G. Lee Welborn was born in Atlanta, Georgia.  After growing up in College Park, he attended college at Georgia State University, where he obtained a B.A. degree cum laude in 1985.  He attended law school at the University of Georgia, obtaining his J.D. degree in 1988. 

Lee has been with Downey & Cleveland, LLP in Marietta ever since clerking there in the Summer of 1987.  His litigation practice has consisted primarily of insurance defense work, with concentration in the areas of automobile accident litigation, premises liability such as slip and falls, construction defect litigation, and insurance coverage issues.  He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Cobb County Bar Association, and the Christian Legal Society.

Russell is a native of Atlanta and has spent his entire life and legal career in Georgia and the metro Atlanta area.  Russell has been lead counsel in more than 125 jury trials since first being admitted to the bar in 1986. Over the course of his practice, he has focused on the areas of professional/medical malpractice, automobile and transportation liability, premises liability and insurance coverage/bad faith issues.  He has primarily represented defendants and insurers, although he has tried cases for and represented plaintiffs on several occasions. 

Russell’s education and legal organization memberships are as follows: Education: University of Georgia (B.A., cum laude, 1983; J.D., 1986). Phi Kappa Phi; Phi Eta Sigma; Gold Key; Member: Atlanta and Cobb County Bar Associations; State Bar of Georgia; Georgia Defense Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute; Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. Coauthor, Umbrella Policy Litigation in the Spotlight, Journal of Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, 1997.

As part of his extensive trial practice, Russell has also attended several hundred mediations as an advocate for his clients.  He is a registered neutral with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

Sam Bishop is a native of Marietta, Georgia.  He enjoyed a thirty-five year career with what is now Wellstar Health System, one of the largest Health Systems in the Southeast.  Sam is a graduate of Kennesaw University and the Insurance Institute of America,  receiving ARM designation.  He completed Henning Civil Mediation Training and is a registered neutral with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

 Sam began his career in healthcare at Kennestone Hospital in 1972 as the Director of Safety and Security.  Within three years he became the hospital’s Risk Manager and began a self insurance program for medical liabilities.  This self administered program, with retentions in the millions, was so successful that it enabled the health system to form a Captive Insurance Company in 1995.  This company, under Sam’s direction and leadership, insures all of Wellstar’s holdings for medicalmalpractice, general liability, worker’s compensation and other lines of business coverage.

Sam is the premier Healthcare Risk Manager in the State of Georgia. He was recipient of Risk Manager of the Year in 1993 and a founding charter member of the Georgia Society for Healthcare Risk Managers serving a term as President.

Among his many accomplishments, Sam’s greatest achievements are in claims management.  He has dealt with hundreds of medical malpractice, general liability, right to life, employment practices, property loss and worker’s compensation cases.  He has an excellent reputation for assessing matters fairly, being creative and working diligently with injured parties, their families and attorney’s to final resolution.  His “Do Right” approach, along with participation in mediations throughout his career and his ability to interact with people enables Sam to mediate even the most complex issues.