Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C. - Civil Justice Attorneys

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Contact the attorneys at Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C. for a review of your case.






Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C.
3350 Riverwood Parkway
Suite 2000
Atlanta, Georgia 30339

P: 866-857-0123
Fx: 404-892-1020

Meet the Personal Injury Attorneys at Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C.

When evaluating an attorney, it is important to consider peer reviews in addition to that lawyer’s verdict and settlement record.  The civil justice attorneys at Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C. have been recognized by their peers as well as by professional organizations as being among the very best. Every partner in our firm has been honored with an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell.  Each partner has also been designated a Georgia Super Lawyer, a distinction bestowed upon only the top 5 percent of attorneys in the state.  What truly distinguishes our law firm, however, is the unique, team approach we take to cases.  Our team approach ensures that each case gets the full benefit of our collective experience and insight into how to maximize the recovery for each injured party.  Our tireless dedication to justice and the true compassion with which we treat our clients, is why the attorneys at Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C. have an exceptional reputation with their peers and their clients.

We invite you to learn more about each of our civil justice attorneys’ education and credentials.

Our Staff

Michael J. Warshauer

Like each of the four partners in Warshauer Poe & Thornton, Michael Warshauer enjoys taking on difficult legal challenges – those that require analyzing complex data and developing creative approaches that are not evident to others.  This ability to see what others don’t see is often what attracts clients and referrals to the firm.

Michael’s background as a nationally-known lawyer for victims of railroad accidents has prepared him for the complex litigation that he handles every day.  Michael continues to handle railroad and FELA claims, but spends most of his time helping people who have been injured by defective products, medical malpractice, and fires and explosions.  He has shown that being able to win consistently in cases against large railroads well-prepares him to take on other powerful interests, including international manufacturers and health care conglomerates.

Michael regularly teaches continuing legal education courses and leads seminars for non-lawyers seeking to learn about the law.  He has presented seminars sponsored by organizations that include the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the National College of Trial Advocacy, the American Association for Justice, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Board of Trial Advocates.  Michael is also one of only a handful of Board Certified Civil Trial Advocates in Georgia who limit their practice to the representation of catastrophically injured plaintiffs.

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Lyle Griffin Warshauer

Lyle is a passionate trial lawyer, a constitutional scholar, and a respected appellate advocate.  Having co-founded the firm in 1996 with Michael, she remains committed to the founding principles that guided them more than a decade ago – protecting families, demanding justice and getting results – one case at a time, one family at a time.

A gifted legal writer and strategist, Lyle manages the firm’s appellate practice and with Jim Poe, co-manages the firm’s medical malpractice cases.  Whether writing a sophisticated legal brief or going head-to-head with a nationally known medical expert, Lyle is up for the fight and relentless in her pursuit of excellence.  Lyle has been quoted often in the news media and is a frequent speaker on a wide variety of legal topics, at local and national levels.

A true renaissance woman, Lyle is an avid runner, a soccer mom, and a committed volunteer in the legal and local community.

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Bar Admissions

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James M. Poe

As co-manager of the firm’s medical malpractice group and chief strategist for all litigation, Jim brings three decades of courtroom experience to the Civil Justice Attorneys of Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C..  For years Jim defended the very kinds of cases that he now champions for our clients.  This background provides him with a wealth of experience and insight that is incredibly valuable in obtaining justice for the firm’s clients.  His commitment to preparation and detail fits well in the demanding world of medical malpractice litigation.  He thrives on using technology and designing visual aids to distill complex facts and records into clear, compelling stories that jurors understand and adopt.

Jim’s talent in the courtroom has been obvious throughout his career, beginning in law school where he won three Moot Court competitions and was named the outstanding advocate in each of those competitions.

Jim has regularly spoken at and organized continuing legal education seminars and has acted as a mentor to younger attorneys.  Our associate, Doug Dumont, is a lawyer who started his litigation career working for Jim.  Jim’s passion for the law has passed into the next generation with two of his children following him into the profession.

When he’s not working on a case, Jim relaxes with fly-fishing, working in his garden or tending his bee hives.

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Steven R. Thornton

Steve firmly believes that his injured clients are entitled to recover full, fair and just compensation for their physical injuries, pain and suffering, lost income and inability to work in the field of their choice.

With his strong experience in handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving automobile, truck, and bike collisions, Steve leads the firm’s motor vehicle liability practice.

To obtain consistently excellent results, Steve approaches each case with the same battle plan: thoroughly investigate the case before filing suit, retain the leading experts in the industry, and move the case toward trial in an organized and tireless manner.  He stays abreast of the most recent changes in the law and takes the time to study the trial techniques of other experienced lawyers.  Steve’s consistent work ethic, combined with his will to win, produce the financial recoveries that his clients need.

