Accident & Injury

Octavio “Tav” Gomez is a managing partner at The Consumer Lawyers. Previously he served as the Head of the Consumer Protection Department of Morgan & Morgan. He has represented Thousands of across the Nation. Mr. Gomez has earned a reputation for aggressive and dedicated representation in complex civil litigation. As an attorney, he is constantly striving to become a more educated and informed legal professional, and readily attends legal seminars and conferences to ensure his continuing legal education. Tav Gomez and his consumer team at Morgan and Morgan were recognized as “The Consumer Protection Group of the year” by Law360. Originally from Colombia, South America, Mr. Gomez moved to the United States as a child. He was raised in in Fort Lauderdale, FL and attended Florida State University for his undergraduate studies. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, he went on to earn his Juris Doctorate at the Florida State University College of Law. While attending law school, Mr. Gomez served as an intern with the Agency for Health Care Administration. After graduating law school, Mr. Gomez began working as a state prosecutor at the State Attorney’s office in Tampa, Florida. As a prosecuting attorney, he handled a multitude of felony cases, including habitual felony offender, 10-20-Life cases, grand theft, and trafficking cases. Mr. Gomez moved on from the State Attorney’s office in 2003 to become a named partner with Taracks, Gomez & Rickman, practicing primarily in the area of criminal defense and personal injury. During his tenure at the firm, he handled high profile cases including 1st-degree murder, vehicular homicide, complex mortgage fraud, extradition and tax fraud. Mr. Gomez has also handled civil and administrative cases involving the Federal Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Gomez’s became the National Head of the Consumer Protection at Morgan & Morgan and focuses primarily on Federal Litigation, on the FCRA, FDCPA, TCPA, and other consumer issues. He uses this extensive knowledge and experience in the courtroom, all to the benefit of his clients. Mr. Gomez has developed an invaluable understanding of the discovery phase and trial preparation. He has represented high profile cases in both Federal and State Court. Mr. Gomez has been involved in some of the largest individual settlement agreements in FCRA and TCPA cases around the nation. He has a deep understanding of the policies and procedures employed by most banks and debt collectors and has mastered credit reporting as instituted by Congress in relation to the FCRA. Mr. Gomez is a member of the Florida Bar, the Georgia Bar, The Pennsylvania Bar and numerous Federal Courts throughout the Country. He is fluent in Spanish and has served as lead attorney in more than 60 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials, in both Federal and State Courts. With over 20 years of legal experience, he handles cases with strategic aggressiveness to maximize case results.

Keith opened his own firm in July of 2003 where he strives every day to offer every client the best legal representation with the best customer service. He understands no one wants to be injured especially due to another’s negligence that is why Keith and his staff are committed to doing everything they can in their power to assist their clients with a full recovery. Keith has been the managing partner since 2003 and is assisted by several great lawyers, paralegals and staff.

Practice Areas: Insurance Litigation, Bad Faith, Products Liability, Ciguatera Poisoning, Establishing Insurance Coverage As one of the few Triple Board Certified attorneys, Mr. Stewart’s practice involves complex litigation in both Federal and State Courts, including helping individuals and businesses who’s insurance companies have abandon them. Mr. Stewart also assists individuals who have been poisoned with a fish borne toxin known as Ciguatera. In addition to receiving dozens of multi-million dollar awards, he received the largest collectible punitive damage verdict in State history, the largest Ciguatera settlement in the Country, what was reported as the largest Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy verdict in Florida, and the largest personal injury verdict ever in Okeechobee County. He also took on the automobile insurance industry for its practice of under-reimbursing health care providers. Mr. Stewart was the first attorney in many years to defeat GEICO in a Powell type Insurance Bad Faith case. Mr. Stewart has been recognized with awards by many organizations for the work he has done, including as a Florida Super Lawyer (given to the top 5% of attorneys) since 2007, Top 100 Trial Lawyer by National Trial Lawyers since 2013, Top Lawyer in Florida by The Legal Network since 2013, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 1996 and he and his firm have attained the highest rating possible, AV, with the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory of exemplary lawyers. He has published and frequently speaks to lawyers, paralegals and law students across the Country. He has taught several courses at Stetson Law School. He also has served as an Adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. Mr. Stewart stays active in his community; including Harmony House, the Miami Project, Habitat for Humanity, The American Cancer Society and public television and radio. However, he has spent most of his time as a member of Palm Beach County Special Olympics’ Steering Committee, where he coordinated the community volunteers for more than ten (10) years. With a proven track record as a trial attorney and multiple a significant victories to his credit, Mr. Stewart’s career has been dedicated to the pursuit of justice. If you have any questions regarding a matter for which you believe Mr. Stewart can assist, he welcomes you to contact him at TStewart@ForTheInjured.com.

