brokers in December 2013 on health care reform and risk mitigation.

Anne Tyler regularly speaks at employer “Lunch and Learns” on various employee benefit topics. Please contact Anne Tyler if you are interested in a speaker to discuss an employee benefits or executive compensation issue.

In her spare time, Anne Tyler enjoys running and biking.  She completed her first marathon in 2010 and completed her first triathlon in fall 2013.

Professional Associations and Memberships 

• Georgia State Bar, Employee Benefits Section
• Farrah Law Society, Board of Trustees
• Worldwide Employee Benefits, Atlanta Chapter, Steering Committee
• OnBoard, Membership Committee
• Southern Employee Benefits Conference
• Society for Human Resource Management, Atlanta Chapter
• Living Tree Charities, Board of Directors
• Georgia Association for Women Lawyers
• Association for Corporate Growth

Practice Areas Include:

• Retirement Plans (Qualified and Non-Qualified)
• Health and Welfare Benefits
• Executive Compensation

Alumni News

• “Alumni News,” Connection, King & Spalding Alumni Newsletter, Fall 2014

Beth Gearhart has over over a decade of experience working with workers’ compensation claims. Prior to moving to Georgia she practiced in San Francisco. Having previously worked representing insurance companies she is acutely aware how claims are handled and defended. She now exclusively represents injured workers throughout Georgia. Gearhart Law Group is a unique work comp law firm that represents the rights of injured workers across the State of Georgia.

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