Shannon Rolen, a native of metro Atlanta, joined J. Franklin Burns, P.C. in 2007 after working for another plaintiff’s firm in Decatur. Mrs. Rolen was born and raised in Metro Atlanta. She received a B.S. in Psychology from the Kennesaw State College in 1994 and a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law in 1998. While in law school, Mrs. Rolen received the CALI Award for Advanced Criminal Litigation. She was also the Chairwoman for the Association of Women Law Students and a member of Moot Court. Her experience in workers’ compensation began while she was still in law school, when she clerked for a semester for the Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Honorable Dorothy Toth Beasley.

Mrs. Rolen has been practicing law since 1998 and has a decade of experience exclusively in the field of workers’ compensation. Mrs. Rolen spent the first five years of her practice working for a large insurance company and then a large Atlanta litigation firm defending workers’ compensation cases for major insurance companies and employers throughout the State of Georgia. Since 2003, she has exclusively represented injured workers.

Mrs. Rolen focuses her practice mainly in workers’ compensation with some personal injury. She has successfully handled matters at all levels of litigation from hearings before the State Board of Workers’ Compensation through all levels of appeals.

She was recently selected as one of Georgia’s Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars, which recognizes the top Workers’ Compensation attorneys in the nation.

Areas of Practice:

• Workers’ Compensation, Trials and Appeals
• Personal Injury

Bar Admissions:

• Georgia Court of Appeals, June 2002
• State Bar of Georgia, 1998

Education:

• 1998 – J. D., Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, GA.
• 1994 – B.S. Psychology, Kennesaw State College, Marietta, GA.

Articles:

February 2008 – Employer Pitfalls in Workers’ Compensation Cases

May 2003 – Drew, Eckl & Farnham Journal – Johnson v. Publix Supermarkets : Resolving The Long Standing Dispute Over The Positional Risk Doctrine.

Publisher for Nuts & Bolts Newsletter for Travelers Indemnity Company from 1999-2002. Writer of several articles related to the practice of workers’ compensation for Nuts & Bolts from 1999-2002.

Classes/Seminars Taught:

February 2008 – Employer Pitfalls in Workers’ Compensation Cases, Sterling Educational Services

1999-2002 — Several classes taught for adjusters at Travelers Indemnity Company over a variety of workers’ compensation topics.

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association 2007 to present
• Atlanta Bar Association 2002 to present
• State Bar of Georgia, 1998 to present

Published Decisions:

Georgia Court of Appeals, Parham v. Swift Transportation Co., Inc. , A08A0472, decided June 18, 2008.

Charitable Work: