Ed Allen is a trial lawyer who was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1973 and the Tennessee Bar in 1979, and has been practicing law ever since with all but four of those years with FBG. He has had an AV rating for over 25 consecutive years. Ed's practice focuses on divorce, torts, commercial/business litigation, condemnation/eminent domain, and personal injury. He is also certified in mediation and arbitration. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, Ed was named Top Lawyer by Atlanta Magazine and Super Lawyer. He was awarded the 15th Annual Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service by the State Bar of Georgia on February 25, 2014. Ed has served on the Supreme Court's Unlicensed Practice of Law District Ten Committee from 2010 to present. He was a member of the State Bar of Georgia's Committee on Professionalism from 2007 to 2011, and served on the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism from 1996 to 2002. Ed served on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia for eight years.
With a lengthy history of complex litigation and complex domestic cases, as well as his current practice fields, Ed has extensive trial and appellate experience both plaintiff and defendant. He has tried hundreds of cases to jury verdict in Georgia Superior Courts with significant success and with some of the largest settlements awarded in the state. Ed has also represented clients in the Georgia and Tennessee Courts of Appeals and has argued before the Supreme Courts of Georgia and Tennessee. He has mediated hundreds of cases, the majority to settlement.
Ed earned his law degree from the University of Georgia in 1973. He graduated from the University of Georgia with honors with his Bachelor of Business Administration in 1970. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He was honorably discharged as a Captain in the United States Air Force.
Ed is admitted to practice before all state trial and appellate courts in Georgia, and the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia, the 5th and 11th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Western Circuit Bar Association.
Ed moved to Athens in 1955 with his mother and brother, where he attended local public schools and graduated from Athens High. He was an active member of and played football with the YMCA. He was All State in football at Athens High School and play football for the University of Georgia from 1966 to 1970. Ed is active at the Athens United Methodist Church where he is a member of and teaches Sunday School for the Tuck Class. He is a member of the Georgia Football Lettermen's Club and the Gridiron Secret Society. Ed was inducted into the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ed is married to Page and has four children, Vonnie Allen Chesser, Adair Allen, Elizabeth Guess, and Ben Guess. He has three grandchildren, Allen, Payton, and Stancil.
