Jake Daly is Senior Counsel at Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP and is located in the Atlanta office where he practices in the Firm’s Appellate Advocacy, Government Law and Tort & Catastrophic Loss practice sections. He is also part of the Firm’s Retail, Hospitality & Beverage team. An AV Preeminent® rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, Jake represents private companies, government entities and their employees in a wide variety of personal injury and wrongful death litigation throughout Georgia and in every federal district in Georgia. He has extensive experience defending commercial and residential property owners, management companies and security companies in negligent security cases. In addition, he regularly defends other businesses and their employees in cases involving other premises liability claims, dram shop claims, motor vehicle accident claims and intentional tort claims. His government practice involves defending local government entities and officials in cases alleging civil rights violations and state-law tort claims.

Jake also has an active appellate practice. He has written or assisted with several briefs for cases in the United States Supreme Court, and he was the primary author of the merits brief for the prevailing respondent in Rehberg v. Paulk, in which the United States Supreme Court held unanimously that grand jury witnesses are entitled to absolute immunity from claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He has also authored numerous briefs for cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals, and he has presented oral argument in those courts more than a dozen times. One of his proudest achievements as an appellate advocate came when he was part of a team that convinced the Georgia Court of Appeals to reverse a $10,640,000 verdict against the City of Albany. A final aspect of Jake’s appellate practice is that he occasionally writes amicus curiae briefs for cases in the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Outside the courtroom, Jake serves the State Bar of Georgia as a member of the Formal Advisory Opinion Board, which is responsible for issuing opinions interpreting the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Judicial Procedure and Administration/Uniform Rules Committee, which is responsible for reviewing and recommending legislation and court rules that affect the operation of the judicial system. Jake also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal.

Jake is a long-time member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (“GDLA”). He is a member of its Board of Directors and is the chairperson of its Legislation Committee. GDLA recognized his commitment to the organization in 2020 when it conferred on him its President’s Award. Also in 2020, he spearheaded the creation of GDLA Action Fund, Inc., GDLA’s political action committee, and he has served as its president since then. In this role, Jake works with GDLA’s lobbying team to advocate for laws that promote fairness and reasonableness in Georgia’s civil justice system. He has also testified several times before legislative committees in support of various tort reform measures. In a related endeavor, Jake is a member of the Defense Research Institute’s State Legislation and Rules Task Force, which is tasked with assisting State and Local Defense Organizations across the country with legislation and rule issues in their states.

Jake received his law degree from the Mercer University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. At Mercer, he was a member of the Mercer Law Review and the Moot Court Board, and he received the Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement in Legal Writing. Upon graduation, he was invited to join the Brainerd Currie Honor Society and the Order of Barristers. Following his graduation from Mercer, Jake was a law clerk for the Honorable Duross Fitzpatrick of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Georgia