Steve frequently speaks at education seminars for lawyers and has appeared on radio and television discussing various topics of personal injury litigation.

Steve is an Atlanta native and a “double dog,” having received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia.  When not doing battle with his corporate opponents, Steve enjoys competitive bike riding, attending Georgia football games, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

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Douglas C. Dumont

Doug joined Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C. after practicing with an insurance defense firm – where Jim Poe hired him for the first time several years ago.  This experience gave him an important understanding and familiarity with insurance companies and corporations, and how they approach lawsuits involving serious personal injuries.  Doug left the defense bar after Jim hired him for a second time to join the trial attorneys at Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C..  He now uses his defense experience and insight to plan, strategize, and prepare cases to secure the best compensation for individuals and families who are injured as the result of the carelessness of others.

Like the other attorneys at Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C., Doug strives to be the best both inside and outside the courtroom.  Doug graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998 with a degree in Political Science and then received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law.  He has successfully argued motions for clients in state, federal, and appellate courts throughout the State of Georgia.  In fact, Doug’s appellate record is unbeaten.

When Doug is away from the office, he enjoys spending most of his time with his wife and two children going to the zoo, baseball and football games, traveling, or just hanging around the house.

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Our Staff

M. Todd Reeves, PMDC

Todd grew up in rural West Georgia and attended Georgia Southern University where he majored in Biology and Chemistry. Interested in the medical field, Todd went to work first as a Paramedic for Grady Hospital EMS, and then acquired a broad range of medical exposure including working at LifeFlight, Egleston Children’s Hospital, Grady Hospital (Critical Care) and Fulton County Fire Department. Todd held instructor ratings or certificates in virtually all pre-hospital and acute care trauma courses including ACLS, BTLS, PALS, NALS and received numerous awards for his patient care from such entities as the Red Cross and the State of Georgia EMS & Trauma Section of the Department of Public Health. He has hands-on experience in critical care (medical, pulmonary, vascular, cardiac, and burns), acute care (pediatric and adult), and pre-hospital care (ground, rotary and fixed wing).

In 1997, Todd made a career change deciding to take his broad experience in medicine to the legal community to try and ensure better patient care. Todd first went to work for a nationally known Atlanta malpractice firm as an in-house medical consultant and litigation paralegal and has worked for several other prominent lawyers before joining Warshauer Poe & Thornton. In fact, prior to joining the firm, Todd consulted for preeminent trial lawyers across the country on cases ranging from medical negligence claims, to defective products, to class action toxic torts. To date, Todd has helped injured clients recover more than $120 million in gross recoveries. He has worked with hundreds of experts, in numerous fields, from all over the world in order to prepare cases for trial. Todd's work focuses on preparing cases for trial, not simply preparing cases for settlement. Todd has made numerous presentations to lawyers, paralegals, and nursing consultants. His hands-on medical experience, years of litigation experience, and his understanding of medicine in the legal environment ensures our clients' medical interests are watched over throughout the span of their cases.

Todd focuses his family life on his daughter Sydney (according to Todd, a future Olympic equestrian superstar). Todd is involved in extensive volunteer work with men’s groups at various places throughout town, coaches baseball at the Northside Youth Organization (NYO), and plays softball for two local teams. In addition to all of this, Todd recently started taking theology classes at night.

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Janis Stevenson

Janis grew up in western New York. She is proud of her Yankee roots but can easily pass as a southerner since she's lived here longer than anywhere else. She graduated from Hiram College, a small liberal arts college in Ohio, over 20 year ago (wow! that's a long time!) with a major in Biology and a minor in Writing. After finding her way to Atlanta through a college roommate, She began working at AIG, and attending paralegal school at night at the National Center for Paralegal Training. In 1989, Janis started to work as a litigation paralegal for Michael Warshauer, who at the time had just started his own firm. She's never left, or maybe we can't get rid of her!

Janis continued to work primarily as a paralegal along with wearing a few other hats until the birth of her first daughter, Samantha, in May 2002. Janis returned to work part time as the firm administrator and bookkeeper. Her second daughter, Shelby, arrived in April 2005, adding another component to the mayhem of a working mom with a pug, a fish, a crested gecko, a crazy rabbit and her husband Mike, an avid athlete and Atlanta Thrashers season ticket holder. In her free time, Janis enjoys gardening, Sudoku, reading and decorating. Janis is also a board member and secretary of MIC, a civic organization in her town, as well as the secretary for the PTO at the new charter school her daughter attends. She regularly dreams of taking a weekend nap, sleeping in, or having an uninterrupted 8 hour stretch of sleep at night, as well as the time to get back into fighting shape, finishing a few projects around the house that coincidentally were started before Samantha was born and becoming a master gardener.

