Gerond J. Lawrence is a member of the Products Liability & Mass Torts Practice in Greenberg Traurig’s Atlanta office. A skilled litigator, Gerond has experience in virtually all phases of litigation, including bench and jury trials in state and federal courts. Gerond has taken and defended depositions of expert witnesses, corporate representatives, medical professionals, and fact witnesses. He maintains a robust motions practice and routinely briefs and argues discovery, dispositive, and post-trial motions. Gerond also has significant appellate experience, having argued appeals before the Eleventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the Georgia Court of Appeals. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Gerond defended Fortune 500 companies, health care providers, municipalities, transit authorities, and individuals in matters relating to complex premises liability, personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, commercial litigation, labor and employment, and civil rights actions. Gerond approaches each case with the end in mind, keeping his client’s goals at the forefront of his litigation strategy. In his spare time, Gerond enjoys traveling and exploring different running trails in metro Atlanta. Concentrations Personal injury and wrongful death litigation Medical malpractice litigation Products liability Pharmaceutical, medical device and health care litigation Commercial litigation Labor and employment litigation Automobile litigation Experience Representative Matters Obtained summary judgment in favor of national pharmacy chain in action alleging professional negligence and regulatory violations.° Obtained new trial in favor of transit authority in premises liability action throwing out an $11 million verdict resulting from flawed jury charges.° Defended multinational logistics company in series of employment discrimination cases before state civil rights commission.° Represented hospital in appeal before the Georgia Supreme Court concerning whether the grant of summary judgment is a final judgment for purposes of direct appeal when the trial court has specifically reserved the amount of attorney’s fees to be awarded for failure to waive service of process.° Represented transit authority before Georgia Court of Appeals in matter interpreting various hearsay exceptions under Georgia’s revised evidence code implemented in 2013.° °The above representations were handled by Mr. Lawrence prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Internships Legal Intern, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, 2011 Judicial Intern, Hon. Russell F. Canan, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 2011 Judicial Intern, Hon. Patsy Y. Porter, State Court of Fulton County, 2008, 2009 Awards & Accolades Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch," 2023-2024 Commercial Litigation, 2023-2024 Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2023-2024 Listed, The National Black Lawyers, “Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia,” 2023 Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Georgia Super Lawyers, “Rising Star,” 2018-2021, 2023 Team Member, a Law360 “Product Liability Practice Group of the Year,” 2021-2022 Team Member, The American Lawyer’s “Regional Litigation Department of the Year - Georgia,” 2021 Listed, The National Black Lawyers, “Top 40 Under 40,” 2019-2020 Professional & Community Involvement Member, Gate City Bar Association, 2013-present Volunteer, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Saturday Lawyer Program, 2014-2019 Education J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2013 Executive Editor, Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law B.A., summa cum laude, Howard University, 2010 Phi Beta Kappa Admissions Georgia U.S. Virgin Islands U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Supreme Court of the United States Languages Spanish, Conversational
Mr. Ivey's practice focuses on white collar criminal defense, Congressional and grand jury investigations, civil litigation, regulatory matters, crisis management counseling and internal corporate investigations. He has extensive experience as a lobbyist at the federal, state and local levels for business interests, including Fortune 500 companies.
PRACTICE AREAS:
White Collar
Personal Injury
Civil Litigation
Ira L. Foster is the managing attorney of the Georgia Legal Services Program Macon, Georgia office. Ira attended undergraduate college and graduated with honors from Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. Ira attended graduate school at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Ira obtained his Juris Doctor of law degree from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. Ira is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the Macon Bar Association, the Houston County Bar Association, the Georgia Alliance of African American Attorneys, the National Bar Association, the National Black Lawyers and the William Augustus Bootle Inn of Court. Some honors and awards for Ira include being selected as an American Bar Association Foundation Fellow, Macon Bar Association's Lawyer of the Year in 2007, Fort Valley State University Alumni of the Year in Social Sciences, the Dublin-Laurens County Black Festival's Committee Citizen of the Year, the Adopt A Role Model Program Big Brother of The Year, the State Bar of Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham's Community Service Award, The Houston County NAACP 2009 Community Service Award, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., State of Georgia 2011 Fraternity Brother of The Year and the 2015 State Bar of Georgia Access To Justice Committee Dan Bradley Award. Ira served as a board member of the Fort Valley State University Housing Foundation and the Fort Valley State University National Alumni Association. Ira currently serves as a board member of The Alpha Georgia Education Foundation, Inc., The Central Georgia United Way and the Macon Bar Association. Ira is a life member of the NAACP, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the Fort Valley State University National Alumni Association. Ira served as President of the Macon Bar Association for the 2015-2016 year. Ira has represented numerous students in disciplinary and special education cases. Ira has authored two articles for the State Bar of Georgia Child Advocacy Newsletter on education issues. Ira also co-authored an article for the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., national magazine on the School Dropout To Prison Pipeline issue. Ira has presented at workshops that have been held all over the state of Georgia including Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Waycross, Valdosta, Albany, Macon, Norcross and McDonough, Georgia on the School Dropout To Prison Pipeline issue.
