LAWRENCE FIRM - Key Persons
Emily started at TLF as the Accounting Manager in March of 2022. As the Accounting Manager, she does all things numbers to keep TLF financially sound.
Before arriving at TLF, and in addition to her position at TLF, she is a small business owner of Kid Kovers LLC, which she has run for 14 years. Philanthropically she volunteers at her parish as a member of the finance council, as the chair of her parish festival silent auction, and serves on the decorating committee. Her greatest loves are her 4 children, to be outside, to exercise, and spend time with her family and friends.
Erin is a former Graphic Designer and Certified Yoga Instructor who took a leap of faith and joined TLF in February 2020 to start a new career. Erin began as the receptionist at TLF, but quickly took on additional duties, transitioning into the paralegal role as the need arose and employees began working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a paralegal, Erin brings compassion and empathy to TLF's injured clients. Primarily supporting attorney Jennifer Lawrence, Erin takes initiative and anticipates the needs of others. Erin uses her graphic design experience to prepare creative and effective exhibits. She also uses her yoga experience to create a calm and mindful workspace.
Erin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Northern Kentucky University and is attending the University of Cincinnati to complete her Certificate in Law and Paralegal Studies. She grew up in the Northern Kentucky area and currently resides in Covington with her husband Justin, their cat Ned, and their dog Booker. Outside of work, Erin enjoys yoga and meditation, strength training, cooking and baking, and traveling.
Education
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Cincinnati, Ohio
J.D. - 1997
Job Titles:
- Judicial Clerk, 1997 to 1998
Job Titles:
- ATTORNEY
- Partner of the Lawrence Firm, PSC
Jennifer L. Lawrence is a partner of The Lawrence Firm, PSC, in Covington, Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence practices law with a particular focus on product liability, mass torts and medical malpractice. She represents a wide variety of clients throughout the United States including the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence has concentrated her practice representing clients and their families injured as a result of defective medical devices, dangerous drugs and medical and hospital negligence. A representative sample of clients includes representing individuals against hospitals and medical providers, the manufacturers of the da Vinci Surgical Robot, Essure birth control, testosterone, Xarelto, Johnson & Johnson's baby powder (Talc), cardiac catheters and IVC filters. Ms. Lawrence strives to help families obtain compensation for injuries and to discover the truth of what happened to their loved ones. It is part of Ms. Lawrence's mission to help families gain closure through the discovery of not only an explanation of what happened but why it happened. In the pursuit of justice, it is always the goal to uncover the medical and factual truth. Ms. Lawrence hopes that through helping families one at a time that ultimately the quality of production of medical devices and drugs and the quality of care within the health care system will improve within our country.
Ms. Lawrence graduated with a B.A. from The Ohio State University and earned her law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law. She graduated within the top of her class and earned the highest grades in several classes. While in law school, she was an active participant of Moot Court. She is admitted to practice in Kentucky and Ohio, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence is a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Northern Kentucky Bar Association, the Kentucky Justice Association, serving as a District Vice President and a member of the Ohio Association for Justice. She is also a member of the American Association for Justice and as served as a Co-Chair of the da Vinci Robotic Surgical Litigation Group and previously as a board member of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group. Ms. Lawrence has been a member of the Salmon P. Chase American Inn of Court. Ms. Lawrence previously served by appointment on the Ohio CLE Commission and on the Kentucky Supreme Court Committee on the Admission To The Bar. She has also served as a board member for the Children's Law Center, the Kenton County Library Foundation Board and has served on boards for various other organizations.
Ms. Lawrence has successfully concluded to verdict trials in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She has successfully argued before the Ohio Supreme Court, and Appellate courts in Ohio and Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence has been recognized for her accomplishments as an attorney by Super Lawyers and has been named as one of the Top 25 Women Attorneys in Kentucky for the years 2016 and 2017. She has previously spoken on products liability and medical malpractice for a variety of professional organizations including The Ohio Association of Justice, Kentucky Justice Association, American Association of Justice and the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and has co-authored an article on medical malpractice published in the Northern Kentucky Law Review. With her law practice Ms. Lawrence is involved in a wide variety of professional and volunteer activities. She has served as an adjunct professor at Chase College of Law and serves as a volunteer at moot court competitions, local non-profit organizations and serves as a volunteer for her children's activities and school. Ms. Lawrence has had the privilege of practicing law with her family which includes her father Richard Lawrence and her sister Lindsay Lawrence. She grew up in the Cincinnati area and lives in Northern Kentucky with her husband, Rob, also a partner in The Lawrence Firm, who always insists that he is right, and their three children, who think that they are as funny as their father.
Education
Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Highland Heights, Kentucky
J.D. - 1996
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
B.A. - 1993
Jill Gustafson has been representing catastrophically injured clients for the last 25 years. Ms. Gustafson received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the Ohio State University. She became a Registered Nurse and worked a number of years in Nursing at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus Ohio and with Traveling Nurses. She graduated cum laude from the University of Akron College of Law. She joined the Lawrence Firm in 1991.
