Gainesville, GA

Gary Martin Hays

Gary Martin Hays is the founding partner of Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C. With over 35 years of experience, he is an award-winning lawyer and a nationally recognized safety advocate. He has authored multiple bestselling legal books and recovered over $1 billion in settlements and verdicts for injured victims and their families since 1993.

Kate Cook

The daughter of an Air Force Colonel, Kate was born in K.I. Sawyer AFB in 1977. Living several places as a child, including Alaska and Germany, she graduated from Liberty High School in Colorado Springs in 1995, and then attended The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee, largely because she had not yet lived in the southeastern region of the United States. Kate graduated magna cum laude from Sewanee in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian language and literature and in 1997 studied urban housing privatization in Russia as a Biehl Grant Recipient. She was then invited to study at the Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia as a Woodruff Scholar, and completed her J.D. magna cum laude in 2002, at which time she was inducted into the Brainerd F. Currie Honors Society. Upon graduating law school, Kate served as the first law clerk for the Honorable Clay D. Land, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Columbus Division. She then practiced law for nine years with the national trial firm of Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP in their Columbus, Georgia office before forming Cook Law Group, LLC in 2013 with her husband, Matthew E. Cook, an acclaimed trial lawyer. During her career, Kate has authored or co-authored numerous legal articles, and has argued cases in state and federal trial courts, as well as the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Kate is also an adjunct professor of Mercer Law School.

David M. Van Sant

David M. Van Sant received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Kennesaw State University and his Juris Doctor with honors from Georgia State University College of Law in 2003. He focuses his practice on representing individuals who have suffered injuries through the fault of others, including car accidents, motorcycle wrecks, tractor-trailer accidents, nursing home neglect, wrongful death cases, and other personal injury cases. He is an experienced trial lawyer nationally recognized as one of the best personal injury trial lawyers in the country.

Matthew E. Cook

Matt grew up in Northeast Georgia the son of a single mom. While he and his mother had very little worldly means, they had grit, determination and a commitment to decency and fairness. Matt’s upbringing gave him a healthy respect for hard work and for standing up for the underdog. Matt spent three years working in cotton mills and other manual labor jobs before graduating college and attending law school. Matt was a member of the Law Review and graduated 3rd in his law school at Mercer. After graduating law school, Matt joined a nationally renowned trial lawyer firm where he spent six years as an associate and five years as a partner handling a broad range of complex, catastrophic injury and death cases across the United States ranging from trucking collisions to product liability claims and everything in between. Matt is a frequent speaker at trial lawyer seminars, has published numerous articles and has served as an expert witness in several cases. Matt is an aviation enthusiast and has his private pilot’s license. Matt’s unique style, genuine empathy, ability to relate to juries and fearlessness has led to hundreds of millions of dollars of recoveries for clients. Matt has secured more than $700 million in verdicts and settlements for clients.

Jonathan A. Pope

Jonathan Pope is a partner at Hasty Pope, LLP, focusing his trial practice on personal injury matters including wrongful death, catastrophic injuries, and automobile and semi-truck collisions. He has been recognized as a National Trial Lawyers’ Top 100 Trial Lawyer, Georgia’s Top Rated Lawyers, Super Lawyers (including Rising Star and Top 100 list), and Georgia Trend’s “Legal Elite”. He is active in the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and State Bar of Georgia committees. He has tried over 40 jury cases and helped secure significant settlements and medical care for clients. He is also known for climbing Mount Rainier.

R. Shane Lazenby

R. Shane Lazenby is the founder and managing member of Lazenby Law Group. After more than a decade of defending those accused of negligence in personal injury cases, Shane decided to reverse course and help the victims of serious injuries. With unparalleled compassion and limitless commitment, Shane quickly learned how much more rewarding and uplifting service as a victim’s advocate can be. Shane now focuses his practice on helping the victims of catastrophic personal injury and the families whose loved one has passed as a result of the negligence of another. Shane serves his clients as he served our country: honorably, tirelessly and faithfully. As an expert in the field of personal injury law, Shane is exclusively focused on obtaining justice for the victims and families of those who have been injured by the negligence of others. Shane has tried more than fifty cases to verdict. He was selected as an Atlanta Magazine Georgia Super Lawyer Rising Star in the years 2009-2012 and a Georgia Super Lawyer for Plaintiff’s Personal Injury from 2015-2024. He also maintains a coveted AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell. He retired from military service in December 2010 after 21 years, serving as a combat medical specialist, Infantry Officer, and Judge Advocate with the 82d Airborne Division, including a tour in Afghanistan where he earned the Bronze Star.

William M. (Bill) Brownell

William M. (Bill) Brownell, Jr. is the principal attorney at The Brownell Law Office, serving Gainesville, GA, and surrounding counties. He began practicing law in 1983, initially as a prosecutor, handling over 2000 felony cases and numerous jury trials. Since 1995, he has been in private practice, focusing on personal injury, criminal defense, and family law. He has represented over 350 personal injury clients, 700 criminal cases, and 300 divorce and family law clients. Mr. Brownell is known for his tenacious, trustworthy, and ethical representation, holding a Distinguished Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell and a 9.5 (Superb) rating on Avvo.