Employment Law Specialist Randy Gepp Joins Taylor English

Trial experience will help clients better defend themselves against employee lawsuits

Atlanta – Jan. 19, 2010 – Randy Gepp, a labor and employment attorney with 33 years of experience, has joined Taylor English Duma LLP.

Gepp will represent corporate and government clients—helping them defend against harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination charges. He also will focus on employment contracts and general labor relations.

In addition to three decades of successful litigation—Gepp has won 85 percent of his cases through motions—he also has substantial mediation and arbitration experience.

“Randy’s history of defending clients in jury trials will greatly benefit Taylor English clients,” said Marc Taylor, founding partner. “His trial familiarity makes him one of the most elite employment lawyers in the country and will help our clients better defend themselves against employee lawsuits.”

Gepp comes to Taylor English from Hollowell Foster & Gepp P.C.—where he practiced law since 1989. While there, Gepp was:

• Designated by Florida as one of the first employment law specialists in the state.
• Appointed by several Georgia governors to serve as a “special master.”
• Named a “Super Lawyer” every year since 2004 by Atlanta Magazine.
• Served as the past president of Atlanta Bar Association’s Employment Law section.
• Published an employment and labor newsletter.
• Mediated or arbitrated more than 100 employee discrimination cases.

In 2009, Gepp won five cases by summary judgment involving sexual harassment, national origin, race, retaliation and defamation. He also won a major case involving employment and constitutional issues in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 2008, Gepp successfully defended Grady Hospital in a discrimination jury trial. In 2007, he won a whistleblower case for DeKalb County after a three-week trial. Previously, he won the first jury trial case brought pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act filed in Fulton County.

Gepp says he’ll also help Taylor English clients better prevent disputes like these from ever going to court by consulting with them on everything from properly terminating under-performing employees to writing effective harassment reports.

“In this economic environment, employee lawsuits are on the rise,” Gepp said. “It’s more important than ever for corporations to protect themselves.”

Gepp said Taylor English’s performance-based business model was a big draw for his decision to come to the firm.

“Because of Taylor English’s entrepreneurial structure, we’re able to charge clients substantially less than larger firms,” Gepp said. “Some firms’ rates have become so high that many companies can’t afford the cost of defense. We’re able to provide more experienced attorneys at a lower rate. That’s attractive to clients in any business climate.”

About Taylor English Duma LLP

Taylor English is a full-service business law firm that provides high quality legal services for optimal value. Areas of practice include Employment & Labor, Business Transactions, Corporate & Taxation, Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Real Estate, Development & Construction.  Taylor English represents all types of clients—from Fortune 500 companies and start-ups to individuals. The firm has grown from four attorneys in 2005 to 75 attorneys today. For more information, visit www.taylorenglish.com.

Tobi Wiseman Joins Taylor English Law Firm

Taylor English Duma LLP announced today the addition of Tobi Wiseman to the firm.

“I look forward to the opportunity to work with a variety of attorneys that will continue to expose me to superb talent and new challenges,” Wiseman says.”While the firm has grown rapidly since its inception, there is still a sincere sharing of knowledge and expertise to assist other counsel on their matters, in a very cost-effective and efficient manner.”

As a member of the Firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution group, Wiseman’s practice areas include professional liability investigations and bankruptcy litigation on behalf of financial institutions. Prior to joining Taylor English, she represented numerous clients as plaintiffs in personal injury claims as well as co-managed large scale document productions in large securities fraud litigation.

An active member of the community, Wiseman is a board member of the Shepherd Alumni Advisory Board for Washington and Lee University and is past president of her homeowner’s association.

“My ultimate goal is to provide quality services to my clients,” she says. “I strive for more than just a satisfactory resolution to the conflict so that at the conclusion, they are certain they received the best representation possible.”

Wiseman lives with her husband in Roswell and is expecting their first child.

Valerie Richmond Joins Taylor English Law Firm

Taylor English Duma LLP announced today the addition of Valerie Richmond to the firm.

Richmond is a member of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights practice group where she represents national and regional banks and other financial institutions inside and outside of Bankruptcy Court, as well as Creditors’ Committees and other non-debtor entities in a wide variety of bankruptcy matters. Her work routinely includes preference and fraudulent transfer avoidance actions, turnover actions and other bankruptcy disputes and litigation.

“Valerie brings years of legal and business experience to our Financial Restructuring team,” says Scott L. Duma, Managing Partner. “She has successfully represented creditors, bondholders and debtors and can deliver the types of services that are most needed in this economy. This team is seizing a moment in this economy that many firms are not.”

Prior to joining Taylor English, Richmond worked in the New York office of Cadwalader Wickersham and Taft LLP, and in the Chicago office of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. During this time, she represented creditors, bondholders and debtors in Chapter 11 proceedings and restructurings. Her representations included special counsel to Enron Corporation and its affiliated debtors in their Chapter 11 cases for issues relating to forward contracts, swaps and other trading contracts, as well as counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors for the Mirant Corp. Chapter 11 cases.

“My goal with the Financial Restructuring team is to provide excellent service while addressing concerns over the current economic climate,” Richmond says. “This is very timely from an economic standpoint. In bankruptcy or out, I look forward to providing the best service possible.”

Richmond lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children.

Bill Clineburg Joins Taylor English Law Firm

Taylor English Duma LLP announced today the addition of one of Atlanta’s most distinguished litigators, Bill Clineburg, to the firm.

