procurements, general civil litigation, and labor & employment. Given the background of its partnership, the Firm is uniquely positioned to provide clients with unparalleled advice and representation in each of these practice areas. Jud Turner brings a broad array of public sector experience to the Firm, having just completed service as Executive Counsel to Governor Sonny Perdue and also served as General Counsel to the Georgia Department of Education. Chuck Bachman, a former partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, brings to Turner, Bachman & Garrett a sophisticated labor and employment and general civil litigation law practice. Heath Garrett provides over a decade of high level expertise in state and federal policy, having previously served as Chief of Staff to United States Congressman and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga), policy advisor to the Georgia State Board of Education, and Republican political strategist on numerous local and state political campaigns.
In addition, Jud, Chuck and Heath serve as Of Counsel to the Gilbert Harrell Sumerford & Martin law firm with offices in Brunswick and St. Mary's, Georgia.
Judson ("Jud") H. Turner
Jud practices education, legislative and regulatory law, public contracts and procurement, governmental relations and litigation. While well versed in a broad array of administrative and regulatory matters, Jud's experience as Executive Counsel to Governor Perdue uniquely qualifies him to provide counsel to both local and state governmental entities and private individuals and corporations on a variety of issues. Presently, Jud continues to serve as Special Executive Counsel to Governor Deal on the Tri-State Water Wars and matters related to Georgia’s other shared river basins.
In addition to his work as Special Executive Counsel on water matters, Jud leads the firm’s education law practice. Over the past several years, TBG has been involved in several unique education law related matters. Recently the firm represented several local taxpayers and parents in an action against members of the Warren County school board under the State’s ethics code for actions that threatened the school system’s accreditation. Ultimately, the firm was successful in its petition to have members of the Warren County Board removed by the Governor for violation of the Code of Ethics under Title 45-10-3. Jud has also represented multiple charter schools – both traditional brick and mortar charter schools and virtual charters in a myriad of regulatory matters pending before the State Board of Education and the State Charter Commission.
In addition to his law practice, Jud is also a founding partner in Georgia360, a public affairs firm specializing in legislative and administrative lobbying, business development and communications. Jud represents a wide array of clients before the General Assembly and before numerous state agencies.
As Executive Counsel, Jud advised the Governor on the full gamut of executive branch legal matters, including issues related to the state budget process, judicial appointments, public procurements, education policy, retirement pensions and other post employment benefits, ethics and litigation. Prior to his work for the Governor, Jud served as General Counsel at the Georgia Department of Education from 2003 to 2005, working closely with the department's testing and technology divisions and offering general oversight and advice regarding a variety of contractual and litigation matters, including implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Prior to government service, Jud was involved in a general commercial litigation practice at Bradley, Arant Rose & White LLP, in Birmingham, Alabama, where he represented individuals and corporate clients in the federal and state courts of Alabama and Mississippi.
In addition to Jud's legal skills, he is a gifted counselor having advised senior governmental officials and board members in the areas of public policy and general communications strategy. He was recently recognized by Georgia Trend magazine as one of the state's top "40 Under 40: One of Georgia's Rising Stars."
Jud received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia, where he served as president of the Student Government Association, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors in political science and economics. Jud and his wife, Courtney, live in Griffin, Georgia, with their children Townsend and Wellesley.
PUBLICATIONS
- Judson H. Turner, "Department of Education Perspective on Vendor Relations," Improving Testing, (Cheryl Wild & Rohit Ramaswamy, eds., 2007).
jud.turner@tbglawgroup.com
Charles ("Chuck") L. Bachman, Jr.
Chuck's practice includes the representation of companies in Labor and Employment matters. Chuck has defended a wide variety of companies, including Fortune 500 businesses, in federal and state courts and in arbitrations across the country, including many cases involving multiple plaintiffs or claims involving collective or class action. He has tried cases in federal and state courts, including obtaining a complete defense verdict in a case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Richmond, Virginia. He regularly represents companies against charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, and other similar federal and state agencies. He also works on many matters for a variety of Employment Practices Liability Insurance carriers.
Prior to joining Turner Bachman & Garrett, Chuck was a partner with the international law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP and worked in the Firm's Labor and Employment Department. At Seyfarth Shaw, Chuck was the Chair of the Lawyer Development Committee for the Labor and Employment Department in the Atlanta Office. Chuck obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Vanderbilt University and obtained his law degree, Cum Laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law. He was recently named as one of Georgia's "Legal Elite" in Employment Law by Georgia Trend magazine.
Chuck is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Weekday Ministries, a school for two (2) to five (5) year olds in Marietta, Georgia and is the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Chuck is an active member of First United Methodist Church of Marietta, Georgia, previously serving as the Chair of the Local Missions Team.
chuck.bachman@tbglawgroup.com
W. Heath ("Heath") Garrett
Heath is the founding member of Turner Bachman & Garrett and also serves as Of Counsel to the Gilbert Harrell law firm in Brunswick and St. Marys, Georgia. Heath began his legal career as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Troutman Sanders, LLP. He was then recruited by current U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson to serve as a legal and policy advisor to the Georgia State Board of Education and manage Isakson's 1996 Senate campaign. In addition to his role at Turner Bachman & Garrett, Heath is currently a principal political strategist with the national political media firm, The Stevens and Schriefer Group, whose clients include: U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL), Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL), President George W. Bush and numerous corporations and associations. He is also a founding partner of Georgia360, a public affairs and public relations firm.
