Paducah, KY

Mark Bryant

From humble beginnings in Paducah, Mark Bryant has risen to become one of the best-known trial attorneys in Western Kentucky. Described in a front-page article in the Los Angeles Times as “a former prosecutor with a swashbuckling style that charms juries,” under his leadership the Bryant Law Center has won national class action cases, derailment actions against major railroads, and substantial verdicts and settlements for clients who have endured brain damage, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful deaths. Mark Bryant, our founding Paducah personal injury lawyer, has practiced in his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky since graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1973. Bryant is a product of the Paducah, Kentucky city schools, Paducah Community College, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Kentucky College of Law. After completing law school, Mark Bryant became the Commonwealth Attorney for McCracken County. With an impressive track record, he was re-elected twice, serving a total of 16 years from 1974 to 1990. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Bryant was selected to receive the prestigious “Outstanding Commonwealth’s Attorney in Kentucky” award. He is also the past president of the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys Association. During his time as Commonwealth Attorney, Mark Bryant received numerous notable appointments and awards that solidified his standing in the legal community. Bryant was appointed to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Counsel and the Kentucky Crime Commission by Governor Julian M. Carroll; to the Governor’s Task Force on Crime and the Kentucky Jail Standards Commission by Governor John Y. Brown; to the Kentucky Child Abuse Prevention Board by Governor Martha Layne Collins; and to the Supreme Court of Kentucky Criminal Rules Committee by the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, Hon. Robert F. Stephens. Upon entering private practice in 1990, Bryant focused upon criminal defense work for several years. Gradually, the focus of Bryant’s practice evolved, and he now focuses on civil personal injury, class action litigation, wrongful death litigation on behalf of victims, and death penalty murder defense. In his years of defending multiple death penalty murder cases not even one of his clients has ever received the death penalty and only one has ever been convicted of murder (but that client’s case was reversed on an appeal). Mark Bryant is a well-accomplished individual. From a young age, Mark embraced the values of hard work and determination. He attributes these traits to the influence of his family members and his experience as an Eagle Scout. Bryant is a Kentucky Super Lawyer, a Life Member of the National Registry of Who’s Who, and a Listed Lawyer for the Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys. Additionally, he holds the esteemed position of Senior Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, while also being a member of the Trial Law Institute and the Diversity Law Institute. In 2012, Governor Steve Beshear appointed Mr. Bryant to a six-year term on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, where he was selected by his peers to serve as Vice Chair. Mark Bryant has lectured on a variety of civil and criminal litigation-related topics for the Kentucky Bar Association, Kentucky Trial Lawyers Association, and University of Kentucky College of Law. He has also appeared as a guest on the Larry King Live Show as well as multiple times on Dateline NBC for his representation of defendants in death penalty murder cases. Mark Bryant’s exceptional trial skills led to his selection as one of the top one hundred trial lawyers in Kentucky by The American Trial Lawyers Association of America. Notably, he is also a member of the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum, reserved for trial lawyers who have achieved remarkable verdicts, awards, or settlements exceeding one million dollars. He earned the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating from his peers, a distinction held by a select few attorneys. In 2023, Mark Bryant received a remarkable honor as he was inducted into the Paducah Tilghman High School Hall of Fame. This recognition serves as a testament to his outstanding achievements and contributions to his community and state. Outside of winning cases... Mark is a voracious reader, a golfer and he and his wife Sue are often at the gym. He has volunteered time and raised funds for the Boy Scouts of America, Paducah Community Kitchen, Paducah-McCracken County NAACP, the Four Rivers Center, the McCracken County Humane Society, the George Wilson SAFETY Foundation, and Wounded Warriors. He also draws up wills free of charge for U.S. active-duty service members.

Kyle Salyer

I grew up in Johnson County and eastern Kentucky, all the way through Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes. After law school at Valparaiso University in Indiana, I came straight back to Kentucky to practice personal injury law. All I wanted to do was help people from my home, my Kentucky neighbors when they’ve been hurt by others. Over the years, I learned how to win clients the compensation they deserve to get their lives back on track-even if it means going to trial. In fact, I dedicated myself to learning everything I could about trying cases in front of juries. It takes a lot of Kentucky Courage™ for everyday Kentuckians to go to court, and I’m proud to stay by their side in the fight. In 2018, I joined forces with Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer. I added the Paintsville office to the firm’s six other offices around Kentucky-so I can help even more Kentucky families. I help people hurt from car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, defective products, medical malpractice, slips and falls and workplace accidents.