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Anne Gurley

Anne grew up in Dalton, Georgia and has called Atlanta home for eight years. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech in 2005. After figuring out that a career in computer networking wasn't her thing, she moved to Aspen, Colorado to "live the dream" as a snowboard bum. She has recently returned to Atlanta and is still trying to figure out her calling in life. Fortunately for us, she's a computer whiz, likes to fix things, enjoys keeping the office organized, and can easily navigate her way around town. She is very committed to being socially and environmentally responsible, and does a great job keeping our office "green".

Anne loves to wakeboard, snowboard, eat, play video games, and confuse people with her sense of humor. She plays ice hockey with the Atlanta Amateur Hockey League and is always up for adventure.

 

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Shannon Shaw

Shannon grew up in Houston, Texas until she was 12 years old when she moved to Georgia. In high school, she was very active with volleyball, running, swimming and horseback riding. She attended the University of Georgia for a short period before she decided to join the work force and continue to go to school locally. In 2001, she began working for a small law firm in Midtown as a secretary/receptionist. After a year at this firm, impressed with skills and work ethic, her employer helped her through a paralegal program of her choice. She attended Kennesaw State University and received her paralegal certificate. She remained at the same firm for 5 years. She thoroughly enjoyed her job but wanted to work for a firm that could offer more potential for growth. After leaving the smaller firm, Shannon suffered what she describes as "a brief bout of insanity" and attempted to work for a defense firm. She quickly came to her senses and realized how much she missed working with plaintiffs. Shannon joined Warshauer Poe & Thornton in January of 2007.

Shannon lives in Marietta with her boyfriend, Luis and her bionic dog, Chance, who has two metal knees. Shannon and Lou spend almost every weekend kayaking on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. Her favorite river so far, is the Little River in Northern Tennessee. She travels all around the Southeast searching the next best whitewater river. She dreams of taking a trip to South America for a few weeks of kayaking and camping. In addition to her hectic kayak schedule, Shannon loves to work on houses. She and Lou spend many weekends working on the home they purchased as a foreclosure and are remodeling. They also have a few rental properties and plan to continue to purchase investment properties.

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Lorri Meyer

Lorri Meyer joined the firm at its inception in January 2007 when she and partner Jim Poe joined the firm. She began her paralegal career at Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. in the corporate law department headquartered in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania before moving to Savannah, Georgia and joining a law firm. In 1987 she moved to Atlanta and began her long career working with Jim Poe. She has extensive experience in the areas of medical malpractice, auto/trucking, premise liability, product liability, and insurance coverage issues.

 

 

 

 

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Stan Grantham

Stan was born in Columbus, Georgia, but his family relocated to Miami, Florida when he was three years old. His passion growing up was playing baseball and spending a lot of time at Miami Stadium watching the Baltimore Orioles during their spring training camp. He also became an avid fisherman and scuba diver. What else do you do in South Florida? After serving three years in the U.S. Army with the Military Police Corps he returned to Miami, where he attended Miami-Dade College studying Business Administration. He eventually made his way back to Georgia, where he began his paralegal career in 1989 with a law firm in Decatur, receiving his paralegal certification from the University of Georgia.

He and his wife enjoy backpacking in the Georgia mountains, tending to their small farm, spending time with family, their two crazy dogs and eight goats.

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Tracy Seligman

Tracy Seligman was born and raised in Virginia. She spent most of her childhood in the D.C. metro suburb of Vienna, Virginia. She graduated from Old Dominion University in 1989. Upon graduating, she taught high school Marketing and worked in IT & Telecom Sales in the D.C area. She married an Atlanta native, and moved to Atlanta in 2001. She and her husband Craig keep busy with their two children: Preston age 6 and Sarah-Anne age 4. Tracy enjoys going to the Atlanta Braves games with her husband Craig, who is by far the biggest Braves fan! She also enjoys following her favorite professional football teams, the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons. Tracy is also active on her Neighborhood Association Board and Swim and Tennis Club Board. In her spare time, she likes to read, cook and coach youth Soccer. Tracy also likes to shop and hopes to win the lottery, which will probably help with the shopping.

 

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Lizette "Liz" Anderson

Liz was born in New Jersey and raised in Miami, Florida. Liz attended Miami-Dade College and earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. She relocated to Atlanta in 1986 to attend Georgia State University to further her education in Computer Science. Liz was recommended by a friend to assist an attorney with his computer system. While working with the firm’s computers, Liz fell in love with the legal field. Cruz & Associates in Atlanta employed Liz for seven years as a Plaintiff’s paralegal. After her marriage, Liz’s now ex-husband convinced her to relocate back to Miami and her family convinced her to stay. While in Miami, she was employed by Rosenthal Rosenthal Rasco, LLC for eight years as their litigation paralegal. In December of 2007, Liz made the wise decision to relocate back to her favorite city. Liz lives with her sister and her sister’s two kitties, Abby and Harley.

