FMG is happy to introduce the new attorneys Robert Bazzo, Jeff Hord, Dhave Balatero, Greg Blueford, Tim Boughey, Nicole Clowdsley, Kate Manka, Carla Meninsky, Isis Miranda, Aaron Miller, Anastasia Osbrink, Eric Retter, Catherine Scott and Chelsea Whelan. Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of fourteen new hires who have joined us in our California, Boston and Atlanta offices.

Robert Bazzo joins as partner in the Los Angeles office and has over twenty years of experience handling high exposure claims. He is a highly experienced trial lawyer who has handled a myriad of catastrophic cases, including construction defect, toxic tort,  trucking, mold, premises liability, and construction site accident claims.

Mr. Bazzo is an innovative and successful attorney who is highly effective at developing creative case case strategies and structuring cases for optimum outcomes. He has handled cases throughout California in both federal and state courts. He is detail oriented, conscientious and organized with a demonstrated record of favorable outcomes in court cases. He tackles cases with tenacity and an analytical mindset. Read more.

Jeff Hord joins as of counsel in Freeman Mathis & Gary’s Atlanta office. An experienced trial lawyer, Mr. Hord has successfully represented companies and executives in complex litigation and agency proceedings in a wide variety of employment and commercial matters. In addition to defending employers against claims arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the FLSA, ADA, NLRA, FMLA, and ADEA (as well as analogous state & local statutes), Mr. Hord has extensive experience in litigation and arbitration of business matters arising out of and relating to the workplace such as breach of contract, fraud, civil conspiracy, conversion, and more. He also regularly advises and counsels clients on a wide variety of employment issues, including worker classification, DOL and OFCCP compliance, employee separation, shareholder disputes, and restrictive covenants. Read more.

Dhave Balatero  joins the tort and catastrophic loss national practice section as an associate in the Firm’s Downtown Los Angeles office. Mr. Balatero has substantial experience in the area of personal injury, medical malpractice,  transportation, and insurance law. In the transportation arena, he litigates cases arising from accidents involving personal and commercial vehicles, including trucking and motor coach cases. In the premises liability context, he defends negligent security, liquor liability and slip and fall cases. Read more.

Greg Blueford is an associate in Freeman Mathis and Gary’s Sacramento office. Greg has extensive experience representing medium to large employers throughout California and Arizona in wage and hour class action litigation in both state and federal court, one of which included a class of over 40,000 employees. Along with litigation, Greg has also provided his clients with labor and employment guidance to ensure both that those employers are compliant on a day-to-day basis with the ever-changing California labor and employment laws and that those recommendations are practical for his clients’ specific business needs. Read more.

Tim Boughey joins as an associate in FMG’s Atlanta Office. Tim represents public and private sector employers in all aspects of federal and state employment litigation, ranging from single-plaintiff cases to class and collective actions. His practice consists of representation in employment discrimination, labor relations, contracts, and administrative law matters before all federal and state courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Read more.

Nicole Clowdsley is an associate in the Firm’s San Francisco- Marin County office. She is part of the California Employment Law team. Prior to joining FMG, Nicole Clowdsley worked as a staff attorney where she focused on labor and employment matters, commercial disputes, and risk management. Ms. Clowdsley has extensive experience representing private companies in all aspects of workplace disputes. Read more.

Kate Manka  joins as an associate in the San Francisco- Marin County office. Ms. Manka has over 20 years of commercial litigation experience. She is licensed to practice law in California, Colorado (inactive), the Ninth Circuit, the Tenth Circuit, and all federal district courts in California and Colorado. Prior to her association with Freeman Mathis & Gary, she was a contract attorney for several years, an associate at law firms in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a partner and of counsel at the Denver office of Kutak Rock LLP. Read more.

Isis Miranda joins as an associate in Freeman Mathis & Gary’s Los Angeles – Downtown office. Ms. Miranda concentrates her practice in civil litigation and appeals and advises on employment law, cyber liability, data privacy, and insurance coverage issues. Ms. Miranda served as a judicial extern to The Honorable Richard R. Clifton of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Richard Pollack of the Hawaii Supreme Court, and Judge Yvette Palazuelos of the Los Angeles Superior Court. A former information technology consultant, Ms. Miranda is also a frequent speaker on topics involving the intersection of technology and the law. Read more.

Aaron Miller joins as an associate in Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP’s Atlanta office. Mr. Miller received his Juris Doctor from Mercer University School of Law. While at Mercer, Mr. Miller served as President of the Phi Delta Phi Honor’s Society. During his third year at Mercer, Mr. Miller was a member of the Mercer Advocacy Council, while competing in mock trial. Read more.

Anastasia Osbrink joins as an associate in the Firm’s San Diego office where she practices in the areas of professional liability, employment, complex commercial litigation, and tort & catastrophic loss. Ms. Osbrink previously practiced in Los Angeles and also has experience in professional liability defense, trademark & copyright law, and general outside counsel work. Read more.

Eric Retter joins as an associate in Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP’s Atlanta office. He has a diverse range of experience representing clients through the litigation process, including representation of Fortune 500 entities, local businesses, insurance companies, financial institutions, construction companies, transportation companies, and manufacturers. Eric has significant experience in state, federal, and appellate courts. Read more.

Catherine Scott joins as an attorney in the Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP Boston office. Ms. Scott enjoys a diverse practice that includes employment litigation and counseling, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, professional liability defense, business litigation, and appellate advocacy. Read more.

Chelsea Whelan joins an attorney in the firm’s Marin County office. Ms. Whelan has experience representing both employees and employers in a range of areas, including whistleblower, harassment, discrimination, misclassification and wage and hour claims. Read more.

Ben Mathis, FMG Managing Partner, said, “We are fortunate to attract outstanding attorneys to our offices and practice groups. We have now added a net increase of over thirty lawyers in the first six months of 2019. With these recent additions, we continue to meet and exceed our aggressive growth targets and do so with the highest quality attorneys.”