Abusive Litigation

Mr. Kim Monroe Jackson Related Seminars and Products

Bovis Kyle Burch & Medlin LLC

Kim Jackson is a partner with Bovis, Kyle, Burch, & Medlin, LLC. His practice primarily focuses on defending attorneys and other professionals in malpractice claims and handling all forms of insurance coverage and bad faith disputes, though he has experience in all types of litigation. As part of his professional liability practice, Kim advices other attorneys and clients on the prosecution and defense of attorney fee claims involving allegations of abusive litigation, defends bar grievances, and testifies as an expert witness in matters involving legal malpractice and ethics questions. Kim successfully defended the constitutionality of O.C.G.A. 9-11-9.1, Georgia’s Affidavit of Merit statute, which resulted in an opinion by the Georgia Supreme Court, and the denial of cert by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kim is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, where is serves as the Chair of the Insurance Coverage Section and Vice-Chair of the Extra-Contractual Section. Kim is admitted to practice law in three states: Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas. Kim earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky in 1994, Order of Coif, and received his Bachelor of Arts from Wabash College, in economics & mathematics, magna cum laude, in 1991.

Hon. Kenneth Bryant Hodges III Related Seminars and Products

Judge

Georgia Court of Appeals

Kenneth (Ken) Bryant Hodges, III was elected to the Court of Appeals by the citizens of Georgia in 2018, winning every county in the state with wide bipartisan support in a contested election for a rare open seat on the Court. Judge Hodges took office on Jan. 1, 2019. With deep experience in diverse practice areas, Judge Hodges has served as a prosecutor, defended criminal cases, and been on both sides of a dispute in civil matters. He has been a court appointed receiver and a mediator. Judge Hodges is applying this experience on the bench to uphold the rule of law and ensure justice for all.

Judge Hodges was born and raised in Albany, GA. He graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, and earned his B.A. from Emory University in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in English in 1988. While at the University of Georgia Law School, he participated in a clinical program with a public defender and was sworn in under the Third Year Student Practice Act to try cases. He earned his J.D. from UGA Law in 1991 and set out to become a litigator. After working with a litigation firm in Atlanta, he returned to Albany as an Assistant District Attorney.

Judge Hodges was elected District Attorney of the Dougherty Judicial Circuit in 1996 at the age of 30. Within the first two years, he cleared out a backlog of eight death penalty cases and took them to trial. He formed trial teams which effectively ended unnecessary delays in moving cases forward, and focused on laws and programs to better protect children in the county. This included a child prosecution unit, a child advocacy center, a truancy program to target unauthorized school absences, and he also established a sexual assault unit. In his second term, he was named District Attorney of the Year for the State of Georgia. During his 12 years as District Attorney, Ken was committed to managing an efficient office, which operated under budget every year. He was elected President of the DA’s Association and also served as Chairman of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council; he was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes as Chairman of the Legal Loan Forgiveness Task Force and as a member of the Certainty in Sentencing Commission.

In 2008, he returned to private practice, working in transactional law and then litigation. In 2015, Ken started his own law firm, Ken Hodges Law, based in Albany and Atlanta with a focus on commercial litigation. Judge Hodges was elected President of the State Bar of Georgia (2018-2019), the first judge to lead the organization in its history. He currently serves on the State Bar’s Office of General Counsel Oversight Committee, is Chairman of the Advisory Board for Truist-Albany, and is Vice-Chairman of the Albany-Dougherty Airport Commission. Ken also serves on the Board of Advisors of University of Georgia’s State Botanical Garden and the Board of Directors of the Southwest Georgia Legal Self-Help Center, a non-profit that works to improve access to justice for low-income people in the region. Ken is a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, the Emory Board of Visitors, and is a member and past-President of the Dougherty County Bar Association.

Judge Hodges has published articles in various legal and main stream media outlets, he has been a legal commentator on local and national television and radio programs, and has lectured at every law school in Georgia. He is a frequent presenter at legal education courses for practicing attorneys, and teaches classes for law enforcement personnel across the state. He has been named a Legal Elite, a Super Lawyer, and has earned the highest possible rankings with AVVO and Martindale-Hubbell, the preeminent attorney rating organization. He is a past Trustee and graduate of Leadership Georgia, a graduate of Leadership Albany, past Secretary and board member of The Urban League of Greater Atlanta, past President of the Artesian City Sertoma Club, former member of the Albany Rotary Club, past Chairman of the Easter Seals of Southwest Georgia, past Chairman of the Southwest Georgia Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, past board member of the Albany Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the boards of the American Heart Association and the Albany Civil Rights Institute. Ken was named a “40 under 40” by Georgia Trend.

