RUTHERFORD CHRISTIE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate at Rutherford & Christie
Bobby Rung is an associate at Rutherford & Christie in New York. He concentrates his practice in civil defense litigation and focuses on state and federal civil litigation including, professional liability and premises liability.
Bobby received his Juris Doctor degree from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and his undergraduate degree in Legal Studies from Quinnipiac University.
Prior to joining Rutherford & Christie, Bobby was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York's Administration for Children's Services. He successfully litigated numerous matters on behalf of New York City involving child abuse and neglect cases.
Bobby is admitted in the State of New York, Connecticut, and the United States District Courts for both the Southern and Eastern District of New York.
Job Titles:
- Associate in Rutherford & Christie 's Atlanta
Brianna M. Blackmon is an Associate in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta office. Prior to joining Rutherford & Christie, she practiced workers' compensation defense for one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S., and medical malpractice defense at a well-respected Atlanta-based firm. Brianna's current practice focuses on civil defense litigation, including general liability, premises liability, and automobile and trucking liability.
Brianna graduated cum laude from North Carolina Central University Law School. At NCCU Law, Brianna was a member of the Moot Court Board and a student practitioner in the Patent and Trademark Clinic. She also worked as a research assistant and interned at the North Carolina Division of Employment Security.
Brianna successfully handles cases from inception, including pre-suit investigations, through
discovery, dispositive motions, and trial. Brianna is admitted to practice in the State and Superior
Job Titles:
- Member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association Trial Academy
- Named Chair of Georgia Defense Lawyers Trial Academy, Georgia Defense Lawyer - 2018
Carrie Christie is an AV-rated trial attorney with over 30 years of experience in representing, consulting with, and defending at trial some of America's most loved brands. She serves as National Counsel for many well-recognized companies and has defended them in both state and federal court in more than 25 states, as well as in Puerto Rico.
Carrie has obtained summary judgment in numerous death and serious injury cases in which plaintiffs were seeking seven-to-eight-figure jury awards. She has precluded plaintiffs from presenting expert testimony, based on rigorous pre-trial cross examination and successful Daubert motions.
In admitted liability cases, Carrie has repeatedly secured verdicts well below that last-negotiated offer at mediation.
Carrie is a current faculty member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association Trial Academy and serves as the only lawyer on the Board of the Restaurant Risk Management Summit, an industry-only forum that serves more than 150 brands for risk, safety, claims professionals, and general counsel.
Over the last 20 years, Carrie has been a speaker at annual meetings of numerous risk management and claims organizations, to include the National Restaurant Association, RIMS, Tort & Litigation Practice Group, and the Restaurant Roundtable. She has served as a consultant to numerous national and international brands, helping to create written safe alcohol service policies and procedures and defending them in catastrophic injury and death matters resulting from dram shop, premises liability and security, food borne illness, and construction defect claims.
Carrie represents trucking and construction companies, as well as major domestic and international airline companies, having obtained summary judgment in death claims under the Montreal Treaty and Warsaw Convention. She successfully defended the "completed and accepted" doctrine before the Georgia Supreme Court in a death case, upholding 100 years of legal precedent in the state.
Rutherford & Christie is one of the most talented firms with whom I have ever worked. I have been litigating insurance matters for over 26 years, so when I find talent, I recognize it. Nothing illustrates the confidence I have in this firm more than a defense verdict [obtained by Carrie Christie] awarded in a complex construction case involving paralysis. The firm has obtained summary judgment after summary judgment on numerous cases, which I value more than defense verdicts and which were upheld on appeal. I highly recommend this firm to anyone wishing to take a strong defense posture on their cases.
Job Titles:
- Associate Attorney in Rutherford & Christie 's New
Cassidy M. Brillhart is an Associate Attorney in Rutherford & Christie's New York office. Ms. Brillhart received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 2022 from the Charleston School of Law and her undergraduate degree in Political Science, with a minor in Criminology from Georgia Southern University. While in law school, she was selected to serve on the Trial Advocacy Board, through which she won numerous awards for her oral advocacy skills at competitions across the country.
Cassidy was born and raised in Atlanta but chose to take the New York Bar Exam as practicing law in Manhattan was her dream from a very young age. Prior to joining Rutherford & Christie, Ms. Brillhart was an Associate Attorney at a New York firm specializing in Matrimonial Law, with her specific focus on the firm's more complex matters.