Jim T. Bennett has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1998. Jim graduated in the top ten of his class from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. Jim’s primary practice areas are Domestic Relations/Family Law, Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, Criminal Defense, and Wills and Probate. In his spare time, Jim has taught legal studies courses at Valdosta State University. Jim has served as a volunteer youth baseball coach for the last 20 years. He is a member of Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Valdosta. Jim is married to Lori, a teacher at Lowndes High School, and they have three sons: Austin, Sam, and Cole.

Bruce is a native of Brooklyn New York. After graduating Howard University school of Law in 2009, Bruce decided to continue his purpose to serve as a social engineer. Bruce fell in love with law because of the opportunity to serve, motivate and to improve the community. His love for people coupled with his desire to be great and gift of passionate advocacy allow Bruce to stand out amongst other distinguished attorneys. Since 2010 Bruce Hawkins, Jr. has maintained a reputation as an attorney you can trust. Bruce is the managing attorney of Hawkins Law, LLC, located in Gwinnett County, Georgia. This general practice law firm offers clients representation in the areas of DUI and criminal defense, personal injury, family law and estate planning. Through passionate advocacy and honest communication, Hawkins Law, LLC turns clients into family once case at a time.

R. Brandon Galloway is a practicing lawyer in the state of Georgia where he currently works at Galloway & Galloway, P.C. He received his bachelors degree from the University of Georgia. Mr.Galloway later received his JD from Houston College formerly known as the South Texas College of Law in 1998. He has a great deal of experience and practices a wide variety of law including Family Law, Personal Injury, Wills & Probate, Bankruptcy, and Criminal Defense. Contact R. Brandon Galloway today to get the legal help you need.

John Dixon grew up outside Nashville, Tennessee, but has called Atlanta home for over twelve years. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1997 and the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2001, where he finished in the top 10% of his class. John is licensed to practice law in Georgia, Tennessee and New York, and has over 18 years of experience representing all types of clients, including Fortune 100 companies and small business owners; however, today John finds it most rewarding to serve clients facing legal challenges in criminal matters and personal injury claims in Georgia. John has a 10 year-old son and 8 year-old daughter in Atlanta Public Schools, and enjoys spending his spare time trying to keep up with them.

Kimberly L. Copeland, founder of Kimberly L. Copeland & Associates in Jesup, Georgia, has become one of the most respected criminal lawyers in Georgia. Her impeccable two-decades track record and zeal to win cases have made her and her firm a formidable brand. Her talent as a courtroom litigator has been appreciated by both clients and adversaries. Kimberly is known for her focused deliberation to achieve only one result – a win. Kimberly L. Copeland completed her undergraduate work at Florida International University, Miami, Florida, where she received her B.S. (1991) with a major in Criminal Justice and Legal studies with a minor in Political Science. She went on to graduate with honors from Texas Southern University/ Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 1994. She specializes in criminal, civil, family, personal injury, immigration, international and estate law and has been practicing for more than 17 years. Currently, she caters to Southern Georgia and is licensed to practice law in all state and federal courts in Georgia and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. When not in her lawyer’s hat, Kimberly L. Copeland loves to read, travel, and spend time with her three children.

Alan Hamilton focuses his law practice on significant personal injury cases, wrongful death, and business torts. Alan has helped numerous clients obtain seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements during his career. He has represented individuals and appeared before courts in twelve different states. Prior to co-founding Shiver Hamilton, Alan practiced with a nationally recognized trial firm and served as a federal judicial law clerk. Since its founding in 2011, Shiver Hamilton has obtained a series of outstanding jury verdicts, many of them far exceeding the insurance company’s best offer. Alan decided early on to dedicate his career to representing injured victims of negligence and corporate wrongdoing, turning down multiple job offers from corporate defense law firms to pursue a law practice representing plaintiffs.