ROBERTS TATE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Tax Appeals Coordinator and Legal Assistant
Carrie Toler joins the firm as the Tax Appeals Coordinator and Legal Assistant to James L. Roberts, IV. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for Glynn County Appraisal Office from 2003 to 2021 where she served as their Deputy Chief Appraiser. Carrie also holds an Appraiser IV designation with the Department of Revenue. Other past jobs include Real Estate Sales and Banking. Carrie enjoys spending her time with her three boys and being on the water.
Daniel Strowe is a Partner at the firm with extensive experience in both business litigation and transactional matters. Daniel has advised and represented clients in business disputes, breach of contract actions, real estate and land use/zoning matters. He also assists clients with planning, forming and organizing business entities, as well as, securing state and local licenses, permits and certifications including any necessary alcoholic beverage licenses and food service permits.
Prior to joining Roberts Tate, Daniel was General Counsel for the Jekyll Island Authority where he advised the Board of Directors and executive staff of the Authority on all legal matters with a focus on the areas of land use/zoning, procurements and contracts. He also assisted the Authority by negotiating, structuring, and drafting lease agreements for numerous commercial projects on Jekyll Island resulting in the formation of public-private partnerships that contributed to the continued revitalization of Jekyll Island through the construction, renovation or development of multiple hotels, two planned residential housing communities and a retail shopping district.
Daniel began his legal career as an Assistant Attorney General with the Georgia Attorney General's Office where he practiced in both the Commercial Transactions and Litigation Division and the Regulated Industries and Professions Division. During his public service, Daniel handled transactions and litigation involving the business, financial and property interests of state government, represented Georgia Boards and Commissions that issue professional licenses, and defended the constitutionality of state statutes and regulations in actions seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.
Daniel is admitted to practice law in Georgia state and superior courts, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court, as well as before the United District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia, and is a member of the Glynn County Bar Association.
Daniel received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Juris Doctorate from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Daniel, his wife, Ginny, and their two children, Miles and Charlotte, live on St. Simons Island.
James L. ("Jay") Roberts, IV is a partner in the firm. He is a litigator and trial attorney who practices civil litigation and advises clients in risk management and corporate matters. Mr. Roberts has extensive experience in numerous types of litigation, with a particular focus on business, commercial, personal injury and complex litigation and class actions. He has served as lead counsel in numerous class actions, partnership disputes, fraud and racketeering claims. He has developed a sub-specialty in advising clients in ad valorem tax matters and has assisted clients in obtaining over a billion dollars in market value reductions. He is one of the foremost authorities on ad valorem taxation in the State and is often called upon for input in proposed legislative charges in this area. His knowledge of the effective techniques for litigating value have created a demand for his services in condemnation and other cases with complicated issues concerning property and its value. Additionally, Jay has an active practice in land use matters and related litigation. His experience also extends to toxic torts, medical malpractice, construction, fiduciary and real estate litigation at both the trial and appellate level. Jay also routinely represents injured parties in personal injury claims.
As an active member of the State Bar, he serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Georgia Bar. He is a past President of the Glynn County Bar Association. He is regularly a special invitee to the Advisory Committee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
Mr. Roberts is admitted to practice law in the State of Georgia, as well as before the United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh and Federal Courts.
Mr. Roberts earned his Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law and his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia. Prior to forming Roberts Tate, Jay was a partner in the law firm of Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford & Martin, P.C. He is a former law clerk for the late Honorable Anthony A. Alaimo in the Southern District of Georgia.
Jason M. Tate is a former Assistant United States Attorney with considerable experience litigating an array of civil and criminal matters, including business disputes, partnership dissolutions, breach of contract actions, business torts, construction litigation, and employment matters with a specific focus on fraud, theft and embezzlement. Jason has been rated by his peers as "Preeminent",the highest legal rating available from the leading legal rating service, Martindale Hubbell. In 2012 and 2013, Jason was also named a "Georgia Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine. Jason is admitted to practice law in Georgia state and superior courts, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court, as well as before the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Prior to forming Roberts Tate, Jason worked with the well respected firms of Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford, & Martin P.C. in Brunswick, Georgia and Balch & Bingham in Atlanta, Georgia. Jason also served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, where he worked as a member of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force ("OCDEFT") investigating and prosecuting drug trafficking organizations and firearms-related offenses.