As an attorney, he was admitted to practice with the United States Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Northern and Middle Federal District Courts of Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals. He is a Master with the Bleckly Inn of Court and the W. Louis Sands American Inn of Court, and is a Fellow with the Lawyer’s Foundation of Georgia. Judge Hodges has been widely recognized for his legal and civic accomplishments during his more than 27 years as a practicing attorney, including as the recipient of the State Bar’s Commitment to Equality Award, the Justice Benham Award for Community Service, and The Eagle Award from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for his work on behalf of crime victims.

Ken and his wife, Melissa, married in 2004 and have two children, Margaret and Jack, and a field spaniel, Buzzy. They are parishioners at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Albany and remain active in their community. The family cherishes time together and enjoy being active, whether it’s time spent in the beautiful southwest Georgia outdoors or exploring the state, visiting friends and family. An avid pilot, Judge Hodges is commerical, instrument, and multi-engine rated and enjoys being up in the air, like his father and grandfather, a Naval aviator, before him.

Hon. Sara Lynn Doyle Related Seminars and Products

Georgia Court of Appeals

Presiding Judge Sara L. Doyle was elected to the Georgia Court of Appeals in December, 2008 and took office on January 1, 2009. In 2014 and 2020, she was elected to her second and third six- year term. From July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2017, Judge Doyle was the Court’s Chief Judge where she was instrumental in implementing a historic jurisdiction shift of cases from the Supreme Court and the addition of a new fifth division adding three more judges to the Court, and funding

and design of the new Nathan Deal Judicial Center. Judge Doyle has also sat by designation on the Supreme Court of Georgia and on Georgia’s State-wide Business Court.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Judge Doyle lived in several states before entering the University of Florida where she graduated in 1990 with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration.  In 1994, she graduated cum laude from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law where she was a member of the Mercer Law Review.  Judge Doyle was admitted to the Georgia Bar in June 1994 and began her legal career as a civil litigator with Wilson, Strickland & Benson, P.C. Just prior to taking office, she was an equity partner with the national law firm of Holland & Knight, LLP where she practiced law with a focus on education issues since August 2000.

As a practicing attorney, Judge Doyle received an A.V. peer-reviewed rating from Martindale Hubbell. She was selected as a Georgia Super Lawyer from 2004 to 2008, and in 2006 and 2008, was named one of the top 50 female attorneys in Georgia. She has also been recognized as one of Georgia’s legal elite by Georgia Trend Magazine. Additional honors include:

• Atlanta Bar Association Professionalism Award, 2013
• University of Florida Women’s Inaugural Leadership, 2011
• Honorary Member, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, 2009
• ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Leadership Academy, 2006 to 2007
• Atlanta Regional Commission Leadership Institute, 2004
• Leadership Midtown, 1999

Judge Doyle is involved in many professional, civic, and religious organizations. She is an active member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Judicial Council of Georgia, the American Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, the National Association of Women Judges, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL), the Gate City Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, where she held the position of President in 2012-2013 and was a member of the club’s executive committee from 2003 to July, 2013. Additional and more specified activities include:

Mercer University

• Board of Trustees, 2015 to 2020
• Search Committee for Dean of Walter F. George School of Law, 2017
• Board of Visitors, Walter F. George School of Law, 2012 to 2015

Emory University

• Board of Visitors 2010 to 2013
• Executive Board, 2011 to 2013
• Lamar Inn of Court, Master, 2009 to present
• Executive Board, 2014 to 2018
• Law School Trial Advocacy Professionalism Programs Faculty

State of Georgia Appellate Jurisdiction Review Commission, October 2015 to January 2016

Georgia Supreme Court/Judicial Council of Georgia

• Strategic Plan Implementation Committee
• Chair, 2014 to 2016, July 2019 to present
• Co-Chair, July 2017 to June 2019
• Access, Fairness & Public Trust & Confidence Committee, February 2016 to June 2018
• Commission on Dispute Resolution, 2010 to 2016
• Court Reporting Matters Committee
• Chair, July 2013 to June 2015
• Search Committee for the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, 2015
• Next Generation Courts Commission, 2012 to 2014

State Bar of Georgia

• Law Related Education Committee, Member, July 2009 to June 2017
• Chair, 2014 to 2017
• Bench and Bar Committee, 2015 to 2017
• Commission on the Unlicensed Practice of Law, August 2007 to August 2013
• Vice Chair, September 2008 to October 2011
• Chair, October 2011 to August 2013

