James W. Stevens

Jeffrey A. “Jake” Schwartz is a Partner in the Atlanta, Georgia, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He joined the firm in 2006 after moving from New Orleans, Louisiana, where he practiced labor and employment law for more than seventeen years. Within the field of labor and employment law, Mr. Schwartz was recognized in 2008 – 2013 in “Best Lawyers in America,” and as “Super Lawyer” for Louisiana in 2009 – 2013. Mr. Schwartz has extensive experience in...

R. Briggs Peery is a partner with Swift Currie who has more than 32 years of experience representing clients in workers’ compensation and general litigation matters. Briggs handles both minor and complex matters for an array of clients from small, family-owned businesses to global companies in the automotive, textile, staffing, cable, food service and insurance industries. Briggs has a track record of success and prides himself on being organized, efficient, knowledgeable on the law and...

Stephanie Friese Aron is involved in many different aspects of commercial real estate transactions, from acquisition of land, to leasing, construction, financing, and disposition. Her clients value high quality service and timeliness of delivery. Stephanie has also handled many types of real estate litigation and dispute resolution, including foreclosures, dispossessories (evictions), and federal enforcement actions. Stephanie's clients typically own, develop, and manage commercial office, re...

Erika C. Birg is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Arbitration, Commercial Litigation and Trade Secrets Law. Erika C., who practices law in Atlanta, Georgia, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Erika C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Theodore S. “Ted” Eittreim has been practicing family law for over twenty years, and since 2003, he has been focused exclusively on assisting clients in this difficult and highly emotional area of the law. Ted is a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, one of only thirty-four family law attorneys so-designated in the entire State of Georgia, and he is the current Chairperson of the Family Law Section of State Bar of Georgia. Understanding that his clie...

Brian has specialized in fiduciary litigation for over 20 years, representing individuals and corporate fiduciaries involved in disputes concerning estates, trusts, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, and partnerships. Brian practices in Probate, State, and Federal Courts throughout the state of Georgia and has served as lead counsel in over 25 successful jury trials and hundreds of hearings. Brian’s representation includes personally advising clients through all phases of litigatio...

John E. Hall, Jr. is one of the founding partners of Hall Booth Smith, and he is dedicated to making it the finest litigation firm in the Southeast. John specializes in the defense of high exposure cases, including medical malpractice, batch claims, construction, commercial litigation, mass torts, transportation, and products liability. During his legal career, he has tried more than 125 cases to resolution. His expertise in high exposure birth trauma and catastrophic cases resulted in his be...

Deanna L. Kashdan represents lenders, arrangers, borrowers/issuers, sponsors and underwriters in various commercial finance transactions, including syndicated credit facilities, private placements and public debt offerings, project finance, leveraged buyouts, acquisition and recapitalization finance, asset-based finance, credit enhancement transactions, structured finance, mezzanine finance, reorganizations and workouts. Deanna has acted as counsel to several of the largest U.S. commercial ba...

With a background in mechanical engineering and industry experience with aerospace systems integration projects, Chris Lightner practices in Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property – Mechanical Patents Team. Chris focuses his practice on patent solicitation and counseling, as well as on IP-driven due diligence efforts, licensing agreements, confidentiality considerations, and patent brokerage agreements. Chris prepares and prosecutes U.S. and foreign patent applications for wide...

John Hickman is head of the firm’s Health Benefits Practice, where he leads several attorneys devoted exclusively to health care reform issues under the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA privacy, health savings accounts (HSAs) and consumer-directed health care, flexible benefit plans and related health benefit issues. Mr. Hickman has worked closely with health plans, financial institutions and employers, as well as the IRS, Treasury and DOL, in addressing health benefit issues. Mr. Hickman has...