Attorneys

Roy E. Barnes

Described as a “lawyer’s lawyer” and recognized by the American College of Trial Lawyers as one of the top trial attorneys in the nation, Roy E. Barnes knew from a young age what profession he wanted to pursue. His love of law and his commitment to serving others have never wavered.

A lifelong resident of Cobb County, Georgia, Roy Barnes received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and graduated with honors from the Lumpkin School of Law at UGA in 1972. Upon graduation, he went to work as a prosecutor in the Cobb County District Attorney’s office, where he stayed until opening his first law firm in 1975.

For over 30 years, Barnes has tried civil and criminal cases throughout Georgia and in neighboring states including a successful class action lawsuit against Fleet Finance that received national recognition in the early 1990s. His practice has concentrated primarily on civil litigation, where he has developed an expertise in consumer class action cases, medical malpractice matters, products liability law, general tort matters and commercial litigation. Barnes has appeared in more than 150 cases in the state and federal appellate courts.

Barnes has been a public servant nearly as long as he has been a lawyer. At age 26, he was elected the youngest member of the Georgia State Senate. He went on to serve a total of eight terms and was a member of the Appropriations, Rules and Transportation committees. In addition, he was Chairman of the Select Committee on Constitutional Revision, which rewrote the state’s constitution as well as Chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee. He also served as a floor leader to Governor Joe Frank Harris from 1983 to 1989. After an unsuccessful bid for the Governor’s Office in 1990, Barnes was elected to the State House of Representatives, where he served for six years and was Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on General Law.

In 1998, Barnes was elected to serve as the 80th Governor of the State of Georgia. During his term, he concentrated on education reform, health care reform, and remedies for urban growth and sprawl. He created the Georgia Cancer Coalition and served as Chair of the Southern Regional Education Board, the Southern Governor’s Association, and the Education Commission of the States. He was defeated for reelection in large part because of his efforts to change the Georgia flag, a political decision for which he was honored with the 2003 John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Profiles in Courage Award.

From the day he was elected governor, Roy Barnes knew he would return to the practice of law, which he has done through the establishment of The Barnes Law Group.

Roy E. Barnes

Charlie Tanksley is a trial attorney who knows what it takes to obtain justice from an individual, corporation, or government institution that does not choose to do justice on its own. He inherited this understanding from his father, Judge Jeptha Tanksley, a graduate of West Point and a young army officer who lost both legs and an eye, yet learned to walk on artificial legs, attended law school, and became a successful attorney, judge, and public servant.

This example informs and inspires Charlie every time he undertakes to make it right for an individual or small business that has suffered a real injustice.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Charlie Tanksley graduated from the University of Virginia in 1974 with a B.A. in Economics and History and received his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1978.

In 1984, Charlie and Roy Barnes established the firm of Barnes, Browning, Tanksley and Casurella where Charlie did trial work with Roy Barnes until Barnes was elected Governor in 1998. In January 2008, he returned to full time trial practice making it right for individuals and small businesses at The Barnes Law Group.

During his thirty year career, Charlie Tanksley has tried more than one hundred cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, medical and other professional malpractice, and breach of contract for failure to pay or failure to perform obligations of a contract. His primary interest is in representing individuals and small businesses against powerful individuals, insurance companies, and large business or government institutions.

He is admitted to practice in all the trial courts of the State of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia, The United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Cobb County Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association and Lawyers Club of Atlanta. He has served on the State Bar of Georgia Advisory Committee on Legislation And the Evidence Study Committee of the State Bar of Georgia. In 1994 Charlie Tanksley was elected to the first of five two year terms in the Georgia State Senate where he served as Chairman of the Special Judiciary Committee, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a Governor’s Floor Leader. He was precluded from seeking reelection in 2004 as a result of a federal lawsuit over reapportionment of state legislative districts.

John R. Bevis

John R. Bevis is a trial lawyer committed to the protection of consumers, particularly from exploitation by powerful corporate interests.

Specializing in litigation, Bevis dedicates his talents to representing victims of personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, and corporate abuse.

