Knoxville, TN – Lewis Thomason has expanded its statewide Health Care Practice Group with the addition of six attorneys to its Knoxville office, announced Rodney A. Fields, Managing Shareholder of the Knoxville office and Chairman of the firm’s Board of Directors.
“This is exciting for our firm and for the city of Knoxville,” Fields said. “Health care law is a growing practice in the Knoxville area, so we are pleased for the possibilities in adding these six accomplished and capable attorneys to our team. These attorneys will complement and enhance our statewide health care practice.”
For over 25 years, Heidi Barcus has represented hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals in healthcare liability matters. She is licensed in Tennessee and Kentucky and has successfully defended regional and local health care facilities, medical practices, long-term care facilities, and insurance companies in state and federal court. Barcus is certified as a specialist in Medical Professional Liability by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. Barcus has tried numerous matters to verdict at all trial levels of Tennessee and Kentucky courts. She practices in the federal and state courts of both Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as all appellate courts of each state.
Barcus previously served as staff attorney and assistant general counsel at the University of Tennessee Medical Center where she directed the day-to-day legal services of the hospital and advised the hospital administration on health care liability, HIPAA, and employment law. Barcus is chair of the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Division, and she authors a bimonthly practice management column for Law Practice Magazine. She has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law and is a past president of the Knoxville Bar Association. She currently sits on the Tennessee Bar Association’s Board of Governors. She is a graduate of Baylor University with a B.A.; holds an M.A. from Ohio University, and graduated cum laude from University of Tennessee College of Law.
Jeff Thompson has tried over 70 jury trials to verdict in state and federal courts. His practice focuses on the defense of physicians and hospitals in healthcare liability cases and the defense of public officials and governmental entities. He is admitted to practice in all Federal and State courts in Tennessee, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Knoxville Bar Association, and Defense Research Institute. He is the Knoxville representative of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. He holds an “AV” rating with Martindale Hubbell and has been named a Mid-South Super Lawyer. Thompson earned a B.S. at University of Tennessee and his J.D. at University of Tennessee College of Law.
Gina Vogel practices in the areas of healthcare liability, civil rights litigation, defense of public officials and governmental entities, and general civil litigation. Vogel is a member of the Hamilton Burnett Inns of Court and the Defense Research Institute. She is actively involved in the Tennessee Bar Association and Knoxville Bar Association. Vogel graduated summa cum laude from University of Tennessee and earned her J.D. at University of Tennessee College of Law.
Hillary Jones practices in the areas of healthcare liability and appellate matters. Jones represents individual physicians, physician groups, mid-level providers, and hospitals. She has argued and briefed many matters before the state and federal appellate courts. Following law school, Jones clerked for the Honorable Frank F. Drowota III, of the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the Honorable William C. Koch, Jr., of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Jones is a former president of the Knoxville Bar Association Barristers, has served on the Knoxville Bar Association Board of Governors, and is a Fellow of the Knoxville Bar Foundation. She earned a B.A. at Emory University and her J.D. at University of Tennessee College of Law.
Jason Long has a practice primarily dedicated to the defense of healthcare liability matters and professional board representation. He represents individual physicians, physicians’ groups, nurses, nursing facilities and other care providers in complex legal matters in Tennessee and Kentucky. He also handles matters involving business litigation, civil trial defense, nursing home and long-term care defense as well as legal malpractice defense. Long has served as president of the Tennessee Bar Association and as president of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He currently serves as president of the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) and past president of its young lawyer division, the Barristers. Long is a regular contributor to DICTA, the KBA’s legal newsletter and he taught legal writing at the University of Tennessee College of Law for 15 years. He is a member of the Knoxville, Tennessee, and American Bar Foundations. He holds a B.A. from Emory University and his J.D. from University of Tennessee College of Law.
Meagan Davis Collver focuses her practice on the defense of healthcare liability matters, including individual physicians, group medical practices, nursing home, and long-term care defense. She often defends board-certified practitioners and also handles civil rights defense. Collver is currently serving as president of the Knoxville Bar Association’s Barristers Division. She is an active member of the Tennessee Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court. Collver began her career as a criminal law clerk and was an intern to the Hon. Deborah C. Stevens of the Knox County, Tennessee, Circuit Court. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee and graduated cum laude from University of Tennessee College of Law.