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LAWYERS

Get face time with some of the city’s leading attorneys.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE HALL & KATIE IVES

Simpson Law, PC ......................................................144 The Eichholz Law Firm ............................................. 145 The Honorable Tammy Stokes, Chief Judge,

Recorder’s Court Judiciary ......................................146 The Burgess Law Group, LLC .................................. 147 The Law Offices of Joseph J. Steffen Jr. ...................... 148

K. Russell Simpson, Esq.

Simpson Law, PC 2225 Norwood Avenue, Suite A 912.925.7200 simpsonlawpc.com

From left: Jonathan N. Maccabee, K. Russell Simpson, Amy R. Henderson

WHAT AREA OF THE LAW DOES YOUR FIRM FOCUS ON? Trust and estate planning, taxation and administration. We help our clients build, conserve and perpetuate wealth for themselves and future generations.

WHAT IMPLICATIONS DO THE NEW TAX LAWS

HAVE FOR TRUSTS AND ESTATES? Many. Tax law changes always seems to create more complexity, but complexity creates opportunities. We embrace and master the complexity to optimize the opportunities for our clients.

WHAT SAGE ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE OUR READERS? Change is the only constant. Plan on it.

The Eichholz Law Firm

319 Eisenhower Drive 912.232.2791 thejusticelawyer.com

From left: JD Blevins, Cameron Woodward, David Eichholz, Kathryn Sherry, Fatima Zeidan

WE LOVE PRACTICING IN

SAVANNAH BECAUSE … we love and believe in this community. We’re proud to call Savannah home and truly appreciate the opportunity to help serve this awesome city in any way that we can.

WE SPECIALIZE IN ... personal injury law. Our objective is to provide expert legal services in an eff ort to maximize results for clients who have been injured through the negligence of others.

WE’RE SO PROUD OF OUR FIRM

BECAUSE ... of our dedication to our clients and community. We’re incredibly lucky to have a staff that shares our core values and works tirelessly to help others and fi ght for justice.

WE STAY INVOLVED IN THE

COMMUNITY BY … looking for ways to help those in need. Through the pandemic, we’ve been able to help serve the community by providing face masks to frontline healthcare workers, sponsoring WiFi buses for local schoolchildren, giving away Thanksgiving meals and collecting toys for children for the holidays.

WE HAVE A PASSION FOR … helping others! We are dedicated to delivering results for our clients and advocating for justice and social responsibility in our community.

Tammy Stokes

Chatham County Recorder’s Court, Chief Judge 133 Montgomery St. Savannah, GA 31401 912.652.7253 MY MOST CHALLENGING

CASES ARE ... those involving citizens with mental health issues. Without help, they will likely continue to commit crimes, hurting themselves and their community.

MOST PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED

WHEN THEY LEARN I ... spend time with my mother every day. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, and I’m her primary caregiver. I feed her lunch and dinner most days and spend time with her listening to music and talking with her. She is unable to speak back, but I want her to feel loved and know that she is an important part of my life.

MY CHARITY OF CHOICE IS ...

Park Place Outreach, where I am the current board president. Our programs include a youth emergency shelter, a street outreach program, family preservation for teens and a transitional living program for homeless, runaway and at-risk young men ages 16 to 21.

IF I WASN’T A LAWYER … I would be a psychologist. I was a psychology major at the University of Georgia, and becoming a psychologist was my original plan. I love people and am intrigued by human behavior. As a junior at the University of Georgia, I volunteered to read for a law student who was blind. I fell in love with the law.

Stephanie O. Burgess, Esq.

The Burgess Law Group LLC 142 Jefferson St. 912.233.6112 burgesslawgroup@gmail.com burgesslawgroup.com

I SPECIALIZE IN … fighting for my clients’ individual needs and in being the voice for my clients. In divorce work, sometimes the client is broken, sad or has felt bullied. I make sure their case is handled fairly and that their voice is heard. In criminal cases, sometimes the client is tried in the court of public opinion before the trial happens. As a defense attorney, I come in fighting for my client’s rights, and I make sure that my client is seen as more than just a “defendant.” They are a person who is innocent until proven guilty — just in case someone forgot that part.