Atlanta Bar Association, 1999 to present

• Innovation Study Group Standing Committee
• Co-Chair, August 2019 to present
• Judicial Section, 2008 to present
• Chair, 2014 to 2015
• Editorial Board, July 2008 to June 2014
• Co-Chair, 2011 to 2014
• Membership Committee, 2013 to 2016
• Bard Show, 1999 to present
• Assistant Director

National Association of Women Judges, 2008 to present

• District 5 Chair, October 2016 to October 2018
• Annual Conference Co-Chair, 2016 to 2017

Gate City Bar Association, 2008 to present

• Judicial Section Executive Board Member-at-Large, 2013

Georgia Association of Women Lawyers

• Advisory Board member

Lawyers Club of Atlanta, 1999 to present

• Executive Board Member, 2003 to 2014
• President, July 2012 to June 2013

Judge Doyle has also participated as a Hands On Atlanta Day team leader, an American Cancer Society Neighborhood fundraiser, as co-chair for her law firm’s United Way Committee and a volunteer for the Georgia Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts. Recently, she has acted as a team leader for the Court’s participation in the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy and volunteers at her children’s schools.

Judge Doyle is married to attorney, Jay Doyle, and they have two children, Mary Donovan and Davis.

Hon. Benjamin Arthur Land Related Seminars and Products

Georgia Court of Appeals

2022 – Present

Benjamin A. Land was appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeals on July 20, 2022.

A lifelong resident of Columbus, Judge Land graduated with Highest Honors as a First Honor Graduate, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Georgia in 1989, finishing with a 4.0 grade point average.  He also graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1992, finishing second in his class of 202 students.  While in Law School, he received numerous academic awards, served on the Editorial Board of the Georgia Law Review, clerked for the Georgia Supreme Court, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Following Law School, Judge Land had a private law practice in Columbus, focusing on civil litigation and trial practice. During his nearly 26 year career as a private practice attorney, he represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of cases, obtained several record setting verdicts, and played a key role in the defense of numerous nationwide class action lawsuits. During those years, Judge Land engaged in significant complex litigation, tried cases to jury verdicts, earned the respect of his colleagues, and thoroughly enjoyed being in the courtroom.

Judge Land left the private practice of law on February 7, 2018 when Governor Nathan Deal appointed him to serve as a Superior Court judge for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. Judge Land was elected to continue in that position on June 9, 2020 and continued to serve as a trial judge until his appointment to the Court of Appeals. During his time on the Superior Court bench, Judge Land was known for his fairness and impartiality, his efficiency and work ethic, his courage and compassion, and his unquestioned integrity. While a trial judge, Judge Land served on the Council of Superior Court Judges Budget Committee and Pattern Jury Instructions Committee, and he was asked to speak to his fellow judges at their judicial training conference.

Judge Land has been active in his profession and his community. He has served on numerous community and law-related boards, has spoken on the topic of trial advocacy at statewide continuing legal education seminars, and has spoken to numerous civic groups, bar associations, and legal and judicial conferences. During his law practice, Judge Land was presented with the William B. Spann, Jr. Award for Pro Bono Advocacy for his efforts on behalf of a pro bono client whose case he handled from the trial court level until its successful conclusion in the Georgia Supreme Court. Judge Land is a graduate of Leadership Columbus and has served as the President of the Columbus Bar Association, President of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Bar Association, President of the Columbus Inn of Court, District Representative for the State Bar of Georgia’s Younger Lawyers Division, member of the Clarke-Carley Inn of Court, member of the Bleckley Inn of Court, and member of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He currently serves by appointment of the Governor on the Georgia Child Support Commission and served for four years on the Judicial Nominating Commission, the statewide body responsible for providing recommendations to the Governor concerning judicial appointments. At the Court of Appeals, he chairs the Rules Committee and serves on the Legislative Committee.

In addition to his law-related activities, Judge Land has served as a board member for the Columbus Area Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer and board member for the Pine Mountain Trail Association, and a youth sports coach. Judge Land, his wife, and their three children are members of St. Paul Church of Columbus, where Judge Land has served on the Administrative Board, the Finance Committee, and the Staff Parish Relations Committee.