Roy Collins

The state motto of Kentucky is: “United we stand. Divided we fall.” That principle really guides the strength and Kentucky Courage™™ of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer. When I graduated from law school, I started my legal career working for a law firm that defended insurance companies and lawsuits filed against a major retailer. I quickly grew tired of watching big companies keep injured Kentuckians from getting the help they needed after an injury. After four years, I quit. Since then, I’ve dedicated my career to helping people who have been hurt by others. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t make the change sooner to helping ordinary, hardworking Kentuckians. At Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, I’m the managing partner. I’ve been with the firm since 2000. I focus on helping you if you were injured in a car accident, a truck accident or with a premises liability case. At Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, we treat all of our Kentucky clients as family.

Joseph A. Saladino

Joe Saladino graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He earned his Juris Doctorate in 2004 from Salmon P. Chase College of Law. Joe was a law clerk for the Kentucky Court of Appeals prior to joining Saladino & Schaaf, PLLC. He concentrates his practice on motor vehicle accidents, semi-truck wrecks, premises liability and workers’ compensation cases.

David Bryant

David George Bryant, a Louisville personal injury attorney, comes from a family of attorneys. David started his legal career in Lexington, KY with nationally recognized Plaintiff’s attorney, Gary C. Johnson. His diverse group of clients includes victims of asbestos exposure, toxic chemical exposure, corporate fraud, nursing home abuse, trucking industry negligence, child sex abuse, and medical malpractice. David has expanded his practice to representing victims of defective medical, pharmaceutical, and other products, including DePuy metal on metal hips, Roundup weed killer, Zantac, Volkswagen (leaky sunroofs), General Motors (ignition switch defect), transvaginal mesh, Actos, and SSRI antidepressants. David has worked cases across the state of Kentucky and litigated in more than half of the state’s 120 counties. Recently, David achieved a $1.9 million dollar verdict on behalf of a truck driver who was injured in a loading accident. He has also been pivotal in developing numerous class action lawsuits in Kentucky and across the country. In October 2021, David was named by US District Court Judge Casey Rodgers to the Plaintiff Steering Committee of the 3M combat arms ear plug MDL in Pensacola, Florida. David Bryant has been admitted as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership in the forum is limited to trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience, and excellence in advocacy by achieving a trial verdict, award or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more. David received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell based on reviews by his fellow lawyers. An AV rating is the highest peer rating standard and is awarded to fewer than ten percent of all lawyers. David earned the distinction of being on the 2022 Kentucky Super Lawyer list, and for the seven years 2015-2021 was named a Rising Star by the prestigious Super Lawyers Magazine, a publication with over thirteen million readers across all fifty states, Washington D.C., and the UK. Only 2.5% of all eligible attorneys in Kentucky earn the Rising Star distinction. David is certified to practice in all state courts in Kentucky, and federal courts in the Eastern and Western districts of Kentucky, Southern District of New York, Southern District of West Virginia, Northern District of Ohio, Middle District of Tennessee, and Western District of Pennsylvania. He is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. David was recognized as a Duke of Paducah and Kentucky Colonel based on his longstanding commitment to serving the people of this Commonwealth. In 2017, David was invited to become a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society. Membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. David is a member of the American Association of Justice, Kentucky Justice Association (KJA), Kentucky Bar Association and Louisville Bar Association. David served a number of years on the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Justice Association, the advocacy group representing trial lawyers across the state. In March 2016, David was invited to serve on the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Alumni Board of Directors, the main alumni group for the College of Law. In September 2011, David was named an Advocate by the American Association of Justice National College of Advocacy. David was also selected as a member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 in 2012.

Brian Katz

Brian Katz is the founder of Katz Law, established in 1998. He graduated with highest distinction from Indiana University in 1988 with a B.S. in accounting and passed the Uniform CPA examination. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991, where he was Executive Editor of the Virginia Tax Review. After clerking for Hon. Julia S. Gibbons, he gained extensive trial experience, including three capital murder cases. Mr. Katz focuses his practice on personal injury and wrongful death cases, exclusively representing injured parties or estates, with a significant emphasis on Jones Act and general maritime law. He has achieved multiple seven-figure recoveries for clients and is recognized as an AV-Preeminent lawyer by Martindale Hubbell. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and has been selected as a Super Lawyer in Transportation/Maritime for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. He has over 30 years of trial experience.

Trent Miracle

Trent is a partner and managing member of Flint Cooper’s mass torts practice, where he and his experienced team of professionals litigate the firm’s mass tort cases, as well as manage the strategic direction of the practice. With over 25 years of experience handling a broad array of mass tort cases, Trent has helped thousands of people harmed by the negligence of pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Bayer and Merck. Over his career, Trent and his team have secured over $2 billion in settlements for clients injured by dangerous drugs and defective medical devices. Trent’s leadership, expertise and professionalism have led federal judges to appoint him to serve on plaintiffs’ steering committees for several multidistrict litigations (MDLs).