Job Titles:
- Associate at Rutherford & Christie LLP
Chastity M. Marshall is an associate at Rutherford & Christie LLP. Chastity's practice focuses on civil litigation, including premises liability and general liability. Prior to joining Rutherford & Christie, she practiced for several years in insurance defense for one of the largest insurance companies in the country.
Chastity received her JD from Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law. She also interned at Georgia Legal Aid Program in Macon, GA and appeared in court in the areas of family law, housing, and eviction prevention matters on behalf of indigent clients pursuant to the Third-Year Practice Act. Chastity is a graduate of the University of Georgia, with a degree in Biology.
Chastity is admitted to practice law in State and Superior Courts across Georgia and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She is also admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of New York, Third Judicial Department.
Practice Areas
Education & Bar Admissions
Courtney Marcelo Norton is a Partner in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta office. Her practice focuses on complex civil defense litigation, in both state and federal courts, and she represents clients on a nationwide basis in areas of employment law, aviation litigation, premises liability, construction liability, dram shop litigation, wrongful death and medical malpractice. She has tried cases, to verdict, in state and federal court and has taken cases up to Georgia's Court of Appeals and Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Courtney received a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from Georgia Institute of Technology, graduating summa cum laude, with the second highest grade point average in her class. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgia State University College of Law, graduating in the top 5% of her law school class.
Courtney brings over fifteen years of experience in dispositive motion practice, earning unprecedented wins for her clients through motions for summary judgment, motions to dismiss and strategic expert exclusions under Daubert. Her methodology is to aggressively pursue innovative victories for her clients at the earliest dispositive stages in litigation in order to shut cases down.
She is admitted to practice law in Georgia State and Superior Courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner at Rutherford & Christie LLP
David S. Rutherford is a founding partner at Rutherford & Christie LLP and manages the New York office. David's diverse trial and appellate practice over the past thirty-six (36) years has focused on complex and catastrophic litigation in a variety of fields, including sexual abuse/sexual misconduct, aviation, products liability, First Amendment and Civil Rights, constitutional law, employment, dram shop and restaurant liability. He serves as trial counsel for major nationwide companies and social services organizations, as well as insurance carriers, both primary and excess.
In addition to litigating in the state and federal courts of New York, David has served and continues to serve as national counsel for several of the firm's clients and has handled cases in forty-seven (47) of the fifty states, including arguing appeals in the Supreme Courts of several states.
Job Titles:
- Associate in Rutherford & Christie 's Atlanta
Jake H. Blalock is an Associate in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta office. Jake joined Rutherford & Christie after previously representing plaintiffs in personal injury, premises liability, and wrongful death cases.
Jake earned his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, in Finance from Samford University. Jake was an active participant in Cumberland's nationally ranked trial advocacy program. Most notably, Jake competed in the American Associate for Justice (AAJ) Student Trial Competition, where he swept his region en route to finishing 5th in the country.
Jake successfully handles cases from inception, including pre-suit investigations and expansive discovery, through settlement and trial.
Jake and his wife live in Atlanta. In his free time, Jake enjoys playing golf, attending Atlanta sporting events, and cheering on the Tennessee Volunteers.
Practice Areas
Education & Bar Admissions
Job Titles:
- Associate in Rutherford & Christie 's Atlanta
Jeff Scheese is an Associate in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta office. Jeff joined Rutherford & Christie with over 3 years of experience within insurance defense litigation. He focuses his practice on litigation related to premises liability, defense of churches and religious institutions, workers' compensation, automobile and trucking liability, and general liability matters.
Job Titles:
- Associate in Rutherford & Christie 's Atlanta
Kerry E. Heneghan is an Associate in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta Office. Kerry joined Rutherford & Christie as a law clerk through the firm's Clerkship-to-Associate program and transitioned into her Associate position in October 2023.
Kerry earned her J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law and her undergraduate degree in Political Science & International Affairs from University of Georgia. During law school, Kerry was a member of the Student Trial Lawyers Association when her team competed and won first place in the 2021 National Medical-Legal Trial Competition hosted by Hofstra University.
Kerry successfully handles cases from inception, including pre-suit investigations and expansive discovery, through settlement and trial.
Kerry is engaged to be married to her fiancé Andrew. Kerry enjoys reading, needlepointing, Pure Barre, and cheering on the Dawgs in her free time.
Practice Areas
Education & Bar Admissions
Job Titles:
- Partner at Rutherford & Christie LLP
Michael C. Becker is a partner at Rutherford & Christie LLP. He is a civil litigator with a broad range of experience practicing in state and federal Courts throughout New York and New Jersey. He has amassed a successful record of verdicts and settlements over his career for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Job Titles:
- Pittman Construction Company, Inc
Job Titles:
- Associate With Rutherford & Christie, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia
Quinton R. Beasley is an associate with Rutherford & Christie, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. He practices civil defense litigation focusing on the defense of national corporations in death and catastrophic injury litigation, dram shop claims, and automobile/trucking litigation.
