Charleston, WV

Jan Dils

Jan Dils is the firm’s founder. She opened Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, in Parkersburg, West Virginia, in 1994 as the solo attorney/employee. Today, she has a skilled and compassionate team of more than 150 serving clients throughout West Virginia, with offices in Parkersburg, Beckley, Charleston, Huntington and Logan, as well as one additional office in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her passion is fighting for people who are all too often left helpless at the hands of corporations, insurance companies, Big Pharma, and government red tape. Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, has 25 years of experience in all forms of Social Security and Disability benefits, Veteran’s Benefits and Personal Injury cases. Jan is a graduate of Marietta College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both Marketing and Economics. She then went on to receive her Master’s in Business Administration in 1991, and her law degree from West Virginia University in 1994. She is a member of the West Virginia Bar, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), and the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates. Recognitions include but are not limited to Who’s Who - Top Lawyer, National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys - Nationally Ranked: Top 10 Attorney Award, and National Trial Lawyers - Top 100 Trial Lawyers. The culture of any successful business is shaped from the top down. Jan has cultivated an environment of work pride, compassion and community service. She believes in work/life balance. For her that means spending time with her two boys and husband and hitting the gym at 5:00 a.m.

Harry Deitzler

Harry Deitzler has been a practicing trial attorney since 1976. He is currently Of Counsel for Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler, PLLC, focusing on severe personal injury and death cases, including motor vehicle collisions, defective products, unsafe workplaces, and class actions. He is also known for his work as a West Virginia motorcycle lawyer and his expertise in traumatic brain injury litigation. He was recognized as 'Trial Lawyer of the Year' for his work in the Dupont C8 groundwater pollution case.

Bernard Layne III

Bernard Layne III, a founding partner of Mani Ellis & Layne, PLLC, grew up in West Virginia and was instilled with values of hard work and education. He became a successful legal advocate for injured working-class individuals in West Virginia and Ohio. He earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Charleston, where he was recognized as the top Political Science student and served as Student Body President. He holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from The Ohio University and a Juris Doctor from The University of Dayton School of Law (1999). His career has focused on protecting the rights of injured and disadvantaged citizens, successfully litigating against corporate entities in cases involving asbestos, coal mining negligence, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and product liability. In 2021, he helped expand the firm to Columbus, OH. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the West Virginia Association for Justice (WVAJ) in 2005 and served as its president from 2013-2014. He is also a member of the American Association for Justice and the Southern Trial Lawyers organization. He was appointed to the University of Charleston Board of Trustees and named Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell (2013) and has been recognized by West Virginia Super Lawyers since 2018. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Stuart Calwell

As a founding member of Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC and its predecessor The Calwell Practice, LC, Stuart's main practice areas include environmental law, toxic torts, pesticide litigation, contaminated property remediation, personal injury, medical malpractice, asbestos litigation, and employment law. With more than 45 years of legal experience, Stuart has established himself as an elite and fearless legal advocate. He is admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in West Virginia and New York as well as before the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The firm practices law across the nation and has litigated, or is currently litigating, cases in AR, CA, FL, IL, IN, KY, NY, OH, PA, SC, TX, and VA. Additionally, Stuart has been appointed Class Counsel by both federal and state court judges in complex class action litigation involving communities contaminated with toxic chemicals and the chemical contamination of a large public water treatment facility affecting more than 200,000 residents. Under Stuart's direction, the firm has earned distinction by taking on cases driven by principle and without regard to monetary values in the quest for justice for individuals and communities. An accomplished writer and strategist, Stuart has authored and published numerous articles and papers about chemical exposure and workplace accidents. He has tried dozens of cases to verdict, including an 11-month federal court jury trial. He also won an 8-week jury trial against coal and timbering companies for causing the flooding of more than 2,000 coalfield residents in Southern West Virginia. Notably, while a law student, Stuart was on the team that won the 1973 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C., competing against 94 teams worldwide.

Timothy Bailey

Practicing since 1991, Tim Bailey centers his practice on the dignity and safety of workers. Born and raised in the heart of coal country, he understands the dangers in workplaces and the devastation those dangers can bring to workers and their families. He brings that blue collar background to clients seeking justice in Georgia and throughout the country. He has handled major cases such as the Upper Big Branch, Sago and Aracoma Mine Disasters and the Ghent Little General Store Explosion. He vigorously represents the families of workers and others who have been seriously injured or killed as a result of wrongful acts. He has represented clients from states throughout the country. He is licensed to practice in Georgia, Kentucky and West Virginia. He is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Kentucky Association for Justice and he is a past president of the West Virginia Association for Justice (WVAJ) and continues to serve on its Board of Governors. Nationally, he is a member of the American Association for Justice and is a member of its national Board of Governors. He is a member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Bobby Warner Esq.