Heath previously served as Isakson's Chief of Staff and political strategist in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2008. Heath briefly left the Congressional office to serve as the chief political strategist for Isakson's successful U.S. Senate campaign in 2004, where Isakson received more votes than any other elected official in Georgia history. Heath is a co-founder and board member of the Northwest Bank & Trust in Acworth, Georgia. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1995, where he served as an editor for the Georgia Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Heath is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia, serving as Student Body President before graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Political Science.
Heath serves or has served as a member of: the Georgia Chamber Board of Directors; the Georgia 21st Fund; the Cobb County Chamber Board of Directors; the Marietta Rotary Club; the Board of Directors for Kids Voting Georgia; the PAGE Foundation; Leadership Georgia; the Board of Trustees for Southern Polytechnic State University; the University of Georgia School of Law Alumni Board; and the Board of Stewards of the First United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia, where he currently is involved in Global Missions and teaches Sunday School. He was recently recognized by Georgia Trend magazine as one of the state's top "40 Under 40: One of Georgia's Rising Stars" and by James Magazine as one of "Georgia's Most Influential People."
Heath was born in Rome, Georgia, and raised in Albany. Heath is married to the former Lee Brumby of Marietta, Georgia; they have a daughter, Martha Lee "Mattie" Garrett, and two sons, Heath Jr. and Brumby.
heath.garrett@tbglawgroup.com
Albert (“Bert”) T. Reeves, Jr.
Bert practices in the areas of criminal defense, probate law, estate planning, civil litigation, general litigation, immigration law, regulatory law, and administrative law. Bert recently joined the firm after serving in the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney for nearly five years. As a prosecutor, Bert handled a wide variety of felony and misdemeanor crimes, including traffic offenses, DUI, drugs, white collar crime and theft, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and homicide. He has extensive courtroom experience as a trial attorney. While in the DA’s office, Bert tried a number of cases to juries, argued hundreds of motions, and handled all other aspects of criminal prosecution.
Bert earned his J.D. from Stetson University, graduating Cum Laude in 2005. While there he received the Judge Raphael Steinhardt Award for Leadership, Character and Service (voted on by the law school faculty) and the Stetson Law School Spirit Award (voted on by the law school administration). Bert received his Bachelors of Science in Management from Georgia Tech in 2000 with Dean’s List honors and was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa – the highest leadership honor at Georgia Tech. While at Georgia Tech, Bert served as the school mascot “Buzz” from 1997-2000. Bert has formerly worked with U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson and U.S. Representative Phil Gingrey.
Bert is an active member of the Marietta Rotary Club, Leadership Cobb Class of 2010, is the current Vice Chair of the Cobb Youth Leadership Class of 2012, a member of the Board of Directors for Reconnecting Families, Co-Chair of the Junior Board of the Cobb YWCA, a member of the Cobb Bar Association Board of Trustees, the current Social Chairman for the Cobb Bar Association, and an active member of the Cobb Elder Law Section and the Young Lawyers Division of Cobb County. He is also a member of the Georgia State Bar. He is an alumnus of the Georgia State Bar Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy.
Bert frequently performs on stage, as an actor and singer/musician. He played a lead role in The Strand Theatre’s 2011 production of the Neil Simon play – “The Sunshine Boys”. He has also had previous roles with the Atlanta Bar Association “Courthouse Line” musical production, and is the event emcee for the annual Atlanta Bar Association event “Law Jam: the Battle of the Lawyer Bands.” He can often be found playing live acoustic music with his band around metro Atlanta. Bert attends Buckhead Church in Atlanta and is active with his small group men’s Bible study.
bert.reeves@tbglawgroup.com
Robert ("Rob") L. Fortson
Rob practices education, legislative and regulatory law, governmental relations and labor & employment. Rob’s practice includes representation of private companies and individuals in commercial and employment disputes, as well as advice and counsel to charter schools, school systems, and individual school board members. Rob joined the Firm in 2009 from Alston & Bird, where he was an attorney in the Litigation and Trial Practice Group and focused his practice on representation of national retailers, banks, developers, and commercial and residential landowners in complex commercial and real estate litigation. Rob is admitted to practice in Georgia and is a 2009 graduate of State Bar of Georgia's YLD Leadership Academy.
Rob previously served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas W. Thrash of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia from 2005 to 2007. Rob has prior federal and local government experience working in the General Counsel's Office for the United States Department of Education and the Georgia Municipal Association. At the U.S. Department of Education, Rob analyzed and advised Department representatives on federal code and regulations affecting the Department's funding of state educational initiatives, including special education and charter school programs.
Rob received his J.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. During law school, Rob served as an Editor on the Georgia Law Review and competed for several of Georgia's moot court teams.
A former teacher and coach in the Baltimore City Public School System and Teach For America alumnus, Rob now serves on Teach For America's Alumni Advisory Committee and on the Board of Overseers for The Ben Franklin Academy in Decatur and volunteers as a mentor at KIPP Vision Academy. He also serves as legal counsel to the Village Church of East Atlanta, a start-up church recently launched in the East Atlanta community. He and his wife, Meeghan, are both Atlanta natives and reside in East Atlanta with their son, Grant.
PUBLICATIONS & CLE PRESENTATIONS
- " Robert Fortson and Erik Johnson, Tinker's Material World: How The Supreme Court's First Amendment Student Speech Precedent Fails To Confront Indiscriminate Acts Of Violence In Schools, GA. ED. L. & POL'Y FORUM, VOL. 1 (2005), http://www.educationlawconsortium.org/forum/2005/papers
- " March 7-8, 2008 - Reality Check: Former Federal Clerks Provide An Inside View of Summary Judgment, for CLE "Summary Judgment On My Mind: Pre-Trial Strategies and Tactics from the Pros" presented by Labor & Employment Section of Atlanta Bar Association
rob.fortson@tbglawgroup.com