Supreme Court of Georgia

Supreme Court of the United States

U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia

• Author, Appellate Practice: The right-for-any-reason rule, FMGBlogline Dec. 2025
• Author, Reform Premises Liability Law; Attack Frivolous Lawsuits, James Mag., Jan./Feb. 2024, at 79
• Author, An Overview of the 2023 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence, Ga. Def. Law., Winter 2023, at 22
• Author, Phantom Damages and the Misapplication of the Collateral Source Rule in Georgia, Ga. Bar J., June 2023, at 16
• Author, Keep Georgia No. 1 by Improving the Lawsuit Climate and Reducing the Tort Tax, Daily Rep., Jan. 6, 2023, at 2
• Author, A Conversation with Chief Justice David E. Nahmias, Ga. Bar J., June 2022, at 44
• Author, The Need for Limited Lawsuit Reform in Georgia, Daily Rep., Feb. 4, 2022, at 2
• Author, A Conversation with Douglas Burrell, Ga. Bar J., Dec. 2021, at 38
• Author, The 2021 Session of the Georgia General Assembly in Review, Ga. Def. Law., Summer 2021, at 22
• Author, Certiorari in the Georgia Supreme Court:  By the Numbers, Ga. Def. Law., Summer 2021, at 28
• Author, A Conversation with Chief Justice Harold D. Melton, Ga. Bar J., Aug. 2021, at 54
• Author, A Conversation with Hon. Marc Treadwell, Tina Hunt and Peter Leary, Ga. Bar J., June 2021, at 38
• Author, A Conversation with Steve Berry, Ga. Bar J., June 2020, at 48
• Author, A Conversation with Hon. Shawn LaGrua, Ga. Bar J., Apr. 2020, at 42
• Author, A Conversation with Robert L. “Bobby” Shannon Jr., Ga. Bar J., Feb. 2020, at 34
• Author, A Conversation with Rex D. Smith, Hon. M. Gino Brogdon Sr. and Tami McDowell Ayres, Ga. Bar J., Dec. 2019, at 30
• Author, A Conversation with Emmet Bondurant, Ga. Bar J., Oct. 2019, at 34
• Author, Under the Gold Dome:  The 2019 Session of the General Assembly, Ga. Def. Law., Summer 2019, at 20
• Author, A Conversation with Mike Egan, Ga. Bar J., Apr. 2019, at 46
• Author, A Conversation with Anne W. Lewis, Ga. Bar J., Feb. 2019, at 40
• Author, A Conversation with Chief Judge Stephen Louis A. Dillard, Ga. Bar J., Dec. 2018, at 48
• Co-author, Defending Claims Under Georgia’s Dram Shop Act, in ICLE Program Materials for Civil Prosecutions of DUI and Dram Shop Cases in Georgia (Oct. 25, 2018)
• Author, A Conversation with Teresa Wynn Roseborough, Ga. Bar J., Aug. 2018, at 64
• Author, A Conversation with Ernest Greer, Ga. Bar J., June 2018, at 42
• Author, A Conversation with BJay Pak, Ga. Bar J., Feb. 2018, at 34
• Author, A Conversation with Cathy Cox, Ga. Bar J., Oct. 2017, at 34
• Author, A Conversation with Larry D. Thompson, Ga. Bar J., Aug. 2017, at 50
• Author, What Happened Under the Gold Dome:  A Legislative Update, Ga. Def. Law., Summer 2017, at 17
• Author, A Conversation with Edward D. Tolley, Ga. Bar J., June 2017, at 38
• Author, A Conversation with Justice Leah Ward Sears, Ga. Bar J., Apr. 2017, at 72
• Author, A Conversation with Chief Justice P. Harris Hines, Ga. Bar J., Feb. 2017, at 50
• Author, A Conversation with Gov. Nathan Deal, Ga. Bar J., Dec. 2016, at 40
• Author, A Conversation with Chilton Varner, Ga. Bar J., Oct. 2016, at 54
• Author, A Conversation with Attorney General Sam Olens, Ga. Bar J., Aug. 2016, at 58
• Author, Personal Liability of Property Managers in Negligent Security Cases, Ga. Def. Law., Fall 2015, at 16
• Author, Here’s Why Ga. Law Should Let Juries Consider Seat Belt Nonuse, Daily Rep., Aug. 18, 2015, at 6
• Author, “The Seat-Belt Defense in Georgia,” 65 Mercer Law Review 19 (2013)
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 64 Mercer Law Review 231 (2012)
• Author, “Apportionment of Fault to Non-Parties Is Here to Stay,” Georgia Defense Lawyer, Summer 2012
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 63 Mercer Law Review 279 (2011)
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 62 Mercer Law Review 243 (2010)
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 61 Mercer Law Review 267 (2009)
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 60 Mercer Law Review 303 (2008)
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 59 Mercer Law Review 331 (2007)
• Co-Author, “Product Liability, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 58 Mercer Law Review 313 (2006)
• Co-author, “Trial Plans in ‘Hybrid’ Class Actions: Misadventures in Letting Form Affect Substance,” in ICLE Program Materials for Class Actions CLE (Oct. 25, 2002)
• Co-Author, “Statutory Civil Rights, 2001 Eleventh Circuit Survey,” 53 Mercer Law Review 1499 (2002)
• Co-Author, “Torts, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 53 Mercer Law Review 441 (2001)
• Co-Author, “Torts, Annual Survey of Georgia Law,” 52 Mercer Law Review 421 (2000)
• Author, Casenote, “City of Chicago v. International College of Surgeons: The Interplay Between Supplemental Jurisdiction and Cross-System Appeals, and the Impact on Federalism,” 50 Mercer Law Review 1137 (1999)

