Slip & Fall Accident

Steven F. Fairlie has been designated a Pennsylvania “SuperLawyer” in both Personal Injury and Criminal Defense and placed on their lists of the Top 100 Lawyers in Pennsylvania for more than a decade straight, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Top Rated Attorneys in Pennsylvania as published in The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the The Legal Intelligencer, The National Advocacy for DUI Defense Top 100 Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Attorneys, and is a holder of Martindale-Hubbell’s prestigious “AV” rating and Client Distinction Award, designating preeminent lawyers based upon legal ability, ethics, and client satisfaction. He has been rated a perfect 10.0/10.0 on AVVO.COM and is one of a just 35 attorneys in Pennsylvania to be named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer in 2006. He has been named a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (awarded to less than one-half percent of judges, lawyers, and scholars in America), received the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys Top 10 Attorney Award, and been named a Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer by the American Society of Legal Advocates. He has won many other awards for his trial work that are simply too numerous to list here. He has successfully handled numerous civil (slip and fall, auto accidents, land development litigation, etc.) and criminal trials (narcotics, DUI, capital murder, robbery, rape, etc.). Prior to private practice, he worked on the Narcotics Team and the Major Crimes Team of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2000. He successfully argued for the death penalty in 1999 and was lead prosecutor in a case involving $55 million of cocaine. Subsequently, as a defense attorney, he took the appeal of a client sentenced to death and convinced the prosecutor to vacate the death sentence. He used forensic tire print evidence to prove another client not guilty of attempted murder. In yet another case he uncovered evidence which reduced the offer on a robbery case from 25–50 years down to 2 years probation. He represented one individual charged with 3 separate charges of DUI and had the first case dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing, the second accepted into the A.R.D. program, and the third case dismissed after a trial judge granted suppression of all evidence in the case. Mr. Fairlie has obtained not-guilty verdicts in major jury trials involving shootings, burglaries, rape, etc. despite positive eyewitness identifications of his clients. On appeal, he has successfully argued for reversal of a death sentence in one case and a sentence of 70 years in another case. Recent successful plea negotiations include 2 1/2 to 5 years in the case of a man who struck his wife in the head with a hammer and strangled her and 6 to 12 years in a First Degree Murder case. Mr. Fairlie went to trial on a case involving more than $50 million of land transactions and settled the case in the second week of trial. He has obtained six-figure settlements in numerous personal injury cases, including car accident, back injury, and dog bite cases. Mr. Fairlie often serves as a speaker or course planner for various organizations such as the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual (2007–2025) Criminal Law Symposium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Montgomery and Bucks County Bar Associations, and various law enforcement training programs. He also teaches numerous other continuing legal education seminars for lawyers every year. He earned his B.A. in Government and Law from Lafayette College in 1991 and his J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law in 1995 where he was a member of the Appellate Moot Court Board, the Environmental Law Journal, and a Chairman of the Student Bar Association. He has been Co-Chairman or Chairman of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Criminal Defense Committee since 2001, a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committe and Trial Lawyers’ Section, a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee and Civil Litigation Section, a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Hotline Panel of Experts Committee, a member of the Montgomery County Sexual Assault Task Force, a member of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and an Associate Member of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Mr. Fairlie’s areas of practice include personal injury, car accidents, criminal defense, and DUI defense. Mr. Fairlie enjoys scuba-diving, hunting, fishing and coaching youth sports.

With decades of legal and leadership experience, Steve has built a distinguished career in personal injury, consumer protection, and commercial litigation. A seasoned trial attorney, he has handled over 100 jury trials, earning recognition as a Texas Super Lawyer (2004–2018) and Fort Worth Texas Top Attorney (2003–2017). Steve has served as President of the Tarrant County Bar Association, the Tarrant County Trial Lawyers Association, and the Fort Worth Jaycees. His dedication to the legal community and public service extends to his tenure as an elected director of the State Bar of Texas and Chairman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. Respected for his professionalism and advocacy, Steve continues to make a lasting impact in the courtroom and beyond.

