Workers' Compensation Law Institute

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. Meg Tysinger Hartin Related Seminars and Products

Judge

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Meg Tysinger Hartin grew up in Atlanta.  She attended Converse College for her undergraduate degree and the University of Georgia for her J.D.  After graduating from Georgia, she clerked for Judge P. Harris Hines then worked several years in private practice in Marietta focusing on civil litigation.  She served as a Regional Attorney and then Deputy Managing Attorney at the Atlanta office of the FDIC.  Meg joined the Board as an ALJ in 1997.      

Ms. Ann Baird Bishop Related Seminars and Products

Hall Booth Smith PC

Ann Baird Bishop graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University in 1973 and from Mercer University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1976.  At Mercer, Ann was a member of the Editorial Board of the Mercer Law Review, the Secretary of the Student Bar Association, a member of Phi Delta Phi and the Phi Delta Phi graduate of the year in 1976 as well as being on the Dean’s List and receiving the American Jurisprudence/Highest Grade Awards in Labor Standards and Administrative Law.  
Since 1981, Ann has practiced almost exclusively in the area of workers’ compensation representing employers and insurers.  Ann began practicing in the area of workers’ compensation at Swift, Currie, McGhee and Hiers before leaving with 21 other lawyers to form Drew, Eckl and Farnham where Ann was selected as the first female partner.  Ann was the founding member of A. B. Bishop & Associates where she worked representing self-insured employers and insurance companies in the area of workers’ compensation before merging with Sponsler, Bennett, Jacobs & Adams on December 1, 2013, and creating Sponsler, Bishop, Koren & Hammer. Ann is delighted to have joined Hall Booth Smith P. C. where she continues to represent employers and insurers.
Ann is AV rated, the highest rating awarded by Martindale-Hubbell.  Ann has served on the Executive Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the State Bar of Georgia, was Section Chair for 2007-2008, has served on the Rules and Mediation Committee of the Chairman’s Advisory Council of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation for more than 25 years and was editor for the biannual newsletter published by the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Bar for three years.  Ann has spoken myriad times on a wide variety of topics relevant to the defense of workers’ compensation claims.
Ann was on the Board of Directors for many years and is a past president of the Board of Kids’ Chance of Georgia, Inc., an organization in which she has been active as a volunteer since it began in 1988.  Ann, also, served on the Board of Directors of Kids’ Chance of America and was president of the national organization for 2014-2016.  In 2012, Ann was inducted as a Fellow into the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and served on its Board.  Ann served on the Board of Visitors for Mercer University School of Law to which she was elected Secretary in 2012 and Chair for 2017-2019.  Ann was honored to receive the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the Workers’ Compensation Section of the State Bar of Georgia and is a 2018 recipient of the Justice Benham Award for Community Service.  In 2019, Ann accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.  Most recently, Ann was selected for inclusion in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers in America.

Ms. Andrea Renee Mitchell Related Seminars and Products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

The Honorable Andrea R. Mitchell is a 1987 graduate of Spelman College and a 2001 graduate of Georgia State University’s College of Law.

After spending 18 years as an Army brat, Judge Mitchell moved to Atlanta in 1984 to attend Spelman College, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics.  After several years in the private sector, she returned to school and began pursuing a graduate degree at Georgia State University.  While pursuing that degree, she worked as a legal secretary for a well-respected workers’ compensation claimant’s attorney in Atlanta, which was the catalyst for attending law school. 

After graduating from GSU in 2001, she spent 10 years as a defense attorney, representing Employers, Insurers, Self-Insureds and Servicing Agents in workers’ compensation cases across Georgia.  She was appointed to the State Board of Workers’ Compensation as an Administrative Law Judge in July of 2011, and after spending 2 ½ years in Savannah, Georgia, she returned home and currently works in the Atlanta office where she hears cases stemming from injuries occurring in the metro Atlanta area

Hon. Melodie Lynn Belcher Related Seminars and Products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Melodie Belcher is an Administrative Law Judge for the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation. After spending nearly 10 years as a flight attendant, Melodie attended Georgia State University College of Law where she was an editor on the law review and graduated cum laude. Melodie then went to work for Swift, Currie, McGhee and Hiers, an Atlanta firm, where she represented employers and insurers in workers’ compensation claims. In 1999, Melodie joined the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation. She served as the chief judge from 2009 until 2012. Melodie is actively involved with the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators and  previously served as SAWCA’s president. She served on the Board of the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (NAWCJ) and was inducted into their initial Hall of Fame class. She has also been inducted as a fellow in the College of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. Melodie speaks frequently on workers’ compensation issues in Georgia and nationally. She lives in Lagrange, Georgia. 

Mr. Andre' Carl Ramsay Related Seminars and Products

The Cochran Firm-Atlanta

Attorney Andre’ C. Ramsay joined The Cochran Firm Atlanta in 2016 where he specializes in the practice areas of Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury. Mr. Ramsay aggressively represents many injured workers in acquiring all income and medical benefits available to them to the full extent of the law. Andre’ earned a bachelor’s degree in Management of Information Studies, with a minor in Business Administration from Florida State University and later earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.

Ms. Michelle Marie Thomas Related Seminars and Products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Michelle Thomas received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary and her law degree from The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University. 

She began her legal career as a claimant’s disability attorney in her hometown of Athens, Georgia.  In 2000, she joined an insurance defense firm in Atlanta as a workers’ compensation associate.  Thereafter, she spent several years working for an insurance company as part of their workers’ compensation defense team, before returning briefly to private practice in 2016. 

