Practice Areas

Atlanta Attorneys Providing Representation in Diverse Fields of Litigation

The Atlanta employment lawyers at Parks, Chesin & Walbert have decades of experience representing individuals and businesses in Georgia and across the country. In addition to employment cases, our firm also handles litigation in a variety of practice areas, including civil and voting rights cases, catastrophic injury claims, and business and commercial disputes. We have won landmark victories at the U.S. Supreme Court, and our attorneys are unparalleled at the trial court level. Whether you have a new case or need appellate representation, we can offer comprehensive guidance about your legal matter.

Employment Law

We handle a wide range of employment discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour claims. While Georgia has a wage and hour statute, federal law (the Fair Labor Standards Act, or “FLSA”) protects the right to payment at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek and the right to the minimum wage of at least $7.25 per hour for most of Georgia’s workers. Likewise, a number of federal laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Covered employers are not permitted to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age (40 and older). Our employment attorneys can help Atlanta residents hold their employers accountable for violating any of these laws.

Civil Rights

Our civil rights cases often involve First Amendment and voting rights litigation. First Amendment claims are usually based on free speech and freedom of religion. The First Amendment protects speech that is related to a matter of public concern. It is a right that can be exercised against the government. In order to win a First Amendment claim, you need to be able to show an expression of constitutionally protected speech, an adverse action taken against you for the expression, and a causal connection between the adverse act and the constitutionally protected speech. The Constitution also provides for the principle of one person, one vote. A number of statutes have been enacted to protect the right to vote, including the federal Voting Rights Act, which provides that nobody should be denied the right to full access based on race, partisanship, or economic status.

Whistleblower Protection

Under the Georgia Whistleblower Protection Act (O.C.G.A. section 45-1-4(d)), public employers may not subject whistleblowers to retaliation. Whether you are employed by a local government or by the state of Georgia, you are permitted to disclose violations of law by department officials. Your public employer is not permitted to put in place any practice or policy that prevents you from revealing a violation of or non-compliance with a law, regulation, or rule to a government agency or supervisor, nor should your public employer retaliate against you for reporting a legal violation or refusing to participate in illegal activity. Our Atlanta employment attorneys also handle Sarbanes Oxley claims. Sarbanes Oxley is a federal law that provides whistleblower protection from retaliation to employees who report misconduct by publicly traded corporate employers.

Business and Commercial Litigation

Business litigation includes any kind of litigation that involves business disputes or corporate affairs. We handle litigation arising out of non-restrictive covenants, government contracts, unfair competition, trade secret litigation, misappropriation, real estate disputes and foreclosures, and tortious interference with business relations. Our firm also handles insurance coverage disputes on behalf of policyholders. The type of lawsuit will determine which rules will be implicated. Under Georgia law, for example, courts are allowed to partially enforce overly broad restrictive covenants, but they cannot rewrite a covenant to say something enforceable.

Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Most personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits are brought under a theory of negligence. When a lawsuit is brought under a theory of negligence, the plaintiff’s attorney will need to establish that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to use reasonable care, the defendant breached the duty to use reasonable care, causation, and damages. However, with a medical malpractice case, many more procedural hurdles must be cleared. For example, under Georgia Code section 9-11-9.1, when we file a complaint in a medical malpractice lawsuit, we will need to file an expert affidavit swearing that there was at least one negligent act perpetrated by the defendant health care provider, including the facts that support this opinion. It is important to be aware that a personal injury or wrongful death case is a civil lawsuit separate from any criminal charges that may be filed. You may be able to recover damages even if the prosecutor cannot establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Retain an Experienced Atlanta Litigator

Whether you are looking for an employment lawyer in the Atlanta area or for assistance with a civil rights, whistleblower, business, or personal injury matter, you should let one of our skillful and experienced attorneys look at your case. Parks, Chesin & Walbert represents clients throughout Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, and Glynn Counties. Call us at 404-873-8048 or complete our online form.