SHORT BIOS FOR PRINTED PROGRAM
2015 ETHICS SEMINAR
Paul Black is a founding partner of Brannon & Black, LLP, where he serves clients across Georgia who need help with elder law issues (including Medicaid & Veterans Benefits eligibility issues, guardianships, conservatorships) , estate planning and administration, and Special Needs Planning. Paul’s experience as the caregiver of two parents with big health challenges led him to elder law; his mother lived with Parkinson’s Disease for over 20 years and his father suffered a major stroke in 2001.
Andrew Cash is a Founding Partner of Cash, Krugler & Fredericks, a plaintiff’s personal injury firm, representing victims in medical malpractice, auto and trucking accidents, premises liability, products liability and other catastrophic injury cases. Andy has been practicing in Atlanta for the past thirteen years and has litigated on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, with an earlier focus on defending physicians in medical malpractice cases.
Nicholas Formisano is a Partner at Beverly Manley & Associates, a law firm specializing in the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, often referred to as Medicare Set-Asides in Workers’ Compensation Settlements.
Beth Anne Harrill is a career law clerk for Judge Paul W. Bonapfel, United States Bankruptcy Court. She serves on the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal's Advisory Board and the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Atlanta Consumer Programming Committee. Beth Anne’s life was changed a year and a half ago when her boyfriend, a commuter cyclist, was intentionally struck by a hit and run driver, suddenly changing her role to caregiver and conservator.
Kelly Harvie married her high school crush, Matt, in 1989. As life partners, Matt worked hard to earn enough so Kelly could manage the household, including homeschooling their 5 children. In 2008, their lives changed forever, when Matt fell from a golf cart and suffered a severe TBI. Kelly is now the legal guardian of her high school sweetheart, 24/7 caregiver of her husband who relies on her to move from wheelchair to bed, and still a mom of 5. Read her heartfelt story on page xx.
Judge Beth Lammers is an Administrative Law Judge in the Hearing Division of the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation. She also mediates complex workers’ compensation cases; served for a number of years on the Board’s Advisory Council; and has written and spoken on a number of topics relating to workers’ compensation law, policy, and procedure.
Mike McCord is a solo practitioner of case management and vocational evaluation services in Atlanta. He has worked with individuals with TBI for over 25 years, including creating a vocational rehabilitation program at the Emory Center for Rehabilitation Medicine and launching Side by Side Clubhouse in partnership with Cindi Johnson.Mike is certified as a Rehabilitation Counselor, Case Manager, Life Care Planner, and is a Diplomate with the American Board of Vocational Experts.
Cory Phillips is the Principal Settlement Consultant at Forge Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a Certified Structured Settlement Consultant (CSSC) and licensed in Life, Health, and Property and Causality Insurance. As a University of Georgia graduate and a four-year letterman for the Georgia Bulldogs, Cory serves on the board of the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
Judge Jeryl Rosh was elected in 2004 and has served as Judge of the Probate Court of DeKalb County since January of 2005. Formerly she served the Probate Court in various capacities since 1985, including Associate Judge, and Acting Judge. In addition to other duties of the County’s Probate Court, Judge Rosh is responsible for appointing guardians for both adults and children, and hears all bench or jury trials concerning estates, guardianships, and mental health.
Jacquelyn Saylor is a founding partner of The Saylor Law Firm LLP. She serves as Secretary of the Estate Planning & Probate Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and is the Immediate Past President of the bar. Saylor has been rated as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Georgia, a Preeminent Lawyer and a Legal Elite Lawyer by various rating authorities.
Jo-Ann D. Taylor is Managing Partner of Legacy Trust Advisors, LLC in Birmingham, AL. She has been in the trust and investment industry for 30 years. For the past fifteen years Jo-Ann has specialized in the management of special needs trusts.
Alex Wallach is a Partner at George & Wallach, LLP. Alex represents plaintiffs in Workers’ Compensation cases as well as Social Security Disability and Personal Injury. He is an active leader of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and current President of the Georgia Legal Foundation.
Cindi Johnson provided cognitive rehabilitation for 15 years before founding Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse near Atlanta, Georgia in 1999. She serves the brain injury community as a Brain Injury Specialist Trainer, member of several boards and advisory committees, and as an author of family and patient education books.
Debbie Berens is owner of Berens Rehabilitation Consulting, LLC, and provides life care planning and rehabilitation consulting services to individuals with catastrophic disability throughout the state of Georgia and surrounding states. She also teaches in the graduate Rehabilitation Counseling program at Georgia State University and has served on Side by Side’s Board of Directors since 2008. Debbie is nationally certified as a Rehabilitation Counselor, Case Manager and Life Care Planner.
LuRae Ahrendt is a rehabilitation nurse case manager and life care planner. She is certified in rehabilitation nursing, case management, and life care planning. She is the owner of Ahrendt Rehabilitation Inc. and has worked in the area of brain injury and rehabilitation for over 25 years. LuRae serves as Vice Chair of the Side by Side Board.
Mark Gannon is the Managing Partner of Savell & Williams, LLP, where he has practiced his entire legal career. Mark has served as the Chairman of the Atlanta Bar and the State Bar Workers’ Compensation Sections. He was appointed to the Rules & Mediation Committee of the Chairman’s Advisory Council in 1994 and has served as the Chairman of this Committee since 2001. Mark has also served on the Board of Side by Side since 2010 and is the current Board Chairman.