Torts Trial Practice

Mr. John David Hadden Related Seminars and Products

Penn Law LLC

John D. Hadden is a trial and appellate litigator with Penn Law in Atlanta, where he handles catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases across the state. He is author of Georgia Law of Torts - Trial Preparation and Practice and Green's Georgia Law of Evidence, both published by Thomson Reuters. He is also a registered mediator with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. John is president of the Atlanta Trial Lawyers Association, a member of the Atlanta Bar Association Board of Directors and past chair of the Atlanta Bar’s Litigation Section, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Atlanta Bar Lawyer Referral and Information Service, and a past chair of the Litigation Committee of the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division. John is a graduate of Emory University and the University of Georgia School of Law, where he was a member of the Georgia Law Review. John has been named one of Georgia’s “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend, recognized by Atlanta Magazine in its annual list of Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers, and holds an AV/Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been recognized by the Fulton County Daily Report as one of its “On the Rise — Top 40 Under 40.”

Mr. Jarome Emile Gautreaux Related Seminars and Products

Gautreaux Law, LLC

Jarome Gautreaux is an attorney, professor and author.  He has practiced in the area of torts and personal injury for 23 years, and he teaches Georgia Civil Practice and Procedure at Mercer Law School, where he has also taught Advanced Torts and Pretrial Advocacy.  He is also the co-author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation and Practice.  

Jarome has tried numerous cases to verdict, and has obtained multi- million dollar verdicts and settlements. He has also authored numerous publications covering such topics as trial practice, evidence, torts, and persuasion. He served as a federal law clerk in Illinois prior to starting his private practice of law.  

Hon. Benjamin Arthur Land Related Seminars and Products

Supreme Court of Georgia

A lifelong Georgian, Justice Benjamin A. Land was sworn in to the Supreme Court of Georgia on July 24, 2025.

Prior to that, he served as a judge on the Court of Appeals of Georgia, having been appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp on July 20, 2022, and then being elected in a statewide election in 2024. He also has served as a judge of the Superior Court for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit.

Justice Land graduated with Highest Honors as a First Honor Graduate, summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 1989, finishing first in his class 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 from the Georgia Supreme Court, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Following law school, Justice Land ran his own private law firm, 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, Justice Land engaged in significant complex litigation, tried cases to jury verdicts, earned the respect of his colleagues, and thoroughly enjoyed being in the courtroom.

Justice Land left private practice on Feb. 7, 2018, when Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him to serve as a Superior Court judge for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. Justice 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, Justice 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, Justice Land served on the Council of Superior Court Judges Budget Committee and Pattern Jury Instructions Committee. At the Court of Appeals, he chaired the Rules Committee and served on the Legislative Committee.

Justice 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 training conferences. During his law practice, Justice Land was presented with the William B. Spann, Jr. Award for Pro Bono Advocacy for his efforts on behalf of a client whose case he handled from the trial court level until its successful conclusion in the Georgia Supreme Court.

Justice Land has served as the president of the Columbus Bar Association, the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and the Columbus Inn of Court. He has also served as a District Representative for the State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division, member of the Clarke County Inn of Court, member of the Bleckley Inn of Court, and member of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He served for five years on the governor's Judicial Nominating Commission—the statewide body responsible for providing recommendations to the governor concerning judicial appointments—and currently serves by appointment of the governor on the Georgia Child Support Commission. By appointment of the Supreme Court, he chairs the Court Reporting Matters Committee and previously served on the Committee on Court Interpreters.

In 2023, Justice Land was presented with the Distinguished Judicial Service Award by the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia. He is also a member of the Brookstone School's Distinguished Alumni Society.

In addition to his law-related activities, Justice Land has served as a board member for a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer and board member for the Pine Mountain Trial Association, and a youth sports coach. Justice Land is an active member of his local church, where he has served on the Administrative Board, the Finance Committee, and the Staff Parish Relations Committee.

Mr. Jesse Alvan Davis III Related Seminars and Products

Davis Adams LLC

Jess Davis is an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer; he’s represented people catastrophically injured by medical negligence in Georgia and almost every other state. Jess has received nearly every award and honor available to Georgia trial attorneys, has led numerous legal and community organizations, and is regularly called upon by the media for comment on complex or high-profile legal matters. His law firm has recovered more than $100,000,000 for its clients, including multiple eight-figure verdicts and settlements.

Before founding Davis Adams, LLC, Jess was a member of the Litigation & Trial Practice Group at Alston & Bird, a leading international law firm, where he focused primarily on antitrust litigation. He has published articles on the subject of predatory bidding and was a contributor to the preeminent antitrust law treatise, Antitrust Advisor, as well as the American Bar Association’s seven-volume In-House Counsel’s Essential Toolkit. Although his antitrust days are behind him, the complexity involved in those cases was ideal training for medical malpractice litigation.

Jess maintains a highly active and wide-ranging pro bono practice. He helped spearhead a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government related to the illegal detention of Vietnamese refugees; he’s successfully represented detainees at ICE’s Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., through the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative; and he’s provided free legal services to animal welfare organizations through the Animal Rescue Legal Society, which he founded in 2005 after participating in the emergency evacuation of animals from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Outside of his legal work, Jess has served on the Board of Directors for The Community School and Druid Hills Youth Sports, where he’s coached more than 30 seasons of youth baseball.

