68th Annual WVAJ Convention & Seminar
Convention Faculty
Timothy C. Bailey
Tim Bailey is a partner with the Charleston firm of Bailey, Javins, and Carter, and has practiced law for more than 30 years. His practice areas include mining injuries and deaths, industrial accidents, deliberate intent, traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, occupational lung diseases, and products liability. He is a past president of the West Virginia Association for Justice and is a board member of the American Association for Justice. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned his J. D. from the WVU College of Law. He practices in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Georgia.
Jamie Bordas
Jamie Bordas is the managing partner of Bordas and Bordas, which has law offices in three states. His diverse practice includes trucking crashes, insurance bad faith, toxic torts, medical malpractice, personal injury, mass torts, and oil and gas. He is a member of the West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio bars as well as the federal trial and appellate courts in those states. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and earned his J. D. from the university’s law school. He is a board member of the West Virginia Association for Justice.
Justice Haley Bunn
Justice Haley Bunn was appointed to the West Virginia Supreme Court in 2022 and was elected to a full 12-year term in 2024. She is the 2026 chief justice of the court. Prior to serving on the supreme court she was in private practice. She also served as an assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia’s criminal division. In 2017 she was one of 12 prosecutors in the country selected to serve in the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. Justice Bunn is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned her J. D. from the WVU College of Law.
Guy D’Andrea
Guy D’Andrea is the co-managing partner of the Philadelphia firm of Laffey, Bucci, D’Andrea, Reich, and Ryan. He is one of the leading attorneys in the country handling institutional abuse and neglect cases and serves on the board of the National Crime Victim Bar Association. His other practice areas include personal injury and shooting, homicide, and assault cases. Before entering private practice, Guy served as an assistant district attorney for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. He is a board member of both Public Justice and the American Association for Justice. He is an adjunct faculty member for the Drexel University School of Law. Guy is a graduate of Loyola University and earned his J. D. from the Widner University School of Law.
Kevin Davis
Kevin Davis is an attorney with Caplin and Drysdale in Washington D. C. His practice is focused in bankruptcy and complex litigation. He represents both individuals and corporate clients nationally in a diverse range of bankruptcy cases and other claims. Kevin earned both a B. A. and M. A. from the University of Maryland. He earned his J. D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.
John Einreinhofer
John Einreinhofer has practiced law since 1991, and he has been a solo practitioner in his Charleston firm, the Law Offices of John Einreinhofer, for nearly 30 years. His practice is concentrated on personal injury, insurance, and employment law. He practices in the West Virginia, Ohio, and New Jersey state courts; the federal courts in West Virginia and New Jersey; and the U. S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. As a law student, John was a law clerk intern for three years for the late Larry Starcher when Justice Starcher served on the Monongalia Circuit Court. He has presented CLE sessions on employment law, ethics, and operating a solo practice in both West Virginia and New Jersey. John is a graduate of Ithaca College and earned his J. D. from the West Virginia University College of Law.
Judge Tom Fast
Judge Tom Fast was elected to Fayette County’s Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court in 2024. He began his legal career with a small firm and opened his solo practice in Fayetteville in 1996. Judge Fast served 10 years in the West Virginia House of Delegates, including serving as both vice chair and chair of the House Judiciary Committee. He is a graduate of Fairmont State University and earned his J. D. from the Regent University School of Law.
Jesse Forbes
Jesse Forbes is an attorney with Forbes Law Offices in Charleston. He represents victims of violent crimes and serious injuries, and has represented victims of abuse against churches, schools and other entities. His cases have been featured in national news media including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC News, MSNBC, and others. Jesse has also handled serious and complex criminal cases including first degree murder and other serious felonies. He is a member of the West Virginia Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Commission; the Kanawha County Deputy Sheriffs Civil Service Commission; and is the chair of the Kanawha County Community Corrections board. Jesse is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned his J. D. from the Wake Forest University School of Law. Jesse is WVAJ’s 2025 – 2026 vice president and is one of West Virginia’s two elected state delegates to the American Association for Justice.
Mark Kitrick
Mark Kitrick is a partner with the Columbus firm of Kitrick, Lewis, and Staley-Sladek and has more than 40 years of experience as a trial lawyer. His practice focuses on serious personal injury and death claims. He co-authored Experts: Picking, Preparing, and Perfecting, published by AAJ Press in 2024. Mark is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and earned his J. D. from the University of Dayton. He is a past president of both the Ohio Association for Justice and Ohio chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a board member of the American Association for Justice.
Jordan Laird
Jordan Laird opened his Wheeling practice, Laird Law, in 2021. Prior to opening his practice, he worked for two other Wheeling civil plaintiffs’ firms for a total of 10 years. His practice areas include insurance bad faith, commercial trucking, premises liability, and catastrophic brain injury. Jordan represented District 1 on the West Virginia State Bar’s Young Lawyers Board for four years, and he is a board member of the West Virginia Association for Justice. Jordan earned a B. A. from Duquesne University, and he is a graduate of the Charlotte School of Law.