“I was drawn to Taylor English because the firm is smaller, yet has an extremely talented core of attorneys,” Clineburg says. “Its reasonable billing rates enhance our ability to build a practice in this economy.”

As a member of the Firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution group, Clineburg’s practice areas include Class Actions and other Complex Business and Commercial Litigation. For the past 37 years he has successfully litigated both jury and non-jury, individual and class action matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States, and argued in a number of state and federal appellate courts. He has also effectively utilized formal and informal means of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration.

Clineburg has been named a leading lawyer by Chambers USA, as well as a “Super Lawyer” by Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Trend. In addition, he served as editor of the Georgia Law Review and the Georgia Journal of International Law.

“I look forward to building relationships with clients and assisting them in resolving disputes,” Clineburg says. “My goal is to build a successful commercial litigation practice while operating in a unique business model.”

Clineburg lives in Atlanta with his wife of 34 years and has three daughters.

Foy R. Devine Joins Taylor English Law Firm

Taylor English Duma LLP is proud to announce that Foy R. Devine will assume an “of counsel” position with the firm, effective August 2009.

“Foy is an accomplished litigator in the areas of catastrophic personal injury and product related injuries,” says Scott L. Duma, Managing Partner.  “We look forward to having his expertise in Taylor English’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group.”

With an extensive background in civil trial work, Devine is an expert in catastrophic personal injury and death cases arising out of product‑related injuries.  Prior to joining Taylor English, he was managing member of Doffermyre, Shields, Canfield, Knowles & Devine, L.L.C., where he specialized in personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability and business litigation in state and federal courts. Devine has also been consistently named a Georgia Super Lawyer for several years.

“My goal is to provide excellent service to existing clients and develop new opportunities for the firm, specifically complex business litigation,” Devine says. “I look forward to working with this collection of terrific legal talent at Taylor English and providing a full range of legal services to clients.  This is a great opportunity for me to expand my horizons.”

Henry M. Quillian III Joins Taylor English Law Firm

Taylor English Duma LLP announced today the addition of one of Atlanta’s most distinguished litigators, Henry M. Quillian III.

Quillian’s litigation and counseling practice combines his legal and engineering experience in the fields of construction, insurance coverage, antitrust, catastrophic personal injury and products liability.  He has made Atlanta Magazine’s list of Georgia “Super Lawyers” every year since 2004, and in 2007 and 2008 was voted among Georgia’s Legal Elite by Georgia Trend Magazine.  Quillian was also voted a top 100 Georgia Lawyer in the Super Lawyers survey in 2009.

“With his expertise in construction litigation, Henry will be a valuable asset to our firm,” says Scott L. Duma, Managing Partner.  “He has successfully pursued cases involving trademarks, software development contracts, Title VII and products liability.  He has also handled multi-million dollar litigation across the nation and internationally.”

Quillian graduated magna cum laude from Duke University’s School of Engineering and cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law. He has also served as President of the Federal Bar Association, Atlanta Chapter, and was the national General Counsel of the FBA for three years. In 2004 and 2005, he served as Chair of the Construction Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.

“My clients needed services in a much broader business realm, and Taylor English offers that platform,” Quillian says. “I look forward to expanding my patent litigation practice and the intellectual challenge of working with these talented people on a daily basis.”

A native Atlantan, Quillian lives in Atlanta with his wife Celia and their two children.

John D. Hopkins Joins Taylor English Law Firm

Former GC for Jefferson-Pilot joining firm with 8 other former GCs

Taylor English Duma LLP announced today the addition of one of Atlanta’s most distinguished attorneys, John D. Hopkins as a partner with the firm.

Hopkins is a member of the Business Transactions, Corporate and Taxation practice group at Taylor English, and his practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and insurance regulatory matters.

“As a former General Counsel of a major financial institution with 20 in-house lawyers and hundreds of lawsuits across the country, I am acutely aware of how important it is for in-house and outside counsel to form closely integrated teams,” Hopkins says. “With 18 lawyers who have been on corporate legal staffs, including nine former GCs and a majority of our partners having been partners in other major Atlanta law firms, I believe Taylor English is particularly well-suited to respond to the concerns and needs of our in-house counsel clients.”

Prior to joining Taylor English, Hopkins served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Jefferson-Pilot Financial. He was also a Senior Corporate Partner with King and Spalding. Most recently, he worked with Womble Carlyle in the Corporate and Securities practice.

“The Taylor English model offers our clients seasoned lawyers at a very cost effective rate,” says Scott Duma, Managing Partner at Taylor English. “Clients work directly with our senior partners. We keep a very low staff ratio and low overhead. Combined with our top legal talent, this model has enabled us to expand from 14 attorneys in 2005 to over 60 in 2009.”

Other former General Counsel (and the companies at which they served in such capacity) in the Business Transactions, Corporate and Taxation practice group at Taylor English include:

• Scott L. Duma – Thoughtmill Corporation and XcelleNet, Inc
• Scott E. Friedlander – OneSource, Inc.
• George C. Gaskin – Anacomp, Inc
• Bob J. Goldberg – Harbor Payments, Inc.
• Melissa M. McMorries – The Regina Company
• Bruce S. Richards – Telecredit, Equifax, and Certegy
• Michael M. Sullivan – Sanmina-SCI Corporation
• Jonathan B. Wilson – Interland, Inc., Web.com, Inc., and EasyLink Services International Corporation.