Ms. Christine Lupo Mast Related Seminars and Products

Hawkins Parnell & Young LLP

Christine Mast is a senior partner at Hawkins Parnell & Young in Atlanta. She is a go-to attorney for legal professionals faced with malpractice claims, lawsuits, disciplinary, licensing, and ethics issues. 30 years’ experience defending lawyer claims gives Christine a unique Jack-of-all-trades knowledge base coupled with deep understanding of legal standards of care and ethical requirements, enabling her to swiftly assess each situation, drawing on her expertise in her clients’ specific practice area, to develop an effective and appropriate defense and resolution strategy. Her wide range of subject matter experience also specially positions Christine to provide skillful defense to insurance agents and brokers, appraisers, surveyors and real estate professionals. Christine creatively counsels and advises clients in diffusing, avoiding or mitigating claims, often persuading the opposition of the lack of a viable claim altogether. When litigation is inevitable, Christine is called upon for her strong advocacy on behalf of her clients, guiding them through trial while minimizing the impact on her clients’ reputations and livelihoods. Her candor and straightforward manner is a proven asset to Christine’s attorney clients in both trial and appellate advocacy and dispute resolution with party opponents.

Christine also devotes significant time to representation of clients in premises and products liability cases, commercial litigation disputes, and insurance coverage.  A testament to her skillful, pragmatic handling of serious and sensitive claims, Christine’s former litigation opponents seek out her advice, counsel, and when necessary, her defense when they find themselves on the wrong end of a claim. A natural complement to her defense of legal and other professionals, Christine defends litigants and their counsel against sanctions and protects professionals in licensing and disciplinary matters.

Her successful representation is evident in a long list of appellate decisions affirming favorable rulings for her clients. Most notably, Christine argued and won a landmark case before the Georgia Supreme Court in Leibel v. Johnson, resulting in a unanimous decision limiting expert testimony in legal malpractice cases and reversing a multi-million-dollar judgment against her lawyer-client.

Christine was included as one of Georgia’s top 100 lawyers in 2019, 2020 and 2021 by Super Lawyers and was selected by Best Lawyers as Lawyer of the Year for Legal Malpractice Defendants in 2015 and 2022 and for Professional Malpractice Law Defendants in 2021. 

Christine also dedicates herself to service within Hawkins Parnell and she has the distinction of being the first woman elected to the compensation committee, the executive committee, and in 2020 to the role as Hawkins Parnell’s managing partner. 

Mr. Andrew Wood Eaton Related Seminars and Products

Law Firm GC LLC

Andy Eaton has been a litigator in Atlanta for nearly two decades. While his practice includes a little bit of everything – professional liability, business litigation, products liability, etc. – the one constant has been representing attorneys and law firms big and small in a variety of legal matters, including malpractice suits, bar grievances, abusive litigation, suits, anti-SLAPP litigation, and fee disputes.

Andy recently left Big Law to join Law Firm GC, a boutique a friend and former colleague founded. Law Firm GC focuses on legal services for lawyers, from handling malpractice cases, bar complaints, business breakups, and fee disputes to transactional matters like drafting partnership agreements and managing lateral moves and firm acquisitions. 

Andy was born and raised in Athens, Georgia, and is the son of a long-time UGA law professor. Andy graduated with honors from Washington and Lee University. After teaching English for a year in Southeast Asia, Andy returned home and attended the University of Georgia School of Law.  

Andy lives in Inman Park with his wife, Lynn (a nurse practitioner at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta), and their two daughters, Anne and Vera. He can be found outside of work trying new restaurants, traveling, skiing, attending concerts, and caring too much about Chelsea FC and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Mr. Warren Raymond Hinds Related Seminars and Products

Warren R. Hinds PC

Warren R. Hinds has over 30 years of experience practicing in California and/or Georgia and is a member of various professional legal organizations.

A resident of Georgia since 1992, lawyer Hinds is committed to serving his community with excellent legal service. To stay current and networked in the legal community, Hinds is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the American Bar Association's Center for Professional Responsibility, the Lawyers' Club of Atlanta, and the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.

Prior to opening his own firm, Warren Hinds graduated cum laude from the Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida.

Warren R. Hinds, P.C., represents clients in cases of legal malpractice, bar complaints, malpractice insurance, and civil litigation.

Hon. Kevin Michael Farmer Related Seminars and Products

Atlanta Circuit Superior Court

Judicial Assignment

• 2018 - Present: Superior Court of Fulton County
• 2021 - 2024: Judge, Fulton County Family Court Division

Education

• Juris Doctor: Mercer University-W. George Law School, Macon, Georgia (1996)
• Bachelor of Science in Political Science: University of Wisconsin (1990)

Professional Experience / Associations

• Senior Assistant District Attorney, Clayton County Judicial Circuit, (2015-2018)
• Senior Attorney, Metro Conflict Defender’s Office (Division of the Georgia Public Defenders Council) (2011-2014)
• Private Practice (2002-2011)
• Fulton County Public Defender’s Office (1997-2001)
• Member, Atlanta Bar Association
• Member, North Fulton Bar Association