ATLANTA, April 21, 2022 — The Atlanta Bar Association's Litigation Section has elected senior associate Blake Williams to be a Member-at-Large on the section's Board of Directors for the 2022-23 bar year. The Litigation Section of the Atlanta Bar Association is the largest section by membership and is comprised of litigators across the spectrum of practices. It includes plaintiff’s lawyers, defense lawyers, mediators and dispute resolution practitioners, as well as judges from several different courts. Blake focuses his practice on general defense litigation matters including premises liability, products liability, insurance coverage, automobile litigation, and trucking and ... Continue Reading
Paul Grote Wins Eleventh Circuit Affirmance of Summary Judgment in Slip and Fall Case
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of Summary Judgment in favor of the defendant represented by Paul Grote, a senior associate at Drew Eckl & Farnham. The case, for which the Summary Judgment was granted in November of 2020, centered around signage in a slip-and-fall accident at a restaurant. The plaintiff claimed she slipped on a puddle of water left after an employee had mopped the floor, which was visible from a standing position. Plaintiff claimed no caution wet floor signs were present, and that a booth obscured her view of the floor. However, plaintiff’s claims were refuted by video, which showed plaintiff walk by a caution wet floor sign mere seconds ... Continue Reading
22 Drew Eckl & Farnham Attorneys Selected as Best Lawyers® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
We are happy to announce that 16 of our lawyers have been listed as the 2022 Best Lawyers in America and six of our attorneys have been recognized as 2022 Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch. Current Recognized Lawyers Paul W. Burke since (2020)Insurance Law - Paul has been with Drew Eckl and Farnham since 1983. For the first 25 years of his practice, he focused exclusively on the insurance industry; litigating and lecturing around the country on insurance coverage matters. He also published over 50 articles in Insurance Industry and ABA publications. He obtained his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Reinsurance designations in 2002 Barbara A. ... Continue Reading
Ten Drew Eckl & Farnham Attorneys Selected for 2022 Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars®
We are proud to announce that 10 of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® lists for 2022. Super Lawyer Honorees 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, Legal division based in Eagan, MN. 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 ... Continue Reading
Drew Eckl & Farnham Announces 13 New Partners
Drew Eckl & Farnham is pleased to announce it has named 13 new partners. It is the largest class of non-equity partners the firm has elected in its 40 years of practice. The talent and diversity of our new partners reflects how the firm’s award-winning Path2Partnership program has worked to create an environment that nurtures diverse interests, backgrounds, and perspectives. “We’re honored that all of these talented lawyers have decided to make Drew Eckl & Farnham their home, and we’re excited about how they’ll contribute to making us better.”Joseph C. Chancey, Managing Partner The new Drew Eckl & Farnham partners are as follows: Lervette J. Blair is an ... Continue Reading
Drew Eckl & Farnham Celebrates Black History Month with the launch of our Celebrating Cultures Campaign
Drew Eckl & Farnham is honored to celebrate Black History Month. We are committed to promoting and encouraging diversity and this is illustrated through our policies, initiatives, and programs established across offices, including efforts in recruiting, training and retention. Our firm-supported affinity groups include those who self-identify as or are allied with African American lawyers, Hispanic lawyers, Asian lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and Women lawyers. We are excited to announce our 2022 initiative: Celebrating Cultures. This year long celebration will include five commemorative months: Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage ... Continue Reading
OSHA Finally Ending Large Employer Mandate
On January 25, 2022, OSHA posted notice of its withdrawal of its large employer Vaccine Mandate. However, OSHA appears to continue to pursue a permanent COVID-19 standard. The OSHA website posted the following message: “The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is withdrawing the vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard issued on Nov. 5, 2021, to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers with 100 or more employees from workplace exposure to coronavirus. The withdrawal is effective January 26, 2022. Although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, the agency ... Continue Reading
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Drew Eckl & Farnham continues to be recognized by Atlanta Business Chronicle for its success as an Atlanta law firm. We are excited to announce that DEF was ranked as the 5th “Fastest-Growing Law Firm by Attorneys” in the 2021 Atlanta Business Chronicle Book of Lists. This list is determined by a three-year percent change in number of Atlanta attorneys. Additionally, DEF is ranked as No. 14 on the list of Atlanta's Top 25 Law Firms in 2020. Some of the Firm's key practice areas were highlighted including workers’ compensation, corporate defense litigation, insurance defense, general liability, and construction litigation. To view a complete list of practice areas for the firm, ... Continue Reading
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks COVID-19 Vaccine ETS for Large Employers
On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision blocking OSHA from implementing the COVID-19 Vaccination or Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (the “ETS”) until a determination is issued on the legal challenges to the ETS. The ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees to require employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. In support of its decision to block the ETS, the Supreme Court stated that the legal challenges to the OSHA’s authority to impose the requirements contained in the ETS are likely to succeed. "This is no 'everyday exercise of federal power.' Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power ... Continue Reading
Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation Issues First Decision on COVID Exposure in Workplace
On January 5, 2022, The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation has issued its first decision regarding a claim from COVID exposure at work, and denied benefits. The case was brought by the widower of an employee who worked in the control room of a jail, tested positive for COVID several weeks after an inmate tested positive, and eventually died three months later. After an evidentiary hearing, the Administrative Law Judge concluded: “I find that Employee’s job as a records technician in the jail without direct contact with inmates or the public (during the period in question) did not place her at risk of exposure to the global pandemic such that her employment was a proximate ... Continue Reading