Having served as the first Deputy Consumers’ Insurance Advocate for the State of Georgia, Bevis has tremendous insight into the insurance industry practices affecting the rights of individual and corporate policyholders.  He has successfully litigated complex class action lawsuits dealing with the insurance industry’s refusal to pay policyholders for the diminished value of wrecked and repaired automobiles and predatory lending tactics that robbed homeowners of their equity.

Working to restore dignity for victims of catastrophic injuries due to defective products, Bevis successfully litigated vehicle rollover, roof crush, crashworthiness, and trailer sway cases.  Bevis also handles complex medical malpractice and nursing home abuse cases to hold doctors accountable for their mistakes.

Bevis received his J.D. from Florida State University College of Law, where he was a member of the Appellate Moot Court Team and interned for the Florida Supreme Court with Justice Leander J. Shaw, Jr.  Bevis completed his undergraduate work as a pre-med microbiology major at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. 

He is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Florida and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, federal courts in Georgia and Florida, and all Georgia and Florida state trial and appellate courts.  Bevis has made special appearances in product liability cases in the trial and appellate courts of Wisconsin and Texas.

John F. Salter

When John F. Salter joined the Barnes Law Group, he brought with him a deep passion for the law and significant courtroom experience. As an associate with Browning & Tanksley, he specialized in medical malpractice defense, tort, and commercial litigation. Prior to that, he was an Associate Solicitor General in Cobb County, where he prosecuted hundreds of cases in the State Court and gained extensive trial experience.

Salter also shares the firm’s commitment to providing pro bono legal services for those in need – his first legal internship was with the Georgia Justice Project in Atlanta where he investigated criminal defense cases and assisted with trial preparation.

He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he served on the Editorial Board of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and on the Board of the Equal Justice Foundation. He received his B.A. from Davidson College in North Carolina.

Salter is a member of the Georgia Bar and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

 

 

Allison Barnes Salter

Like her father Roy Barnes, Allison Barnes Salter knew she wanted to be a lawyer at an early age. She saw firsthand the impact an attorney could make on people’s lives, and her experience has done nothing but solidify those early impressions.

Allison Barnes Salter comes to The Barnes Law Group from the Cobb County Solicitor General’s office, where she prosecuted misdemeanor crimes and conducted numerous bench and jury trials as an Assistant Solicitor General.

Prior to that, she clerked for United States District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., drafting decisions for such issues as approval of class settlements, employment discrimination, First Amendment violations, contracts, and the Federal Wiretap Act. Allison worked as a summer associate at both Kilpatrick Stockton in Atlanta and Barnes, Browning, Tanksley & Casurella in Marietta while in law school. In addition, she held positions with United States Senators Fritz Hollings and Sam Nunn.

Allison received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she was a member of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law, and her B.A., cum laude, from Furman University in South Carolina, where she studied Political Science and History.

 

 

Dr. Joseph Citron, MD

Dr. Joseph Citron received his Medical Doctorate (MD) degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1971. After completing his residency training in ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Citron established a surgical practice in Atlanta where he became a Board Certified Ophthalmologist. During his career as a practicing physician, Dr. Citron held various positions that included chief of staff of Atlanta Hospital and an AMA delegate from Georgia. Additionally, Dr. Citron lectured on surgical techniques and results at National and International conferences.

Dr. Citron received his J.D. from Georgia State College of Law and combines his knowledge of medicine with the practical aspects of law in several areas. He is a consulting attorney in medical malpractice and nursing home abuse cases, an active litigating attorney, and an expert witness.

Dr. Citron's most recent publication appears in the June 2007 issue of the Champion, a monthly journal for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and discusses the mis-application of the Romberg test administered by police in road-side sobriety tests.

He is admitted to practice before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and all Georgia state trial and appellate courts.

Dr. Joseph Citron, MD

An honors graduate of Mercer University School of Law, Jennifer FitzGerald is an experienced real-estate litigation attorney focused on consumer advocacy and protection in the lending process. A former closing attorney, Jennifer uses her unique perspective to expose deceptive and fraudulent practices in the mortgage industry. Current practice areas include consumer lending and Real-Estate closing practices.