Injured at work in Georgia? Looking for an attorney with the right experience and credentials?
Look no further.
Tom Holder is an award-winning workers’ compensation attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia, now serving in an Of Counsel capacity, continuing to inspire and guide the firm’s mission.
We had the opportunity to sit down with him recently, and here’s what we learned.
Law school and early career
When Tom Holder was growing up, he was close to someone tangled in a complex legal case. He thought the legal side of the case was fascinating and a small seed was planted.
In 1983, that seed bloomed when Tom was accepted to study law at Emory University School of Law.
After graduating from law school, Tom worked as an associate attorney for 2 highly-respected law firms—one of which became the largest plaintiffs’ law firm in the state of Georgia.
In 1986, Tom founded his own law firm, Long & Holder, where he focused exclusively on workers’ compensation cases for 32 years.
Current practice
In 2010, Tom joined forces with Atlanta workers’ compensation attorney Ben Gerber to form the law firm of Gerber & Elkins (formerly Gerber & Holder).
Today, Tom continues his commitment to the firm as Of Counsel, where his practice remains exclusively devoted to representing injured workers in Georgia. A nationally recognized and award-winning advocate, he brings decades of elite expertise to the workers’ compensation landscape.
For Tom, it’s important that injured workers understand the importance of hiring an attorney with experience handling their particular issue. While some attorneys try to be a jack-of-all-trades, the quality of their work suffers.
“Nowadays, information is so accessible that everyone thinks they’re an expert on every subject.”
Experience litigating workers’ compensation cases is something Tom has in spades.
In addition to his 35 years of practice, Tom has served as the President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Board Member of the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), a national non-profit organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families. Since its founding in 1995, WILG has grown into a powerful organization with over 1,100 members representing every state in the nation.
Tom has also served on the executive committee of the Georgia Trial Lawyers’ Association’s Workers Compensation Section since 1992 and won numerous awards in the field, including WorkCompCentral’s prestigious Comp Laude Award as a top claimant attorney.
“I have spoken at numerous seminars on, among other things, the distribution of assets in workers’ compensation death cases. It’s complicated but rewarding to be able to help a family at such a difficult time.”
Tom’s experience has materialized in the form of some impressive verdicts.
“I settled a case for $2.9 million. My client was a woman who had been in a single-car accident while on the job. Over time, her head injury got significantly worse. It was very involved because we had to deal with her family and conservators in 2 states. I worked on the case for 7 years.”
Advice to potential clients
Tom has enough experience and empathy to understand that injured workers often face an uphill battle at the most vulnerable time of their life and you don’t have to get to the top of that hill by yourself.
“It’s worthwhile to talk to an attorney early in the process. Everyone else involved in your case works with workers’ compensation cases on a daily basis and they all work for your employer or insurer. Who is looking out for you?”
As with any professional relationship, Tom encourages injured workers to hire an attorney with experience, but also to make sure they have a rapport with the attorney and their paralegal.
If you’ve been injured in a work-related accident, we can help. Schedule a free initial consultation at Gerber & Elkins today.