ATLANTA - Ford & Harrison LLP, a national labor and employment law firm, is pleased to announce that six of the firm's attorneys have been named partner. Lilia R. Bell and Tiffany D. Downs in the firm's Atlanta office, Matthew J. Gilley and David H. Tyner in the firm's Spartanburg office, Steven M. Kroll in the firm's L.A. office and Buena Vista Lyons in the firm's Dallas office, were named partners to the firm effective January 1, 2010.
Lilia Bell focuses her practice on airline labor and employment issues. She frequently assists clients in grievance resolution matters, including mediation and arbitrations. Bell also litigates under the Railway Labor Act and represents management in collective bargaining negotiations. She received her J.D. from Florida State University, magna cum laude, in 1998.
Tiffany Downs focuses her practice on employee benefits. She advises and assists employers with the design, drafting and administration of welfare and retirement plans and corrections programs of the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor. She also advises and defends third-party administrators, ERISA plan sponsors, life, health and disability insurers, and managed care entities in federal and state courts, administrative agencies and in arbitration. Downs has advised and defended claims under ERISA, including welfare and pension benefits claims, breach of fiduciary duty claims, claims for discrimination, class actions and multi-district litigation. She received her J.D. from Loyola Law School in1994.
Matthew Gilley focuses his practice on discrimination and harassment litigation, litigation and advice related to restrictive covenants and protection of proprietary information, and on wage and hour matters. He has experience litigating cases in state and federal courts and advising employers on matters concerning Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the National Labor Relations Act. Additionally, he has experience advising clients on their obligations under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act ("WARN") and other labor and employment laws during mass layoffs and plant closings. Gilley received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 2001.
David Tyner focuses his practice on employment law, including defending employers in discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination litigation. He represents employers in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. He has also practiced before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the South Carolina Court of Appeals. His published cases include Bowling v. Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital, 635 S.E. 2d 624 (2006), and Coakley v. Horace Mann Ins. Co., 609 S.E. 2d 537 (2005). Tyner received his J.D. from University of South Carolina School of Law in 2002.
Steven Kroll concentrates his practice on employment law, litigation, and client counseling. He represents employers against various discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour lawsuits. He also represents employers in suing former employees for breach of contract, unfair competition, fraud, and defamation claims. He handles appeals before the California Courts of Appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Kroll received his J.D. from Loyola Law School in 2001.
Vista Lyons represents employers in multi-state employment litigation matters. Her litigation experience includes defending employers against state and federal employment–related claims under Title VII, TCHRA, ADEA, FMLA and ADA; FLSA collective actions; retaliatory discharges; and breach of employment contracts and non-compete agreements. She also counsels management on multi-state, federal and international employment practice issues; prepares and reviews anti-harassment and FMLA/ADA training programs for managers and employees; reviews personnel handbooks, policies and procedures; and prepares reduction-in-force plans and severance/ retention plans. She also analyzes federal and multi-state wage and hour matters. Lyons received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1996.