Jason received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law. As an undergraduate, he was a Presidential Scholar and was selected for membership in the Gridiron Society and the Order of the Greek Horsemen. In law school, Jason was a member of the Moot Court Team, a finalist in the Georgia Intrastate and Richard B. Russell Moot Court Competitions, and the coach of the winning team at the Hulsey-Kimbrell Competition. During his last year of law school, he worked in the Clarke County District Attorney's Office, investigating and prosecuting felony offenses.
In 2005, Jason co-authored the article, "Georgia's New Tort Reform: It's Not Just a Medical Malpractice Statute," which was published in the State Bar of Georgia Product Liability Newsletter.
Jason is married to Amanda Alexander Tate of St. Simons Island.
Laura Peel Roberts is a partner at the firm who has experience in many areas of civil litigation, including family law, torts, business and employment litigation. She has successfully represented individual, business and government clients in state and federal courts throughout the state. She has represented clients in all aspects of family law, including divorce, child custody and the drafting of prenuptial agreements. Laura was named as one of Georgia's Legal Elite in the area of Family Law by Georgia Trend Magazine for 2012.
Mrs. Roberts has been licensed to practice law in Georgia since 2001. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law where she served on the Editorial Board for the Georgia Journal of Intellectual Property and the Mock Trial Board. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of West Georgia. She is a member of the Georgia Bar Association and of the Family Law Division of the State Bar. She is licensed to practice in all courts in the State of Georgia and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
She was a Special Invitee to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Advisory Committee meeting in 2010 and 2011. She is on the Executive Committee for The Brunswick Glynn County Bar Association. Mrs. Roberts was appointed and formerly served as the District Representative for the Young Lawyers' Division of the Georgia Bar Association. Mrs. Roberts currently serves on the Board of Directors for CASA Glynn and the American Cancer Society Victory Board. She is a member of Wesley United Methodist Church at Frederica. She is married to Jay Roberts and has two sons, Jack and T.G.
Marsha Flora Schmitter is Of Counsel with Roberts Tate, LLC. Marsha is an experienced litigator with a focus on class actions and complex litigation including property tax, commercial, construction and products liability including representing General Motors Corporation (GM), Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), GM of Canada Limited and CAMI Automotive Inc. in product liability cases throughout the world. Marsha has extensive experience coordinating, managing and defending national litigation. She is a former partner in the prominent Philadelphia law firm of Lavin, O'Neil, et al. Marsha also served as Of Counsel with the construction litigation law firm of Powell, Trachtman, et al in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania where she handled many large complex construction cases and was a senior member of the trial team that won a $38 million jury verdict in the construction case of Donald M. Durkin Contracting, Inc. v. City of Newark, et al, In the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 04-0163-GMS). Marsha has also served as General Counsel for several software companies including ObjectBuilders, Inc.
After graduating from law school, Marsha clerked for Judge Frank A. Buczynski, Jr. in the Family Division and Judge Bernard Kannen in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey Toms River, New Jersey. She then accepted a position with the prominent Philadelphia insurance defense firm of Christie, Pabarue, et al where her practice concentrated on environmental coverage litigation.
Marsha is a graduate of Dickinson School of Law where she was a member of the Dickinson Law Review and author of "Redefining Corporate Law: Eliminating Corporate Directors' Fiduciary Obligations", Dickinson Law Review Volume 96, Winter 1992 Number 2. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Bucknell University with Honors in History. Marsha is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
In addition to being licensed to practice law in Georgia, Marsha has been licensed to practice in Pennsylvania since 1993. She lives on Saint Simons Island with her husband.