Liz enjoys country music, going to Disney World, shopping and spending time in the mountains.

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Billy Harrison

Billy Harrison, an investigator with us since 1996 has enjoyed a long and interesting career with the railroad and the United Transportation Union. He was a conductor with CSX and its predecessor from 1956 to 1988. He was the treasurer of Local 376 for 16 years and its Local Chairman for 5 years. Billy also has an eye for fancy cars (Cadillacs in particular) having owned a used car dealership for over twenty years. His hobby cars are a 1994 motor home and 1994 Z28 convertible. He has always been called upon the President of the UTU to organize and promote the Union in different areas. He was appointed as an international organizer under then President Fred Harden in 1987, and continues in that role as well as that of a special representative, when called upon to this date.

In his spare time, Billy likes to play golf. He house sits on the 2nd green of the Glenmary Country Club, in Louisville, Kentucky. He enjoys boating, fishing and spending time with his grandchildren. When he's not busy traveling for us, he enjoys the occasional jaunt to Las Vegas or to the west coast with his wife, Betty. He is also an active member of the Shriners (Kosair Temple, Louisville) and has been since 1972. He likes to watch sports - particularly college basketball and football. His favorite team is the University of Kentucky Wildcats, of course.

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J. Allen Glover

As the firm’s chief railroad accident investigator, Allen provides invaluable expertise in the preparation of our FELA and grade crossing cases. Allen started his railroad career as a Conductor with CSX Transportation and its predecessor railroads and finished up by being employed by the United Transportation Union as Vice-General Chairman for 9 years in the Union’s Jacksonville, Florida offices. He had previously served in several elected positions for UTU Local 674 in Augusta, Georgia, eventually rising to the position of Local Chairman for UTU Local 674 before moving to Jacksonville. As a result, he is knowledgeable about labor agreements and procedures, safety issues, and investigative techniques. One of the truly unique skills that Allen brings to our law firm is his understanding of the Railway Labor Act and the appeal process that too often is used by Railroads to attempt to fire and otherwise intimidate workers who are injured on the job.

After retirement from the Union, Allen returned to his home in Augusta where he resides with his wife Jackie. At that time, he could have done just about anything he wanted. He chose to work with Designated Legal Counsel Michael Warshauer because after observing just about every lawyer in the South who does FELA work, Allen is convinced that he can best continue to serve the needs of railroaders by working with Michael. With our firm, Allen knows that the railroaders he has devoted his life to helping will get aggressive, yet conscientious and caring legal help delivered in an ethical manner.

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Jackie Baugh

After growing up in La Grange, Georgia, Jackie attended and graduated from Fort Valley State University on an athletic scholarship. After graduating, he had an unsuccessful try out with the Atlanta Falcons, and moved to Griffin, Georgia. In Griffin, Jackie taught school and coached football for 4 years. In 1974, Jackie went to work for Norfolk Southern and joined the UTU where he has been active representing the membership in their relationship with the railroad since 1983. Jackie's passions are sports, politics, computers and music. He is extremely proud of his two children. His son is a college senior and his daughter recently obtained her doctorate degree. Disabled from railroad work, and anxious to continue to help his railroad brothers, Jackie joined our law firm in January of 1999 as an investigator. He married Alethia in December 2006 and they have settled down in LaGrange.

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Albert "Skeeter" Biddix

Skeeter started as an investigator with our firm in December 2002. He worked at Norfolk Southern for over 30 years before retiring. Skeeter was president of UTU Local 782, in Asheville, NC and was the Conductors Local Chairman for 16 years.. He has been married to Nancy since 1963 and has one daughter, and two grandsons. He enjoys golfing in his spare time as well as helping his fellow railroaders.

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Contact Us

At Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C., our civil justice attorneys are dedicated to pursuing full and just compensation for victims of catastrophic personal injury.  We know that these victims may be intimidated by the prospect of bringing their cases to trial, especially when they are fighting large corporations such as insurance companies, international manufacturers, and healthcare conglomerates.  However, our experience as civil justice attorneys taking on these entities makes us uniquely qualified to pursue these claims for our clients.  If you or someone you love has suffered a catastrophic personal injury as a result of another party’s negligence, we urge you to contact Warshauer Poe & Thornton, P.C. today to have your claim reviewed at no cost to you.

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