In 2018, she joined the State Board of Workers’ Compensation as a mediator, helping parties to resolve issues and achieve settlement across the state.  In 2019, in addition to her role as a mediator, she began serving as a Staff Attorney for the Appellate Division of the Board, assisting the Appellate Judges with their decisions in workers’ compensation cases on appeal. Michelle became the Division Director for the Settlement Division of the Board in 2022.

In her free time, Michelle enjoys baking, reading, and yoga.  She is fluent in German and frequently travels to Germany to visit friends and family. 

Hon. Nicole Danielle Tifverman Related Seminars and Products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Nicole Tifverman is an Administrative Law Judge with the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation in Savannah, Georgia. Prior to her appointment as a judge in 2011, she practiced workers’ compensation law in Atlanta for 24 years. She received a B.A. from the University of Rhode Island and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law

Mrs. Hillary Bowlick Cranford Related Seminars and Products

Georgia Fiduciary Group | Andrew Merritt Reilly & Smith LLP

Hillary is a professional fiduciary, serving across the State of Georgia as a court appointed and privately nominated Administrator, Executor, Conservator, and Trustee.  In these roles, Hillary serves on over 400 active cases and currently serves as County Administrator for Gwinnett, Cobb, Fulton, Henry, Newton, Rockdale, Athens-Clarke, and Sumter counties.  Hillary also serves as the current editor of the Probate Judge’s Handbook and Benchbook, published through the Council of Probate Court Judges of Georgia and available at www.gaprobate.gov. 

Hillary graduated from the University of Georgia in 2004 with degrees in English and Advertising and earned her J.D. from the University of Georgia in 2007.  Prior to starting her fiduciary practice, Hillary served as staff attorney for the Gwinnett County and Cobb County Probate Courts from 2007 to 2014 and as Associate Judge from 2014 to 2019.  Hillary’s background in the courts allows for a unique expertise in navigating the conservatorship and estate processes.  As a result, Hillary works closely with the Plaintiff’s bar to serve as Administrator, Conservator, and Trustee for litigation and settlement purposes.  Hillary also accepts private appointments to serve as Executor and Trustee through the Wills and estate plans of private individuals.        

Hillary and her team at Georgia Fiduciary Group provide boutique fiduciary services, including drafting and filing initial probate pleadings and settlement protection trusts; administering estates, conservatorships, and trusts; asset management through partnerships with carefully selected and trusted financial advisors; real and personal property management; tax matters; and successfully discharging and closing estates, conservatorships, and trusts. 

Ms. Alissa Christine Atkins Related Seminars and Products

Atkins David LLC

Alissa Atkins is the Managing Partner at Atkins David, LLC. For more than twenty years, she has practiced exclusively in the area of workers’ compensation defense, representing employers, insurance carriers, and third-party administrators throughout Georgia.  She handles all aspects of workers’ compensation claims and is often brought in to resolve difficult matters and close lingering claims.

She graduated magna cum laude from Suffolk University in Boston with an honors degree in History. She received her J.D. from Georgia State University School of Law, where she served as Vice President of the Moot Court Board.  Alissa is a member of the Workers’ Compensation sections of the State Bar of Georgia and the Atlanta Bar Association, where she also serves as a Board member. 

Hon. Kimberly Stone Boehm Related Seminars and Products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Kimberly Boehm is an administrative law judge with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation’s Atlanta office.  Prior to joining the Board in 2017, she represented injured workers for several years and before that, had a defense practice representing employers, insurers, servicing agents, and group funds in Duluth.  She graduated from the University of Georgia with an undergraduate degree in history and philosophy, and obtained her law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law in 1996. She is a member of the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (NAWCJ) and Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA). 

Mr. Frank McKay Related Seminars and Products

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Judge FRANK R. mckay is an Appellate Judge and Director for the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation where he served as Chairman and Chief Appellate Judge for eight years.

Judge McKay received the 2019 National Judge Comp Laude Award from WorkCompCentral.  He is a Past-President of the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA) and Co-Dean of the 2023 Roger L. Williams National Regulators College.  He served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (NAWCJ).  He served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Workers’ Compensation Institute (WCI). He served on the Board of Directors of Kids’ Chance of Georgia.  He served on the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) Georgia Advisory Committee.  He is a Fellow in the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers (CWCL).  He serves on Georgia’s Statewide Opioid Task Force.  Judge McKay is a frequent speaker at the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary College and many other conferences.

He came to the Board in 2013 from private practice where he was a partner in the Stewart, Melvin and Frost law firm in Gainesville, Georgia. His practice was concentrated in workers’ compensation, and he tried and presented many cases before the Administrative Law Judges and the Appellate Division of the State Board and appeals to the Superior Courts and the Georgia Court of Appeals. He was a former Special Assistant Attorney General handling workers’ compensation claims for the State of Georgia. He was on the State Board’s Advisory Council prior to being appointed the Chairman by the Governor of Georgia in 2013 and 2017.  He was reappointed a Director and Appellate Judge by Governor Brian P. Kemp in 2021.

He obtained his law degree (J.D.) from Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University, and his undergraduate degree (B.A. Economics) from Clemson University. 

Ms. Rotsen Dara Diya Law Related Seminars and Products

Claimant's attorney

Ramos & Law

Claimant's attorney

Hon. Johnny W. Mason Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Judge

State Board of Workers' Compensation

Judge

Mr. Zack Hendon Jr. Related Seminars and Products

The Hendon Law Firm LLC