Judge Rich Lindsay
Judge Rich Lindsay was elected to Kanawha County’s Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in 2024. Prior to his election to the bench he practiced in the Charleston firm of Tabor, Lindsay, and Associates. Judge Lindsay represented Kanawha and Putnam counties in the West Virginia State Senate 2018 – 2022. He is a graduate of Wingate University and earned a graduate degree from George Washington University. He earned his J. D. from the Appalachian School of Law.
Micki Love
Micki Love has more than 30 years of experience working with law firms. A respected law firm consultant, she assists firms with management, marketing, and finance, helping them improve their organization and increase their profitability. She is the chief executive officer for Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers. She is also the president and CEO of cj Advertising, which provides advertising and marketing support to firms, and is the co-founder of Xcelerator Law Firm Consultants.
Judge Chad Lovejoy
Judge Chad Lovejoy was elected to Cabell County’s Sixth Circuit Court in 2024 and took office on January 1, 2025. He had more than 25 years of experience as a civil litigator in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. He ended his private practice as a partner with the Huntington firm of Duffield, Lovejoy, and Boggs. Prior to his election to the bench, he served three terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Judge Lovejoy is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned his J. D. from the WVU College of Law. He was elected editor-in-chief of Volume 99 of the West Virginia Law Review.
Alex McLaughlin
Alex McLaughlin is of counsel with the Charleston firm of Calwell, Luce, diTrapano. His practice areas include environmental law, toxic torts, products liability, and personal injury. He has represented clients in both state and federal class actions as well consolidated actions before the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and earned his J. D. from Columbia Law School.
Jeffrey Mehalic
Jeffrey Mehalic’s practice, Mehalic Law, has offices in both Morgantown, West Virginia and in New York and focuses on consumer protection law. He has represented consumers in a variety of cases including lemon law claims, abandoned construction projects, debt collection harassment, medical debt collection, and data breaches. His other practice areas include personal injury, motor vehicle crashes, premises liability. Jeff is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned his J. D. from the WVU College of Law.
Taylor Norman
Taylor Norman is an associate in the Charleston office of Bailey, Javins, and Carter and has worked with the firm since graduating from law school. His practice areas include complex civil litigation, largely specializing in trucking, product liability, workplace injury, personal injury, consumer litigation, medical malpractice, and class actions. In 2020, he was named the West Virginia State Bar’s Young Lawyer of the Year. Taylor is a graduate of Bethany College and earned his J. D. from the Charlotte School of Law.
Margot Saunders
Margot Saunders was an attorney for the National Consumer Law Center for more than 35 years and is one of the country’s premier experts on consumer law. She was the managing attorney in the NCLC’s Washington office from 1991 – 2005. From 2005 until her 2026 retirement, she was NCLC senior counsel. Prior to joining the NCLC, she was a consumer law specialist in North Carolina. She co-authored NCLC’s Consumer Banking and Payments Law and contributed to numerous other manuals. She has testified on a wide range of consumer law issues before Congress as well as an expert witness in the courtroom. Margot is a graduate of Brandeis University and earned her J. D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Lucas Self
Lucas Self joined the Washington D. C. office of Caplin and Drysdale in 2020 and is an attorney for the firm’s complex litigation and bankruptcy practice groups. He represents individuals, corporations, and nonprofits in several areas, including bankruptcy. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University and earned his J. D. from the LSU Law Center. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.
George Sidiropolis
George Sidiropolis is a Wheeling attorney and founder of The Injury Rights Law Firm. His practice areas include serious injury, wrongful death, commercial trucking litigation, brain injury, and insurance law. George is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University and earned his J. D. from the West Virginia University College of Law. He is a board member of the West Virginia Association for Justice.
Lonnie Simmons
Lonnie Simmons is a partner with the Charleston firm of DiPiero, Simmons, McGinley, and Bastress. His practice areas include employment law, civil rights violations, personal injury, and criminal defense/wrongful conviction. He also represents professionals, including doctors and lawyers, in contractual and ethics violation claims. Lonnie is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned his J. D. from the WVU College of Law. He is the board chair of the Kanawha County Public Defenders’ Office. Lonnie is a past president of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association and is a board member of the West Virginia Association for Justice.
Meagan Southern
Meagan Southern is an attorney with Warner Law Offices in Charleston. Before joining that practice, she spent nine years with the defense firms of Nelson, Mullins, Riley, and Scarborough and Jenkins Fenstermaker. Prior to becoming an attorney, Meagan worked for three years as a litigation paralegal. She is a graduate of West Virginia University and earned her J. D. from the Charlotte School of Law.
Doug Spencer
Doug Spencer is an associate with the Charleston firm of Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee, and Deitzler and has more than 20 years of experience as a personal injury attorney. His practice areas include automobile and tractor trailer accidents, traumatic brain injury, products liability, and personal injury. Doug is a graduate of West Virginia State University and earned his J. D. from the Capital University Law School in Columbus. He is a board member of the West Virginia Association for Justice.
Kristina Thomas Whiteaker
Kris Whiteaker is the managing attorney for Grubb Law Group in Charleston. She specializes in employment law, including wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and discrimination claims. She also handles consumer law claims including lemon law, fraud, unfair business practices, credit fraud, and debt collection. Kris is a graduate of Marietta College and earned a graduate degree from Ohio University. She earned her J. D. from the West Virginia University College of Law. She is a past president of the West Virginia Association for Justice.
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