IF I DID NOT OWN MY OWN LAW

FIRM … I would run a free law clinic that focuses on the needs of deprived or abused children and on the needs of the elderly, especially the sick and shut-in. I would create a sunshine fund for neglected children, and I would draft power-ofattorneys and/or wills for elderly people who are on fixed incomes.

I STAY INVOLVED IN THE

COMMUNITY BY … providing free workshops on common legal issues, such as child support, custody and visitation. I also speak at churches and often partner with agencies that assist the elderly. I am quite a pushover for anything child-related in the community as well.

Joseph J. Steff en Jr.

Law of ces of Joseph J. Steffen, Jr. 317 Tattnall St. 912.604.4147 joesteffen.com

I SPECIALIZE IN ... serious trial cases. I love the courtroom and have for 35 years. Most of my work is in auto and truck accidents and injuries, work injuries, defective products, EEOC claims, higher education and cycling-injury cases.

WHY CYCLING? I have been a lifelong cyclist and advocate for trails and safe cycling. I can take an issue I’m passionate about and use my legal trial experience to help those who are injured while cycling. For instance, many people who are injured by an uninsured or phantom vehicle aren’t aware their own Uninsured Motorist Coverage on their cars also covers them while cycling. DID YOU KNOW ... about 80 percent of cases settle at mediation before trial. You need a lawyer who can be cordial with other lawyers and insurance adjusters but is still willing to go to trial when necessary.

THE BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED

... was from an elderly lawyer I worked with in my fi rst job as a clerk many years ago. He told me, “Your fi nancial success as a lawyer is as much a factor of the cases you don’t take as the ones you do.” Don’t waste your or your client’s time and money on cases that can’t be won. That’s why I tend to be selective in the cases I take. It’s not about volume, but results.

CARL R. VARNEDOE, LLC Attorney at Law

Client Focused. Results Driven. Value Added.

Many so-called plaintiff’s lawyers have never tried a case to a jury. That’s like hiring a surgeon who has never operated. It makes no sense and is extremely dangerous. I have tried 11 cases to a jury’s verdict in Emanuel, Peach, Cherokee, Burke, Liberty, Bryan, McIntosh, Glynn, Wayne and Bulloch counties with combined verdicts of more than $21 million. This is in addition to more than $100 million in negotiated settlements. CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION.

1 Diamond Causeway Suite 21, PMB 300 Savannah, GA 31406 912.205.3456 facebook.com/carlrvarnedoellc

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Congratulations to the 2020 Scholarship Recipients!

Becky Battle

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA Compassion Go Medical Zimbabwe

Maria Kayondo

UGANDA, AFRICA Compassion Go Medical Zimbabwe

Abigail Miller

DALLAS, GA Georgia Southern University Nursing

Gracelyn Cobb

POOLER, GA Savannah Christian Preparatory Female Student Athlete

Trevon Locke

SAVANNAH, GA Georgia Southern University Male Student Athlete

Allison Miller

DALLAS, GA Georgia Southern University Nursing

Monica Dutson

SAVANNAH, GA Georgia Southern University Nursing

Sadrea Mabry

COLUMBUS, GA Savannah State Female Student Athlete

Lacy Robins

STATESBORO, GA Georgia Southern University Female Student Athlete

Reed Ely

MACON, GA Alumni Highlight Scholarship Class of 2019

Jerral Mayes

SAVANNAH, GA Georgia Southern University Nursing

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ATLANTA, GA Compassion Go Medical Ecuador

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MACON, GA Compassion Go Medical Ecuador

Dylan McCloud

MCDONOUGH, GA Savannah State University Male Student Athlete

Tybee Maritime Academy

Savannah Chatham County Public Schools Athletics

Home For Women

INDIA Compassion Christian Church

Justin McInnis

STATESBORO, GA Savannah Christian Preparatory Male Student Athlete

Johnson High School

Savannah Chatham County Public Schools Medical