Baker Donelson has expanded its Business Litigation Group with the addition of Robert L. "Bobby" Shannon Jr. Mr. Shannon, an experienced trial attorney in catastrophic high exposure cases and complex commercial litigation damages cases with a national practice, joins as a shareholder and will be based in the Firm's Atlanta office.
Mr. Shannon has tried more than 69 cases to verdict, involving multimillion and even billion dollar claims, across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. He has obtained favorable outcomes in well over 250 significant damages exposure cases where he was engaged months or even days before trial. He has served as lead or co-counsel in a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters, including multidistrict litigation and class actions, in federal and state courts across the country.
Buckner Wellford, chair of Baker Donelson's Advocacy Department, noted,"Baker Donelson, unlike a lot of firms its size, has a deep and wide bench of trial lawyers who have tried more than 500 cases in 46 states. We value the ability and experience our lawyers have in taking cases to trial or arbitration, and consider that to be a critical part of what we offer clients. Bobby is widely known as a trial lawyer who takes on difficult cases, often shortly before trial. He achieves outstanding results for his clients. Having Bobby as one of the leaders of our team of trial lawyers demonstrates Baker Donelson's commitment to this important part of the litigation process."
Gary Barnes, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Atlanta office, added,"Bobby has an exceptional reputation as a national trial lawyer. His national practice is a strong complement to the capabilities and strengths of Baker Donelson's litigation practice here in Georgia as well as across our footprint."
In addition to his outstanding record of litigation success, Mr. Shannon served seven years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force before transferring to the Air National Guard (ANG) to attend law school at the University of Georgia. In his 35 years of service, he had 18 deployments in support of combat and contingency operations to 30 countries. He retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 2017 with the rank of Major General. Prior to his retirement, General Shannon was dual hatted and concurrently served as the Assistant to the Commander, 25th Air Force (Joint Base San Antonio, Texas) and as Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force (A2) for Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (Pentagon). The A2 reports to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Director of National Intelligence and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He also served as a key leader in various capacities to include Cyber General Officer Advisory Council; U.S. Cyber Command's Reserve Summit; Vice Chair, ANG Strategic Planning Steering Committee; charter member of the Pentagon Joint Diversity Executive Council;and as a member of the Secretary of the Air Force's Policy Committee.
Mr. Shannon is recognized in the Atlanta Business League Men of Influence Legends Hall of Fame, has been named to Georgia Trend magazine's "Legal Elite," and is regularly listed in Georgia Super Lawyers. He completed the Leadership and Crisis Management Course at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Also joining the Business Litigation Group in Atlanta is Ciera Locklair. Ms. Locklair, who joins as an associate, defends clients in a variety of complex commercial litigation disputes, trials, and appeals. She has adiverse practice that focuses on complex commercial litigation, with a heavy emphasis on complex and catastrophic injury matters in the areas of product liability, premises liability, civil rights / Section 1983 matters, transportation, and bad faith litigation. As part of this national trial team that routinely defends high exposure jury trials with multimillion dollar demands, Ms. Locklair has assisted in parachuting into more than 50 multimillion dollar matters already set for trial.
A graduate of Florida State University College of Law, Ms. Locklair interned with the Florida State University College of Law's Public Interest Law Center, where she gained valuable oral argument experience handling social security filings, hearings, and appeals.
Baker Donelson's Business Litigation Group is composed of more than 100 trial lawyers, including former judges and state and federal prosecutors, who advise clients regarding disputes encompassing business arrangements across a broad spectrum of local, regional, and national industry sectors.