Ericka counsels businesses and governmental entities on corporate transactions of varying complexities and helps organizations tackle strategic initiatives to reach their operational objectives and organizational milestones. Clients often regard Ericka as the “first call” when faced with mission-critical challenges. She views law as a tool and has a practical perspective on utilizing it to accomplish successful outcomes. Ericka is adept at leading commercial transactions and business initiatives for her clients and has significant experience in providing strategic counsel to founders, directors, executives and project leads, advising on proposed collaborations, corporate structure and governance, financing, shifting priorities, employee relations and areas of risk. Skilled at bridging business and legal issues, she excels at the details and also with holding a client’s vision and goals. Ericka has an innate ability to listen, facilitate, contextualize, and build trust with stakeholders and across constituency groups. Ericka’s transactional practice includes business and IT transactions, entity structuring and corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions and general counsel services. Ericka also has deep experience in public finance, specifically as it relates to the issuance of general obligation bonds, project revenue bonds and lease revenue bonds. She has significant experience with new money and refunding transactions (both variable and fixed rate). Ericka has been involved in a broad range of financings, including those related to the generation or transmission of power, the provision of water, wastewater, and transportation services, the acquisition and construction of general infrastructure and real property, and the development of affordable housing. Her clients span multiple industries, including education, healthcare, professional services, financial services, nonprofits and technology. Ericka is passionate about transforming organizational culture and driving meaningful social practices and change. She has a sophisticated understanding of how to operationalize Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) initiatives that address a range of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) goals, including the development of supplier programs and business collaborations and approaches that enhance the hiring, retention, and advancement of employees of color and the creation of firm cultures that support diverse employees. Ericka has served as general counsel and chief operating officer to an emerging asset management firm, where she, among other things, reviewed investment advisor activities for legal compliance and engaged with executive leadership on issues related to financing and growth strategies. She began her legal career as an attorney with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), where she investigated charges of unfair labor practices. Industries Education Healthcare Life Sciences Services Banking & Finance Corporate ESG Strategy & Compliance Mergers & Acquisitions Startups Recognition Kaiser Permanente© Exceptional Partner Award, 2017 Kaiser Permanente© Exceptional Innovator Award, 2017 Education J.D., Washington University in St. Louis School of Law B.S., Northwestern University Political Science Admissions California Missouri Professional Memberships and Certifications Women in Public Finance, Northern California Chapter, Board Member American Bar Association National Bar Association California Minority Counsel Program National Association of Bond Lawyers Bar Association of San Francisco How Women Lead, Leadership Committee
Jack is a partner in the firm’s nationally ranked Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation practice, focusing his practice on civil litigation, regulatory enforcement, and congressional investigations for clients in the defense, technology, federal contracting, and other business sectors.
As an accomplished trial lawyer and legal strategist, Jack has handled a range of complex litigation, investigations, and enforcement matters, including representing clients in congressional investigations. His extensive experience in litigation, investigations, and strategic counseling is particularly deep with respect to defense industry clients and other businesses operating in the federal sector, including emerging companies for which he provides support for continued growth.
One of Jack’s principal practice areas involves conducting internal investigations and providing counseling on matters pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion, assisting several companies to develop and implement initiatives in these areas. Jack was one of five civilian members who served on an independent review panel that investigated the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, as they related to sexual assault, harassment and crime. After releasing their report, Jack and his fellow panel members testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Jack also provides particularly valuable counsel to companies through growth, particularly in the government contracting sector, guiding them through legal and regulatory compliance as they transition out of small business status and through graduation from the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program into viable competitive enterprises. He also assists companies with the seating and engagement of fiduciary and advisory boards.
As a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Jack served five years on active duty in the U.S. Army and continued his service in the Army Reserve while earning his J.D. at Pepperdine University School of Law. He has also served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after first clerking for Alito at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.