Attorney from Atlanta office of Montgomery-based Beasley Allen Law Firm is investigating recent traffic-related death of Georgia magistrate judge Emily Powell

Emily Powell

A lawyer from the Atlanta office of perhaps Alabama's most prominent plaintiffs' law firm has been hired to investigate the recent death of a Georgia judge in a traffic-related incident.

Chris Glover, managing partner for the Atlanta office of the Montgomery-based Beasley Allen Law Firm, will be looking into the death of Emily Powell, a senior magistrate judge in Gwinnett County, according to a report at law.com. Powell was hit by a truck while crossing a street in Buford, GA, to meet friends for dinner on December 20. She died 11 days later and is survived by her husband, Tony Powell (attorney and former Lawrenceville city councilman); two children; and two grandchildren. From the law.com report:

[Emily Powell] died Dec. 31 from injuries sustained on Dec. 20, when she was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a street in downtown Buford. She was on her way to a dinner with her husband, Tony Powell, a senior litigation partner with Powell and Edwards of Lawrenceville, and a friend of Glover’s.

“He called me because he had a lot of questions about what happened to his wife,” Glover said. “When we first talked, we were really hoping she’d pull through.”

Glover said at this point the firm is not looking at a lawsuit but is simply on a quest for truth. “We’re hopeful to be able to tell him what happened.”

“She was a special person,” Glover said. “Something like this just turns your world upside down.”

What form will the investigation take? That is not clear yet, according to law.com:

Glover said his firm plans to interview witnesses and research any contributing factors beyond the scope of the ongoing police investigation. Topics of interest could include the configuration of the sidewalk, the design of the pickup truck that hit her and whether responsibility could reach beyond the driver.

“We’re just a few days into it,” Glover said. “Right now, all we’re doing is trying to help him answer some questions.”

In an era largely dominated by defense firms, Beasley Allen has carved a major footprint by representing plaintiffs:

Beasley Allen has offices in Atlanta and Montgomery, Alabama. The firm includes 80 attorneys and 200 support staff, and has verdicts and settlements exceeding $26 billion to its credit.The firm’s work has touched General Motors ignition switches, Takata’s air bags, Gulf Coast states devastated by the BP oil spill and injuries from drugs and medical devices.

The judge had served the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court for more than 20 years. She was a graduate of Mercer University School of Law and Davidson College in the first class that included women. She and her husband had a son and a daughter and two grandchildren.

Her obituary said her stated goal was to be the type of woman of whom the devil would say each morning, “Oh no, she’s up.”