Premises Liability

Mr. Michael J. Gorby, Founder / Partner Related Seminars and Products

Founder / Partner

Gorby Peters & Associates LLC

Mike Gorby has tried hundreds of cases and handled thousands of matters for corporations and individuals across the United States throughout his legal career. Mike’s practice focuses on Insurance Coverage Disputes, Commercial Litigation and Liability for Owners and Managers of Property. He is also a certified mediator.

Mike is a passionate teacher. He’s chaired the Premises Liability Seminar for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education of Georgia (now a Division of the Georgia State Bar) for over twenty years. He is a frequent speaker for state and national legal education programs, including the ICLE.

Mike is the author of Premises Liability in Georgia, which was originally published by Thomson-Reuters® in 1998 and which is updated annually. Mike is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.

Mike is rated AV-Preeminent ® (the highest level of professional excellence) by the Lexis-Nexis Peer Review Ratings™ system and has been selected as a Super Lawyer® by the Thomson Reuters® peer review system.

Mr. Andrew Timothy Rogers Related Seminars and Products

Deitch & Rogers LLC

Andy Rogers has worked almost exclusively for crime victims since 1988 and has conducted more than 100 jury trials as lead counsel. After beginning his career as a criminal prosecutor for DeKalb County, Andy has concentrated exclusively on representing survivors and their families in negligent security cases for more than 30 years. During that time, he has obtained substantial compensation for numerous victims of crime by securing some of the highest verdicts and settlements in the State of Georgia.

Ms. Mary Donne Peters Related Seminars and Products

Founder/Partner

Gorby Peters & Associates LLC

Mary Donne Peters’ background includes extensive commercial and tort litigation experience across over thirty states. Mary Donne holds licenses to practice law in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama and has received the peer-reviewed rating of AV-Preeminent® (the highest available) by Martindale-Hubbell and has been honored as a Georgia Super Lawyer®.

Mary Donne is the author of The Admissibility of Expert Testimony in Georgia, published by Thomson-Reuters, the world’s largest legal publishing company. Her book has been updated annually since 2005.

Beyond her legal expertise, Mary Donne is an active member of various civic and business organizations, including the Women President’s Organization, an international business organization open to second-stage companies that are owned and operated by women. Mary Donne also has a strong commitment to philanthropy, notably having served on the Boards of the Red Cross (Metropolitan Atlanta) and Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta.

A passionate educator, Mary Donne is also the co-founder of Land of Opportunity Training, LLC, an online, on demand training platform that helps businesses achieve growth through government contracting.

Mr. Peter Andrew Law Related Seminars and Products

Law & Moran

Peter A. Law (“Pete”) is the senior principal and founder of LAW & MORAN, a 5-6 lawyer trial firm dedicated to the representation of individuals who have suffered injuries and death due to the negligence of others, primarily in premises liability cases, motor vehicle collisions, product liability and a host of other negligence cases.  Since inception, Pete has been counsel in verdicts and/or settlements approaching $1,800,000,000.00 ($1.8 billion), including at least 7 separate cases with recoveries exceeding $50,000,000. 

Pete Law has been recognized by various independent surveys as one of Georgia’s top trial lawyers by multiple publications, to include Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and CVN Network.  Not only is Pete annually selected as one of Georgia’s top Super Lawyers, including multi-years as the number 1 selection (top vote getter of all lawyers, all categories), he has been selected as a “Top 10” vote recipient by the Super Lawyer independent survey every year for a decade. (See, Atlanta Magazine, Super Lawyers, 2003 - present). 

Pete Law is a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL) and International Society of Barristers (ISOB).  The Academy is perhaps the most prestigious organization of trial lawyers that exists in America, with members limited to 500 lawyers throughout 30 countries. In addition to multiple years voted number 1 by Super Lawyers, the Georgia business community has also selected Pete as a top trial lawyer, selecting him as a “Georgia Legal Elite,” (Georgia Business Trend, 2004 - present).  Pete is also rated by his peers as AV rated, the top designation available by legal publication Martindale Hubbell, and is listed annually in the Best Lawyers in America trade publication. 

Pete is one of the very few lawyers in American history to have ever settled and collected $100,000,000.00 for a single case – a feat Pete has achieved on multiple occasions.  Pete has been counsel for the Plaintiff in approximately 300 recoveries each exceeding one million dollars ($1,000,000.00), including approximately 60 separate recoveries exceeding five million dollars ($5,000,000.00), and more than 100 separate recoveries exceeding three million dollars ($3,000,000.00).  In addition to trying cases, Pete regularly speaks at Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Seminars nationwide. 

When not practicing law, Pete enjoys traveling with his wife of 30 years, Agnes, and their five children, as well as attending to his farm.  Further interests include cars, motorcycles, water sports, art, welding, and gardening.

Mr. Ernest Michael Moran Related Seminars and Products

Law & Moran

E. Michael Moran joined the law firm of LAW & MORAN in 2004. While at John Marshall Law School, Mike was elected by the student body as Chief Justice of the Honor Court. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and also received the Eugene D. and Betty Howe Vezzani Award for Excellence in Constitutional Law and the Academic Dean's Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement.