Before attending law school, Jess spent nearly a decade as a political aide and operative in Washington, DC, and in Georgia, including stints with the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and numerous political campaigns at every level, including presidential, congressional, state and mayoral races. He remains active in national, state, and local politics.

Ms. Alexandra Catherine Cole Related Seminars and Products

Cannella Snyder LLC

Alexandra "Sachi" Cole is a partner at Cannella Snyder where she specializes in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, childhood sexual abuse and whistleblower/qui tam cases. Since beginning her practice in the public sector, she has represented victims throughout Georgia and practiced in Savannah and Atlanta. With over a decade of experience, Sachi routinely handles complex civil cases in both state and federal court.

She is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, Dekalb Bar Association, and the Atlanta Bar Association. Sachi currently serves on GTLA’s Executive Committee on the Judicial Liaison Committee and was recently selected for Leadership Dekalb’s class of 2024-2025. Sachi has earned several honors and awards throughout her career, including being named the On the Rise recipient by the Daily Report. She was also selected to the Rising Stars list by Georgia Super Lawyers.

Originally from Brookhaven, N.Y., Sachi attended Bates College in Maine, double majoring in Philosophy and Rhetoric. She earned her J.D. from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta and is a Master of the Cooper Inn of Court.

Prof. Patrick E. Longan Related Seminars and Products

Mercer University School of Law

Professor Patrick E. Longan holds the William Augustus Bootle Chair in Ethics and Professionalism at the Mercer University School of Law, where he has taught since 2000. Professor Longan also serves as the Director of the Mercer Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, as a Special Master for disciplinary cases, and as a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures Committee and Formal Advisory Opinion Board. He has been a member of the Georgia Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism since 2000.

Professor Longan is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than 60 publications and has given more than 150 lectures, speeches, or panel presentations regarding legal ethics and professionalism. He was the second recipient of the National Award for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching Professionalism from the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Professionalism, the Conference of Chief Justices, and the Burge Endowment for Legal Ethics. In 2014, Mercer Law School received the E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award from the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism for one of Professor Longan’s programs. Professor Longan has received the Mercer University Law School Board of Visitors Awards for Excellence in Teaching (2022) and Excellence in Scholarship (2021).

Professor Longan was on the faculty of Stetson University College of Law from 1991 to 2000. Before entering law teaching, Professor Longan served as a law clerk to Senior United States District Judge Bernard M. Decker in Chicago and practiced law with the firm of Andrews & Kurth in Dallas, Texas. Professor Longan is a 1983 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School.

Ms. Calena Renada Brice Related Seminars and Products

The Brice Law Firm LLC

Attorney Cale Brice is the owner of The Brice Law Firm, LLC specializing in personal injury law.

Raised in the Atlanta suburb of East Cobb, Attorney Brice has been a resident of Georgia for over thirty years.  She graduated from Walton High School in Marietta. 

Attorney Brice received her Bachelors in both American Politics and Comparative Politics from the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia. She graduated from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School where she received her Juris Doctorate.

Coming out of law school with a catastrophic injury case, Attorney Brice has practiced personal injury law, in private practice, her entire career.  In 2023, she obtained a $850k+ jury verdict in a road wreck case.
 
She is recognized as a 2024 Super Lawyer.

Please feel free to email Ms. Brice at cale@bricelawfirm.com

Mr. Larry Christopher Stewart Related Seminars and Products

Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys

L. Chris Stewart is the Managing Partner of Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys, a serious injury and wrongful death law firm. Chris handles a variety of cases including wrongful death, civil rights, premises liability, mass torts and sexual assaults. Chris has won numerous record setting jury verdicts and made U.S history when he won the first billion dollar jury verdict for a rape victim. Chris is also recognized worldwide as one of the top civil rights lawyers of his generation. He has represented some of the most famous civil rights cases of this century that were captured on video including Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Gregory Towns, Chase Sherman, and Deaundre Phillips. Attorney Stewart demands not just a monetary award for his clients, but also policing reform to prevent future abuse. Stewart also represents 4 of the most famous cases of 2020 including Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and Taniyah Pilgrim (student who was tased during a peaceful protest in Atlanta).

Attorney Stewart is one of the most decorated African-American lawyers in the country having received the Julia Humbles’ Civil Rights Award, the Wiley Branton Award for Leadership, the Outstanding Citizen Award for the State of Georgia, the Georgia Senate Outstanding Public Service Proclamation, the Pinnacle Leadership Award, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus Chairman’s Award, the Esquire Award, the R.E. Thomas Civil Rights Award, the first and only African-American voted Attorney of the Year for the State of Georgia.

Chris has been featured in international media including CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, The New York Times, Fox News, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Forbes and is a contributor on various media outlets. He travels frequently speaking at a variety of events and schools as the key note speaker. Born and raised in southwest Atlanta, Chris is extremely active in the Atlanta community and is also a board member of the historic Southern Center for Human Rights. He is a double HBCU alumni, graduating from Xavier University (LA) with honors in English, Tulane University with a Master’s of Science in Public Health, and Howard University School of Law. Having overcome reading issues as a youth, Chris embodies his favorite motto “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”