Our Team
Hal Meeks
Hal Meeks practiced as a litigator for 43 years before becoming certified as a mediator. Never one to overly specialize, Hal handled securities disputes (for brokers and customers), white collar employment disputes (for employees and businesses), reimbursement disputes regarding medical services (for both providers and insurance companies), business “divorces”, dissenting shareholder disputes, limited partnership disputes, product liability claims, easement disputes, home owner association litigation, premises liability, literally hundreds of medical malpractice claims, and a wide variety of other civil cases. As an advocate, Hal participated in over a hundred mediations before his retirement as a litigator in 2022.
Hal was recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers, 2010-2022, was honored by The Best Lawyers in America®, (Commercial Litigation, 2014, 2016-2022), was recognized by Georgia Trend’s Legal Elite, and earnedMartindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated for more than 20 years.
Hal completed mediation training and met the criteria established by the Georgia Supreme Court to be a registered neutral in 2022.
Hal is an honor graduate of UGA, and graduated from UGA law school where he was an editor of the Georgia Law Review. He has practiced law in Atlanta since 1979. He made partner at his first firm, Peterson Young Self & Asselin, and remained there until 1989. He left to establish a firm, along with his wife Jo Lanier Meeks and other litigator friends. They practiced as Pursley Lowery Meeks for the next 23 years. He was a partner at Taylor English from 2015 until his retirement in 2022.
In the community, Hal has been a deacon and held other positions of responsibility at Northside Drive Baptist Church since 1979 to the present. He served on the Board of Directors of the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children Inc. beginning in 1996, served as President from 2001 to 2008, and as Chairman of the Board from 2005 to 2012. BTFC merged into the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation in 2014.
Hal is married to law school classmate, Jo Lanier Meeks, and they have two adult children and two grandchildren. In his free time, he plays golf, pickleball, piano, guitar, trumpet, and euphonium, and sings with the NDBC choir and the Lake Country Chorus at Lake Oconee.
Jo Lanier Meeks
Since 1979 Jo Lanier Meeks has practiced in areas of professional liability defense to the financial services industry, director and officer liability, securities, commercial, and business litigation. She represented parties in civil disputes in state and federal courts, primarily in Georgia, and before FINRA arbitration and other ADR panels, handling cases involving broker-dealer, broker/registered representative and registered investment advisor liability, insurance disputes, restrictive covenants, contract disputes, and insurance agent and insurance agency liability. She also represented banks, accountants and ERISA professionals in disputes alleging negligence and fraud. Jo has been a frequent speaker at seminars sponsored by various organizations on topics of financial services and business litigation and trial practice.
Jo has been a certified and registered neutral for several years and has served as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Dispute Resolution and the American Arbitration Association.
A Georgia native, Jo Meeks attended the University of Georgia, earning a B.B.A. degree in accounting (summa cum laude) in 1976 and a Juris Doctor degree from the School of Law (cum laude) in 1979. She and Hal have been married since graduating from law school and practiced together for 25 years. She was also a partner at Kutak Rock early in her career and most recently at James Bates Brannen and Groover. She is retiring from JBBG at year end to devote time to her mediation and arbitration practices.
In her spare time, she enjoys her two grandchildren, the Georgia Bulldogs, gardening, singing and recently pickleball.