Ms. Gustafson has been involved with American Association of Justice (AAJ), Ohio Association of Justice (OAJ), Kentucky Association of Justice (KJA), the Cincinnati Bar Association, Northern Kentucky Bar Association. She also is a past member of the Board of Trustees (OAJ).
For the past 25 years Ms. Gustafson has devoted the majority of her life to the representation of clients of all ages from birth through adulthood, catastrophically injured as a result of negligence of hospitals and healthcare providers, including Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and others. Ms. Gustafson views her work as an extension of her nursing career, advocating for the patient, a basic tenet of the nursing and health care.
When not working, Ms. Gustafson enjoys spending her time with her daughter, friends and family. She is an avid Ohio State Buckeye fan and enjoys sporting events in support of the Buckeyes.
Job Titles:
- ATTORNEY
- Member of the Northern Kentucky Bar Association 's Board of Directors
Kara is a member of the Northern Kentucky Bar Association's Board of Directors and is a past Chair of the Young Lawyers Section. Over the years, she has held numerous other leadership positions in the Young Lawyers Section.
Karyn started with TLF in May of 2016 as the office manager. She re-joined the workforce after taking a 12-year hiatus to stay home with her 3 children. Her role at TLF continues to evolve, but her passion for helping others and growing the firm continues to be her top priority.
Prior to a busy family life, Karyn worked for The Limited Corporation in Columbus Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Science in 1993 from The Ohio State University.
Karyn resides in Anderson Township with her husband Thom, their 3 kids, 2 cats, and a bougie dog named Ginger. When she's not working, Karyn enjoys a good baseball game, gardening, music, travel, and spending time with family and friends.
Michael D. Gilday has represented injured individuals and their families for over 40 years. He was a Chief Hearing Officer of the Southwest Region of the Industrial Commission for 28 years, where he adjudicated and settled disputed workers' compensation cases. When he retired from the Industrial Commission in 2006, he continued to represent clients who had suffered injuries as a result of negligence. He has also served as a mediator in approximately 100 workers' compensation claims since 2006. He joined The Lawrence Firm as Of Counsel in 2019, where he enjoys working with his daughter, Anne. He resides in Cincinnati with his wife. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf with his friends and traveling to warm weather destinations.
Education
Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Highland Heights, Kentucky
J.D. - 1977
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
B.S. - 1973
Professional Associations
Cincinnati Bar Association
Southwest Ohio Trial Lawyers Association
Nicol Chasteen is an Executive Legal Assistant here at TLF. She has been with TLF since July of 2016. Nicol does a little bit of everything at TLF, helping attorneys with various aspects of their cases. When she is not at work, Nicol enjoys spending her free time taking her children to their activities and spending time at Lake Cumberland with family and friends. Nicol is always willing to help - feel free to reach out to her with any questions.
Rob Lewis is an AV rated attorney who is a passionate advocate for his catastrophically injured clients and their families. He devotes the majority of his practice to representing children who are needlessly and tragically devastated by brain injuries at birth as a result of poorly managed labors and negligently executed deliveries.
Rob has successfully tried and litigated many cases involving birth injuries, including those involving Cerebral Palsy, perinatal stroke, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and traumatic brain injury. Similarly, he has successfully tried and resolved cases involving many other types of medical negligence, including cases involving brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, anesthesia errors, surgical errors and hospital systems failures. He believes in giving his all for the people he represents and fighting for them while keeping in mind that litigation is usually not their first choice and that their lives already have been complicated by injury and loss.
He frequently writes and lectures on birth injury, medical negligence, litigation, and trial practice. He is a past Co-Chairman of the American Association of Justice's Birth Trauma Litigation Group, a national organization of attorneys who are devoted to serving injured babies and their families. He is also a member of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group's Executive Board and a past Co-Editor of the Birth Trauma Litigation Journal. He has also served as a Co-Chairman of the American Association of Justice's Medical Negligence Information Exchange Group.
He has spent most of his life in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. He is a 1989 graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a 1997 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law. After graduating from Miami, he served as an officer in the United States Navy and as a Division Officer on the USS MOOSBRUGGER (DD-980). After graduation from the University of Cincinnati, College of Law, he had the honor of serving as a judicial clerk to the Honorable William O. Bertelsman, then Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky. At the University of Cincinnati, College of Law, he served as Articles Editor and as an Associate on the Law Review. He is a member of the Ohio and Kentucky Bar Associations, AAJ (American Association of Justice), OAJ (Ohio Association for Justice), and KJA (Kentucky Justice Association). He is a Past- President of the University of Cincinnati College of Law Alumni Association. He lives in Northern Kentucky with his wife, Jennifer, his three kids, his two dogs, Martin and Molly. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, attending his kids' school and sporting events and serving as the Chairman of the Board of Crescent Ridge Academy. Rob also spends a great deal of time arguing with his wife, Jennifer Lawrence, who is also a lawyer.
Job Titles:
- American Inn of Court, Member
- College of Law, past Board Member of Alumni