PRATT CLAY - Key Persons
Originally from Canada, April moved to the U.S. at a young age and grew up in Lawrenceville, GA.
She has more than five years of experience managing the daily activities in law firms. Previously, she helped a plaintiff's firm in Buckhead grow from a small, four person firm, to a large firm with multiple offices. She then took on managing the statewide operations of a large court reporting agency, and was ultimately drawn back to her passion of working with attorneys and their clients to secure the best possible compensation when they are injured. She enjoys working behind the scenes to make sure the firm is running smoothly in all it's day-to-day tasks.
April is fluent in Spanish, well versed in French, and is working towards becoming a state certified interpreter. She is proud of being able to assist the Spanish speaking community obtain the help they need and ensure they feel comfortable when they need an attorney.
April lives in Duluth with her husband, Victor, their son and their dog. She enjoys travelling to other countries, and spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys trying new restaurants and foods in Atlanta.
She is very proud to be part of the Pratt Clay team, working towards justice for their clients.
Practice Areas
Premises Liability
Christopher (Christy) Lambden graduated with honors from Emory Law School in May 2019. During his law school career Christy was recognized on numerous occasions for his skills in trial. Christy was recognized as the most outstanding advocacy student in the graduating class. He was also recognized as the most outstanding advocate at the William M Daniels National Mock Trial Tournament, as well as the most outstanding advocate at the Southwest Regional competition of the National Trial Competition.
Originally from the UK, Christy came to the US as a Morehead-Cain scholar to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was elected Student Body President in his final year. He led the student body in navigating issues that garnered national attention including the University's response to sexual assault, and student athletics.
Chuck Clay is a father of three, little league baseball coach, and truly authentic lawyer who combines a highly competitive spirit with client-centered objectives. Chuck's greatest professional satisfaction is using his creative intellect for the benefit of his clients.
Chuck began practicing law in 1999 after graduating with honors from Furman University and the University of Georgia School of Law. He founded Chuck Clay and Associates in 2013 with an exclusive focus on personal injuries and civil disputes. Prior to forming Chuck Clay and Associates, Chuck had a distinguished career as an equity partner in a preeminent defense firm and has represented fortune 500 companies, product manufacturers, small companies, insurers, and many individual clients. This past experience allows him to evaluate cases quickly and accurately and to identify the core issues at the heart of complicated disputes. He is fortunate to have retained many close relationships that provide unique opportunities to move cases quickly and bring more value to the client.
Chuck has national experience that includes litigating in 25 states and trying numerous multi-million dollar cases, including the case of a crane accident victim which returned a verdict of $44 million. He takes pride in being able to explain complex situations in simple terms.
Outside of his practice, Chuck is a frequent lecturer and author on topics such as distracted driving claims, handling catastrophic injury claims, dram shop liability, children's products liability in Georgia and Nevada, jury trial strategy, deposition tactics and strategies, and premises liability claims.
Education
University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, Georgia
J.D. - 1999
Chuck agrees. After years of success in a defense firm that specialized in trying catastrophic injury cases, Chuck found himself thinking about shifting his focus to people who have been injured. Tragically, the opportunity came in a pair of cases where family friends were killed in catastrophic accidents. He was successful in both cases and didn't look back. He started his plaintiffs' firm and has been fighting for the wrongly injured ever since.
is a seasoned trial lawyer with a successful record of litigating high-stakes catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. Before switching his practice to fight on the side of suffering individuals and their families, Jim spent over 15 years defending some of the nation's most respected companies and healthcare providers. Now, Jim focuses his efforts on bringing justice to individuals injured or killed because of the negligence of corporations, property owners, hospitals, health care providers, trucking companies, and other wrongdoers.
Jim says his favorite part of being a plaintiff's lawyer is helping people through the most challenging parts of their lives. "The legal process is intimidating," Jim says, "and having someone with compassion who can relate to you is very important. I've been blessed with a top-notch education, excellent training and experience, and a tireless work ethic. It is my mission and obligation to use my gifts and talents to help those who are hurt and suffering."
Taking an analytical approach to litigation, Jim finds each case presents unique challenges and opportunities. Jim says, "I've been fortunate I've had so many different types of cases in my career that I am used to being creative in order to develop customized solutions for each client." Jim's work ethic and philosophy are a perfect fit with Pratt Clay's philosophy of precision litigation.
Regarded by his legal peers as a thought leader, Jim is frequently invited to speak at seminars around the country on various topics including, trial advocacy and tactics, negligent security litigation, rape/sexual assault litigation, medical malpractice, discovery, ethics and professionalism, case evaluation, and legal strategy.
For Jim, justice isn't just about getting the right result for his client. "It's about getting the right outcome in the right way," Jim says. "It's about doing things with integrity and giving your full effort. My clients want as large a monetary recovery as possible for their case, but they also want to hold wrongdoers responsible for the damage they caused. They want answers and I work to get them. I work night and day to deliver the results that my clients deserve."
Admitted to the bar in Georgia and Ohio, Jim has represented clients in cases in trial courts across the country. He has handled appellate cases in The Supreme Court of Georgia, The Supreme Court of Ohio, The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and State Appellate Courts in Georgia and Ohio. Jim earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University.
Jim enjoys spending time with his wife Jill, spoiling their rescue dogs, and keeping up with friends and family.
Education
Case Western Reserve University Law School, Cleveland, Ohio
J.D. - 2002
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
B.A. - 1999
Tammy is a native of Georgia, born in Elberton, Georgia, graduating from Elbert County High School. Furthering her education at Athens Area Technical College, University of Georgia and then earning her paralegal certificate from Gwinnett Technical Institute. Tammy has worked for both plaintiff and defense firms during her career. She has worked in Athens, Georgia for a plaintiff firm for 5 years and later worked for defense firms for 25 years. She has served as lead trial paralegal in many jury trials, mock trials and arbitrations all over the United States with very experience lawyers. Tammy has managed shadow juries during trials across the U.S. and has an exorbitant amount of legal expertise. She loves working with clients and enjoys investigative work. She is excited to be a part of the team at Pratt Clay, LLC.
Tammy lives in Stone Mountain with her husband Melvin and they have 2 children, Alexsis who attends North Carolina A&T State University in their Bio-Medical Engineering Program, Justin attends Tucker High School and participates in their Varsity Basketball and Varsity Tennis program. Tammy enjoys traveling, spending time with her family in Athens and Elberton as well as many friends in the Atlanta Metro area. She volunteers at her church and holds the office of Booster President for the Tucker Basketball Organization, she is the cheerleading coach's liaison and oversees purchasing for the Tucker Cheerleading program.
Practice Areas
Premises Liability