Personal Injury

Chris Pence is a native of South Charleston, West Virginia and a graduate of Marshall University and the West Virginia University College of Law. In his practice, Mr. Pence focuses on litigation, where he has represented individuals and companies throughout the United States. He has significant experience defending coal operators and other mining companies in civil litigation and administrative proceedings pending before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission and the West Virginia Board of Appeals. In this capacity, he defends citations issued by the Mine, Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) and West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training (WVOMHST). He also responds to accidents and represents clients in connection with investigations conducted by the various enforcement agencies. In addition to his work for the mining industry, Mr. Pence has also represented clients in cases alleging professional negligence, insurance coverage disputes, commercial contract disputes, auto accidents, premises liability and other personal injury actions. Mr. Pence has also represented victims of industrial accidents and their families, including the estate of a man who received fatal injuries as a result of an explosion at a natural gas liquids storage site. He has also represented individuals in actions against medical providers under the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act, as well as employees in claims against their employers for wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act, among other things. Finally, he regularly represents victims of automobile accidents. The Firm regularly accepts these engagements on a contingency basis. In addition to his civil practice, Mr. Pence’s Firm represents individuals in high asset divorce cases and, when called upon to do so, represents these individuals in child support, custody issues, and other family law matters. Mr. Pence has been designated as a West Virginia Rising Star in general litigation by the Super Lawyers publication for several years. He has served as a speaker at the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance/Pennsylvania Coal Mining Institute of America Conference, the West Virginia Coal Association, and various legal seminars. Mr. Pence received the Order of the Coif, Patrick Duffy Koontz Leadership Award, Paul L. Selby Law Scholarship and the Steptoe & Johnson Law Scholarship at the College of Law.

Chip Cossé is a highly accomplished personal injury attorney who founded the Cossé Law Firm in 2013, has tried numerous jury and bench trials across multiple states, maintains a national practice in tire defect litigation, and is passionate about advocating for his clients’ rights. A member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, only granted to a small percentage of attorneys that have been the lead attorney resolving one or more cases for at least $2,000,000 Chip Cossé graduated from the Paul M. Hebert School of Law at LSU in 1994 and thereafter was partners with his father for 19 years, gaining extensive jury trial experience across a wide range of practice areas. In 2013, he founded the Cossé Law Firm on the premise that he would create the best personal injury law firm possible; a firm that would make its clients proud to have them as their attorneys. For nearly 30 years, Chip has tried numerous jury and bench trials in multiple states, handling auto accident cases, as well as complex litigation involving products liability and traumatic brain injuries. He is licensed in Louisiana and has been admitted pro hac vice in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. He maintains a national practice in the area of tire defect litigation and has successfully handled cases against Continental, Michelin, BF Goodrich and Cooper tire companies. His passion and enthusiasm for the rights of his clients is unsurpassed and he will never be outworked. Chip graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School in 1987, having served as its class President for all four years of high school and attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas on an academic scholarship. He returned home after two years to finish his undergraduate degree at LSU, majoring in history and minoring in French. Chip is the proud father of two daughters, one of whom that plans to be the third generation Cossé lawyer. Chip is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Louisiana Association for Justice. He is admitted to practice in every state court in Louisiana, in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Sean Walsh grew up in Denver, CO and graduated from the University of Colorado business school in 2000. He graduated from the University of Denver College of Law in 2003, passed the Colorado State Bar and has been practicing in Denver, CO ever since. He is a trial attorney who specializes in motor vehicle accidents, personal injury, medical malpractice, and other forms of civil litigation. He is an active member in the Colorado and Denver Bar Association, Colorado Trial Lawyer’s Association as well as the National organization of the American Association of Justice. Sean Walsh, along with his partner, Brian Lampert, formed Lampert & Walsh, LLC to battle the Insurance Companies and force them to fairly compensate victims harmed by the negligence of others.

Jeffrey Spencer founded the Spencer Law Firm in 2000 with the goal of helping individuals who need legal representation in complex litigation against large corporations and insurance companies. Since that time the Spencer Law Firm has recovered over $120 Million for clients and class members in cases ranging from employment and consumer class action litigation to individual personal injury cases. Mr. Spencer is an experienced litigator and has tried several cases to verdict. He argues frequently before the Court of Appeals and has published opinions from the California State Court of Appeal and the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Spencer has had great success litigating difficult high damages cases against some of the largest corporations and law firms in the country. At the same time he has maintained a small firm environment where clients always have an open channel of communication with the attorney directly responsible for their case. As a testament to the firm’s success, over 90% of the Spencer Law Firm’s cases come from client referrals. Mr. Spencer also receives frequent referrals of class action and civil litigation cases from other attorneys and is regularly consulted by other law firms regarding class action, personal injury, employment, consumer and business matters. Mr. Spencer is a member of the California State Bar and handles cases throughout the State of California and is admitted to the United States District Court for the State of California, Northern, Central , Southern and Eastern Districts and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Spencer is currently handling numerous class actions and individual actions throughout the State of California in State and Federal Court. Education:

R. Steve Bowden grew up in Liberty, North Carolina, a product of the public schools. He was the first in his family to get a secondary degree. He attended Wake Forest University on an athletic scholarship. There he lettered in football, was named to the All ACC team in 1971 and played on Wake’s first conference championship football team. At Wake Forest, Steve met Carlyn Jeffries (a native of Burlington, NC) who he married in 1974; they have two daughters, Lori and Jennifer. After Steve's graduation from WFU, he taught school for two years at the Forsyth County Public Schools. Thereafter, he went to the Norman Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University. He graduated as a member of the law school’s first class. Steve is in private practice (R. Steve Bowden & Associates, PC) handling civil litigation. His primary areas of practice are Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation. Steve’s wife, Carlyn, is a two-time graduate of Wake Forest with a BA degree and an MBA. She currently manages the law firm. His daughter, Jennifer, is an attorney in practice with R. Steve Bowden & Associates. She graduated from the Elon School of Law. His daughter, Lori earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is currently employed by Ross Dress For Less in New York City.

Kurt D. Lloyd is a jury trial lawyer based in Chicago who represents victims of personal injury or wrongful death. He is smart, tough, and never gives up on his client’s case. Kurt works tirelessly to protect and advance his clients’ right to a trial by jury. With over 30 years of experience and 70 plus jury trials, he has won more than $355 million in jury verdicts and settlements from insurance companies and corporations to help his injured clients recover. Kurt was born and raised in the Chicago land area. He was the first and only member of his family to go to college. Kurt’s father never finished high school and always worked two jobs until his death. At his funeral, Kurt said: “his father’s work ethic gave him the drive to succeed as a trial lawyer.” Kurt is the founder of the Lloyd Law Group, Ltd., a plaintiff’s personal injury and wrongful death law firm. Kurt believes that every client’s case should be worked up as if the case will go to trial. By preparing every case for trial, the value of each client’s case is maximized. Kurt has been nationally recognized as a jury trial lawyer by the American Association for Justice, which awarded him the Citation of Excellence medal. After prosecuting 50 civil jury trials, the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates invited Kurt to become a member. Kurt recently wrote the book On Jury Selection for Illinois lawyers. Kurt often says: “If you don’t pick the right jury, you’ll lose your case before you start.” He wrote the book to help young trial lawyers representing injured clients understand how to select a jury in Illinois courts. On his blog JurorDeseletion.com, Kurt also posts about the jury selection process, which he believes is really about the art of juror deselection. His Blog is followed by hundreds of Illinois lawyers. In his medical malpractice cases, Kurt is driven to maintain and promote patient safety. He has won by jury trial or settled exceptional cases which resulted in patient safety improvements.

Dan has been practicing law since 1986. He began his career with the District Attorney’s Office followed by a term with the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Later, he became in-house counsel for an OTC securities registered Broker / Dealer. Prior to the formation of Levin Jacobson Japha, P.C. he counseled clients in private practice for many years. Dan has extensive experience in and focuses his practice on counseling businesses and handling partnership disputes; corporate law; private placement financing; regulatory compliance; business succession matters; mergers, acquisitions; employment issues; corporate and regulatory compliance; health care provider law; wills, estate and probate administration matters; divorce, custody family law and domestic partnership issues; personal injury accidents; and administrative law matters. He holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado and a J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law. Dan is a member of the Trust and Estate, Family Law, and Business Law sections of the Denver, Colorado, and American Bar Associations, has been admitted to the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He has written numerous articles on business law matters and has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, and represents a wide range of companies, commercial enterprises, medical providers, business owners and individual clients. Accomplishments over his 30-year career include obtaining a multi-million dollar jury verdict against a major telecommunications company; obtaining a million-dollar business saving verdict on behalf of a family-owned metal fabricating company; achieving a six-figure settlement in a restaurant personal injury case involving dangerously hot coffee spilling on a customer; negotiating numerous multi-million dollar private placement financings, mergers and acquisitions; negotiating and litigating numerous company partnership disputes and settlements, and negotiating purchase, product and supply contracts on behalf of many prodigious businesses.

Miami lawyer Randy A. Bryant has served clients in south Florida since 1998. The areas of law in which he works — personal injury, wills and trusts, probate administration & litigation, and guardianships — potentially involve emotions, injury, family and finances. Attorney Bryant handles personal injury and wrongful death claims, probate litigation concerns, elder abuse recovery matters, will contests, and more.