After graduation Mike practiced in the areas of appellate law and commercial litigation. In 2001 Mike began practicing exclusively in the area of personal injury and now limits his practice to representing individuals and families in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Mike has tried cases to verdict in federal and state courts in Georgia and other states, as well as argued before both federal and state appellate courts.

Ms. Kara Elizabeth Phillips Related Seminars and Products

Deitch & Rogers LLC

Kara Phillips is a civil trial attorney who exclusively represents crime victims and survivors. Her clients are people who were vulnerable or marginalized and seriously injured at a place where they were supposed to be safe, protected, or even helped.

The first trial in which Kara presented the jury with plaintiff's opening statement resulted in a $60 million verdict against a behavioral health facility for the rape of a 15-year-old patient by a staff member.

Kara started her practice on the civil defense side before moving to the plaintiff’s side to represent crime victims and survivors. She firmly believes there is no better part of the practice of law than jury trials.

Mr. William Michael D'Antignac Related Seminars and Products

Deitch & Rogers, LLC

Michael D’Antignac is a partner at Deitch & Rogers, LLC, where his practice is devoted to representing violent crime victims who have been harmed due to a property owner’s failure to protect them and maintain a safe premises. He specializes in representing child victims and their families. Michael has pursued claims against church, school, camp, and daycare facilities that failed to protect children in their care. His mission is to help injured and abused children get the justice they deserve and the support they need to recover from their injuries. Michael has recovered millions of dollars for crime victims, including a $46 million jury verdict for the starvation death of a 15-month-old baby at an extended stay hotel. Michael is a graduate of the Trial Lawyers College. 

Hon. Andrew Alan Pinson Related Seminars and Products

Supreme Court of Georgia

Justice Andrew A. Pinson was appointed to the Supreme Court of Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp and was sworn in on July 20, 2022.

Justice Pinson was born in DeKalb County, Georgia, and grew up in Lithonia and Lawrenceville. In middle school, he moved to Lincolnton, and he graduated from Briarwood Academy in Warrenton.

Justice Pinson is a “Double Dawg” with a Finance Degree from the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business and a law degree from the University of Georgia’s Lumpkin School of Law. He graduated at the top of his class in law school and interned with Governor Sonny Perdue, Jones Day in Atlanta, and Fortson, Bentley, & Griffin in Athens.

After graduating from law school, Justice Pinson served as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for then-Chief Judge David B. Sentelle, and later served as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Clarence Thomas.

In private practice, Justice Pinson has twice worked for Jones Day, once in Washington D.C., between his two clerkships, and later here in Atlanta, after serving with Justice Clarence Thomas. At Jones Day, he was part of the firm’s Issues and Appeals Practice, and he handled a broad range of matters in both trial and appeals courts.

In 2017, Justice Pinson joined the Office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, and in 2018, he was appointed Solicitor General of Georgia. As Solicitor General, he led the State’s appellate and multistate litigation practice and served as the Attorney General’s chief constitutional advisor. He personally handled high-profile and complex appeals, including in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and several other courts in Georgia and across the country. And he oversaw matters of special importance to the State in all phases of litigation, including the successful defense of the State’s water resources in the critical “water wars” litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Pinson currently serves as an advisor to the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. He also serves as a Master of the Clarke-Carley Inn of Court and the Bleckley Inn of Court, and he serves on the Advisory Board for the Atlanta Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society.

Justice Pinson and his wife Sara Beth live just north of Tucker in DeKalb County. Sara Beth earned a Ph.D. in Poultry Science from the University of Georgia and now works for a software company and as a professional dog trainer. They enjoy hiking in the North Georgia mountains and playing dog sports like Frisbee and agility with their three dogs (Nimbus, Goomba, and Elphie). They attend Embry Hills United Methodist Church.

Mr. Matthew Adam Cathey Related Seminars and Products

Cathey & Strain LLC

Matt is a plaintiff’s civil trial attorney with an emphasis on catastrophic injury cases, including product liability, trucking, roadway, railroad, medical malpractice and mass tort cases. Matt was raised in Habersham County, Georgia and received his undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of Georgia. Upon graduation, he attended Georgia State University College of Law where he graduated with honors in litigation. Matt began his professional career working in Atlanta, where he practiced for five years prior coming to Cathey & Strain.

Throughout his legal career Matt has successfully tried numerous jury trials as well as litigating and handling all other aspects of trial practice, including trial preparation, appeals, motions, hearings, Daubert challenges, motions for summary judgment and expert testimony development.

EDUCATION
Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, Georgia
J.D. - 2006
Honors: With Honors

University of Georgia
B.B.A. - 2003
Honors: cum laude

BAR ADMISSIONS
Georgia, 2006
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Tennessee, 2010

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT POSITION
Attorney

Mr. Naveen Ramachandrappa Related Seminars and Products

Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP

Naveen’s practice focuses on Appeals, Class Actions, and other Complex Litigation.

As one of the leading appellate attorneys in Georgia, Naveen has been sought out by attorneys and clients, both defendants and plaintiffs, to assist trial lawyers with preservation and legal strategy during trial, and to serve as lead counsel for appeals and certiorari proceedings.

As a result, Naveen regularly appears and gives oral argument before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals – as well as assisting in jury trials across Georgia.

In addition, Naveen maintains an active class action practice and has been appointed as class counsel by courts in the Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Florida, Western District of Tennessee, and Georgia state courts.