Quinton received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgia State University College of Law. He is able to utilize his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Georgia in evaluating the needs of his clients.
Quinton's practice includes defending restaurants, trucking companies, and insurance companies against claims brought at all levels. Quinton has been successful in defending cases pre-trial through strategic motions practices.
Quinton is admitted to practice in both state and federal courts in Georgia, including the Court of Appeals of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He is also licensed to practice at the state and federal level in Minnesota.
Practice Areas
Education & Bar Admissions
Job Titles:
- Associate in Rutherford & Christie 's New
R. Drake Herring is an associate in Rutherford & Christie's New York Office. Mr. Herring received his Juris Doctor in 2023 from the University of Richmond School of Law. During law school, he developed his legal research, writing, and case presentation skills through his work as Publications Editor of the University of Richmond Law Review and member of the University of Richmond School of Law's Trial Advocacy Board, Moot Court Board, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Board.
Prior to moving to New York, Mr. Herring served as an intern with the University of Virginia School of Medicine: Office of Grants and Contracts during the summer of 2021 and as an intern for Chief Judge Marla Graff Decker of the Court of Appeals of Virginia during the summer of 2022.
Mr. Herring is happily married to his wife, Willa Sharpe. Together, they have two dogs, Winnie
and Baby Bear, and two cats, Hercules and Artemis. In his free time, he likes to read, write, watch college basketball and NFL football, and take his dogs on walks throughout NYC.
Job Titles:
- Partner in Rutherford & Christie 's Atlanta
Savannah L. Bowling is a Partner in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta office. She practices complex civil defense litigation, in both state and federal courts, including pro hac vice appearances across the southeast, focusing on premises liability, premises security, dram shop liability, wrongful death, construction liability, automobile and trucking liability, indemnity, breach of contract, and third-party liability, and coverage disputes.
Savannah earned her J.D., magna cum laude, and Advanced Certificate in Environmental Law, from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. After graduating in the top 3% of her law school class, Savannah returned to her home state of Georgia and began her legal career with Rutherford & Christie.
Savannah's practice includes defending national restaurant and quick-service brands, department stores and retailers, general and subcontractors, janitorial service providers, trucking companies, property owners and managers, individuals, corporations, and insurance companies against varying claims of all degrees, from the investigation phase through discovery, dispositive motions, and trial. Savannah has secured numerous bench trial, discovery motions and summary judgment wins for Rutherford & Christie's clients. Savannah seeks creative solutions to assist clients in resolving claims quickly and efficiently.
Savannah is admitted to practice law in State and Superior Courts across Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia and the Middle District of Georgia. She is also admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of New York, Second Judicial Department.
Practice Areas
Representative Cases
Job Titles:
- Associate at Rutherford & Christie
Spencer Gilbert is an associate at Rutherford & Christie in New York. He concentrates in civil defense litigation and focuses on state and federal civil litigation with a concentration in medical malpractice.
Spencer received his Juris Doctor degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and his undergraduate degree from Binghamton University.
Prior to joining Rutherford & Christie, Spencer served as an Associate for a well-regarded New York firm with his practice concentrating in civil litigation with a focus on contract, real estate, and property tax issues. Spencer also clerked for Judge Diccia T. Pineda-Kirwan in New York State Supreme Court. While there he wrote numerous memoranda on complex issues regarding a wide range of legal subjects, as well as drafted judicial orders and decisions.
Spencer is admitted to practice in the State of New York.
Practice Areas
Education & Bar Admissions
Practice Areas
Civil Defense Litigation
Job Titles:
- Associate in Rutherford & Christie 's Atlanta
Tereza Kucerova is an Associate in Rutherford & Christie's Atlanta office. She focuses her practice on the civil defense of nationally-recognized brands in premise liability and automobile and trucking litigation.
Tereza earned her J.D. from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School and her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University. Tereza was born in the Czech Republic and has an extensive international background, as she is fluent in the Czech language and understands Slavic languages.
Prior to joining Rutherford & Christie, she practiced in a boutique law firm focusing primarily on immigration law and family law.
Tereza's practice includes defending national hospitality brands and handling a variety of complex cases with a focus on premises liability.
Practice Areas
Education & Bar Admissions