Mr. Pierret attended the University of Dallas on full academic scholarship, obtaining a degree in Philosophy, and went straight to law school at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. His first job as an attorney brought him to Fort Worth as a briefing attorney for Justices Clyde Ashworth and David Farris on the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, and he has remained in Tarrant County for the past 35 years. Mr. Pierret’s practice has always revolved around tort law, both plaintiff and defense, and he has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1991 and Personal Injury Law since 1998. He received a Top 10 Attorney Award in 2020 from the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys, and he will devote his time at Bailey & Galyen to representing those who have been injured by someone else’s negligence.

Kern Lewis joined Bailey & Galyen in 2020, bringing extensive experience in brain injury cases. He understands the devastating impact that a brain injury can have on someone’s life, and he has dedicated his career to fighting against the negligence of others. “There is hardly any injury more devastating than a traumatic brain injury. An injury to a person’s back, arms or legs is terrible – but a brain injury is an injury to the very core of who a person is,” says Lewis. “A brain injury impacts their memory, their personality, and their ability to think.” In a recent traumatic brain injury case – Lewis lived with his client for several days to be able to completely understand and experience the impact the injury had on her life. “When I told her story to the jury at trial – I was able to do so as someone who experienced it – not just heard about it. It makes a huge difference.” His client received the largest jury verdict ever awarded in that court. But even after the trial and the money was paid, he continued to work with that client and her family members to make sure she was taken care of. Lewis’ skills as a trial lawyer have earned him local and national recognition. He is double board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law and Consumer and Commercial Law, a distinction only 15 lawyers have obtained. Lewis has also been inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) with the rank of Associate and has an AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest level of professional excellence. He has been repeatedly named to the Texas Super Lawyers list, which is an honor less than 5 percent of lawyers obtain. In 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018 he was named a “Top 100” Trial Lawyer in Texas by the National Trial Lawyers Association. He was also named to the National Trial Lawyer’s list of Top 25 Brain Injury Lawyers in 2018.

Paul has a trial practice focused on personal injury cases. He has earned experience in all facets of trial from preliminary hearings through trial and appeal. He has tried cases to verdict in the state and federal courts of Texas and has argued appeals before Texas and federal courts of appeal. Paul started his legal career with the law firm of Worsham, Forsysthe, Sampels & Wooldridge, L.L.P., a venerable Dallas firm started in the 1930s that focused on representation of railroads, utilities, and industrial clients. When Worsham Forsythe merged with Hunton & Williams, L.L.P. in 2002, a 100-year old Virginia-based firm, Paul joined as a litigation partner. Over the next seven years, Hunton & Williams grew to a firm with 1000 lawyers, 150 of which practiced in Dallas. In 2009, Paul left the international firm of Hunton & Williams to start his own firm, Wickes Law, PLLC. He now has the flexibility to represent individual clients and bring his years of experience to help injured victims.

Brianne is a Founding Partner of her own firm, Falgien Warr & Iyer, P.C., and she specializes in personal injury and workers’ compensation. She and her partners desperately wanted to build a personal injury and workers’ compensation firm that focused more on taking care of its clients and devoting extensive time and attention to each case. She admittedly is a perfectionist and can now properly work up each case, and spend as much time with each of her clients as she desires, in order to achieve even better results for her clients than she was able to do while working for former employers. Her firm is built on integrity, kindness, laughter, happiness, hard and diligent work, and Brianne’s goal is to get her clients back to their Colorado athletic and outdoor activities that Colorado folks crave and count on to survive and thrive. After all, nothing is more important than spending time with family, friends, participating in activities we love, and making memories. These passions are highly affected when you are injured. Your life gets turned upside down. You can count on Brianne and her team to be your compass, as they will guide you back to health and happiness.

Alan C. Shafner was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He graduated from the University of Colorado with Distinction in 1975, and received his law degree from The Houston College of Law, Houston, Texas in 1978. After graduating from law school, Alan was a trial attorney for the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office in Golden, Colorado from 1979 through June 1983. During this time, Alan was the lead prosecutor on several high profile felony cases, including murder and sexual assault cases. In 1983, Alan joined the law firm of Fogel, Keating and Wagner as an associate, and later became a named partner. After 28 successful years, Alan opened his own personal injury law firm. In 2011, The Law Offices of Alan C. Shafner was formed, serving a variety of personal injury litigation cases.

John Lake is an experienced, knowledgeable and compassionate attorney who is well-equipped to take care of you and your case. You will be well-advised regarding your legal rights, so you can confidently move forward with your pursuits.