ADR in the Workers' Compensation Arena

Mr. Benjamin James Vinson Related seminars and products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Ben Vinson was appointed as Chairman and Chief Appellate Judge of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation for the State of Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp in May of 2021. He previously served as Director and Appellate Division Judge for the Board having been appointed by former Governor Nathan Deal in July of 2017. In addition to hearing workers’ compensation cases onappeal, ChairmanVinson shares responsibility with Judges McKay and Bah lfor governing the state agency, which includes regulatory, policy,and operational matters.Prior to joining the Board, he was a partner at Dentons US LLP, focusing his practice on public policy and political law for over ten years. Before that he served as majority caucus counsel in the Georgia House of Representatives and as counsel to the administration floor leaders for former Governor Sonny Perdue. He clerked for Judge W. Brevard Hand of the United States District Court following law school and has been a long-time member of the Atlanta Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. During his time at Dentons, he was appointed by Governor Deal to serve as Chairman of the Governor’s Commission on the City of Brookhaven and the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board. ChairmanVinson grew up in Dallas, Georgia and earned a bachelor’s degree from Furman University then a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was a member of the editorial board and an articles editorof the Georgia Law Review. Heand his wife, Ansley, have two children and reside in Greensboro, Georgia

Hon. Johnny W. Mason Jr. Related seminars and products

Judge

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Judge

Ms. Edwina M. Charles Related seminars and products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Mr. Neil Chandler Thom Related seminars and products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Neil Thom is the Managed Care and Rehabilitation Division Director for the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation.  Prior to this, he provided legal support to the three-member Board in its role as an appellate body in litigated workers’ compensation claims.  Before joining the Board staff, he spent 25 years in private legal practice, representing injured workers, employers, and insurers in workers’ compensation claims. 

Neil is a member of the Chairman’s Advisory Council, has authored numerous articles on workers’ compensation, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and continuing education programs.  He obtained his law degree as a Hatton Lovejoy Scholar and his Bachelor of Arts as a Foundation Fellow, both from the University of Georgia. 

Outside of professional activities, Neil’s interests include serving on the board of Trinity United Methodist Church, Atlanta, and managing an online community for francophones learning English. 

Neil can be reached at (404) 651-7831; ThomN@sbwc.ga.gov; State Board of Workers’ Compensation, 270 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta GA  30303. 

Ms. Kimberly Piper Reaves Related seminars and products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Kimberly P. Reaves, Mediator, ADR Division

            Ms. Reaves joined the Alternative Dispute Resolution Division at the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation as a Mediator on March 1, 2013.  Since joining the Board, she has mediated almost 4,000 cases on behalf of the ADR Division and has regularly presented on the topic of best mediation practices through ICLE Georgia, including for the ethics and professionalism credits.  Ms. Reaves completed her undergraduate degree in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989, and then attended the Meredith College Program for Legal Assistants, following which she worked as a litigation paralegal in North Carolina for four years.  She then enrolled full-time at the North Carolina Central University School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1996.  Ms. Reaves was admitted to the State Bar of North Carolina in 1996 and was engaged in the private practice of law in North Carolina from 1996 to 2008, during which time she primarily represented insured and self-insured employers in workers’ compensation matters before the North Carolina Industrial Commission.  Ms. Reaves was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2008 and was engaged in the public practice of law from 2008 to 2013 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Workers’ Compensation Section at the Georgia Department of Law, where she represented all State agencies before the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation (Royal v. Pulaski State Prison, 750 S.E.2d 179, 324 Ga. App. 275 (2013)).  Ms. Reaves is married to Mr. Robert E. Stachler, II, a licensed patent attorney.  They enjoy taking their standard poodle, Georgette, to the dog park and on road trips.  Ms. Reaves is able to specially set your mediation through the ADR Division (reavesk@sbwc.ga.gov; 404-657-3830).