Bobby Warner founded Warner Law Offices, PLLC in 2000. Since then, he has earned widespread recognition as one of the top trial lawyers in West Virginia and the United States. His firm has grown from a small office serving clients in Charleston, West Virginia to having a second office in Denver, Colorado and serving clients nationwide in 50 states. Bobby has been recognized for his skills in the courtroom, leading to numerous seven and eight figure results for his clients. Most recently, he obtained a $12 million result for an injured worker and a $13 million result for a burn victim. Bobby has received many accolades throughout the years from both his peers in the legal community, as well as the media. The National Trial Lawyers association named Bobby a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and he has been selected as a Member of the Nation’s Top One Percent. Additionally, he has been named a Best Attorneys of America by Rue Ratings, which also named Warner Law Offices to its Best Law Firms of America. Most recently, the firm was selected as Newsweek’s Premier Law Firm, an honor limited to 13 firms across the country. In addition to national recognition, Bobby has earned honors from business leaders in West Virginia. In a statewide attorney survey, he has been selected as a West Virginia Super Lawyer for ten consecutive years. Bobby has been named Best Attorney in the Charleston Newspapers on multiple occasions and his firm has been named the Best Law Firm in the Valley. The editors of West Virginia Executive Magazine also named him West Virginia Young Gun in 2014, marking the first time the award was given to a trial lawyer. Often motivated by injustice and a sense of fair play, he has sought to even the playing field whether his client is an individual or a large corporation. His work has resulted in multiple front page and feature articles in the Charleston Gazette, The Daily Mail, The Dominion Post, Clarksburg Exponent and other newspapers throughout West Virginia. He has also been a guest on local, statewide and national broadcasts related to his legal cases. Bobby has a well-known reputation for giving back to the community. Early in his career he started a booster seat program for needy families after he represented a family whose child was injured in a car accident because the family was unable to afford a car seat. Since that time, more than 1,000 booster seats have been donated to families throughout West Virginia. For approximately 10 years, the Warner Family Foundation has been a generous supporter of programs and special projects in the region, providing much-needed sponsorships to help non-profit organizations achieve their goals. Bobby and Warner Law Offices were awarded the West Virginia State Senate Community Award in 2013 for their extraordinary efforts and commitment to serving and protecting the citizens of West Virginia. Aside from the practice of law, Bobby is an avid outdoorsman. The experiences he shared with his family encouraged him to create Beyond The Backyard, a charitable youth foundation that promotes outdoors sports, such as hunting, fishing and camping. This small grass roots effort has grown to an organization with over 16,000 members.

Timothy Bailey

The descendant of three generations of coal miners, Tim Bailey was born in Mullens and raised in Man, West Virginia. Growing up in coal country shaped his desire to help the families hold those responsible for causing injuries and death to their loved ones accountable for their actions. During his legal career he has handled such prominent West Virginia cases as the Upper Big Branch, Sago and Aracoma Mine Disasters and the Ghent Little General Store Explosion. He recovered losses suffered by West Virginia citizens in the Freedom Water Spill and was also chosen as one of the attorneys to represent the CWVRAA when the Yeager Airport runway safety area, sitting atop the largest reinforced soil structure in North America, collapsed. He has been appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of West Virginia to represent the State’s interests in several cases. He was also selected to represent the West Virginia State Treasurer in landmark litigation to recover death benefits wrongfully held by several insurers. He currently serves on the West Virginia State Bar Board of Governors. He is a past president of the West Virginia Association for Justice (WVAJ) and continues to serve on its Board of Governors. Nationally, he is a member of the American Association for Justice and is a member of its national Board of Governors. He carries an “AV” Martindale-Hubbell rating for highest ethics and legal ability and was again selected as a West Virginia Super Lawyer. He is licensed to practice law in West Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia. He is currently the managing member of Bailey, Javins and Carter, LC, with offices in Charleston and Morgantown, West Virginia, and Atlanta, Georgia. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from West Virginia University where he served as student body treasurer and Summit of Mountain Honorary. In 2017, he was appointed to serve on WVU’s Board of Governors. Philanthropically, he was recently named to the Board of Directors for the Clay Center. He has served on the Make-A-Wish Foundation for Southern West Virginia and as a member of the CAMC Women’s and Children’s Hospital Parent Board. He considers himself the happiest man in the world to have married Erika Dotson in 1993. Together they have two wonderful children, Peri, a practicing attorney in Atlanta, and Liam, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.