• Robinson v. City of Hollywood Police Dep’t, 2024 WL 983926 (11th Cir. Mar. 7, 2024) (per curiam)
• Blowe v. Roberts, 371 Ga. App. 300, 899 S.E.2d 439 (2024)
• Collington v. Clayton County, 318 Ga. 29, 897 S.E.2d 361 (2024)
• Bondsman, Inc. v. Taylor, 367 Ga. App. 213, 885 S.E.2d 249 (2023)
• Morney v. Kiker, 367 Ga. App. 194, 885 S.E.2d 229 (2023)
• Ravan v. Talton, 2023 WL 2238853 (11th Cir. Feb. 27, 2023) (per curiam)
• Garvich v. State of Georgia, 2022 WL 1531701 (11th Cir. May 16, 2022) (per curiam)
• In re Formal Advisory Opinion No. 20-1, 313 Ga. 803, 872 S.E.2d 745 (2022) (per curiam)
• Villages of Cascade Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Edwards, 363 Ga. App. 307, 870 S.E.2d 899 (2022)
• Star Residential, LLC v. Hernandez, 311 Ga. 784, 860 S.E.2d 726 (2021) (counsel for amicus curiae)
• Wilson v. Cromer, 356 Ga. App. 763, 847 S.E.2d 213 (2020)
• Mullinax v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., 354 Ga. App. 186, 840 S.E.2d 666 (2020)
• Courtland Properties I, LLC v. Collins, 353 Ga. App. 99, 835 S.E.2d 319 (2019)
• Langley v. MP Spring Lake, LLC, 307 Ga. 321, 834 S.E.2d 800 (2019)
• Rautenberg v. Pope, 351 Ga. App. 503, 831 S.E.2d 209 (2019)
• City of Albany v. Stanford, 347 Ga. App. 95, 815 S.E.2d 322 (2018)
• Langley v. MP Spring Lake, LLC, 345 Ga. App. 739, 813 S.E.2d 441 (2018)
• Fair v. CV Underground, LLC, 340 Ga. App. 790, 798 S.E.2d 358 (2017)
• Camelot Club Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Afari-Opoku, 340 Ga. App. 618, 798 S.E.2d 241 (2017)
• Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356 (2012)
• Couch v. Red Roof Inns, Inc., 291 Ga. 359, 729 S.E.2d 378 (2012) (counsel for amicus curiae)
• Martin v. Herrington Mill, LP, 316 Ga. App. 696, 730 S.E.2d 164 (2012)
• Burroughs v. Mitchell County, 313 Ga. App. 8, 720 S.E.2d 335 (2011)
• Wilcox v. Fenn, 289 Ga. 750, 716 S.E.2d 144 (2011)
• Johnson v. Green Growth I, LLC, 305 Ga. App. 134, 699 S.E.2d 109 (2010)
• Nosiri v. Helm, 301 Ga. App. 380, 687 S.E.2d 635 (2009) (en banc)
• CDP Event Services, Inc. v. Atcheson, 289 Ga. App. 183, 656 S.E.2d 537 (2008)
• Scoggins v. Kia Motors America, Inc., 272 Ga. App. 495, 612 S.E.2d 823 (2005)

• State Bar of Georgia
  • Member, Formal Advisory Opinion Board, 2013-present
  • Member, Georgia Bar Journal Editorial Board, 2014-present
  • Member, Judicial Procedure and Administration/Uniform Rules Committee, 2016-present
• Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
  • Member, Board of Directors, 2024-present
  • Chair, Legislation Committee, 2015-present
•  GDLA Action Fund, Inc
  • President, 2020-present
• Defense Research Institute
  • Member, State Legislation and Rules Task Force, 2024-present

 

• 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®
• AV Preeminent® Rating by Martindale-Hubbell
• Recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star”
• 2020 Georgia Defense Lawyers Association President’s Award
• 2010 Rising Star by Atlanta Magazine
• 2005 King & Spalding, LLP Pro Bono Service Award
• 2004 King & Spalding, LLP Pro Bono Service Award