Awards & Professional Recognition

Nationally Recognized Truck Accident Attorneys Based in Atlanta, Georgia

At Fried Goldberg LLC, our attorneys dedicate more than 95% of their practice to representing victims of truck and commercial vehicle accidents. Our founding partners have built a national reputation through decades of litigation, legal education, industry leadership, and results that have received attention from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. The professional recognition associated with our firm and attorneys reflects that record.

Below are the honors and distinctions associated with the attorneys at Fried Goldberg LLC.

Firm-Level Recognition

Our firm has been recognized by Best Lawyers Best Law Firms, one of the most respected peer-review rankings in the legal profession. Best Lawyers rankings are determined entirely through peer evaluation and cannot be influenced by payment. Our firm has also been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, the American Association for Justice Leaders Forum, Public Justice, and the National Association of Outstanding Personal Injury Attorneys (NAOPIA) Top Ten. These distinctions reflect how our firm is viewed by peers across plaintiff's trial practice.

Attorney Joseph A. Fried: Awards and Professional Honors

Attorney Joseph A. Fried is widely recognized as one of the principal founders of truck accident law as a distinct field of practice. He has litigated cases in more than 43 states, co-founded the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, and worked with the National Board of Trial Advocacy to create the first ABA-approved Board Certification in Truck Accident Law. His total recoveries for clients exceed $1 billion.

Board Certified in Truck Accident Law — National Board of Trial Advocacy

Joe Fried is Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), a certification he helped create and the first of its kind approved by the American Bar Association. Board certification requires demonstrated expertise, peer evaluation, and ongoing continuing education — but in this case, the certification itself was built around the standards Joe helped establish. It is one of the most meaningful credentials available in this practice area.

Co-Founder, Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA)

In 2016, Joe Fried co-founded the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA), an organization dedicated to educating lawyers nationwide on how to handle commercial vehicle accident cases. He serves on the Board of Regents and remains a founding director. The ATAA represents a direct investment in raising the quality of truck accident litigation across the country, which ultimately benefits victims who might otherwise be underrepresented.

American Association for Justice — Trucking Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2014 and 2015

Joe Fried was named Trucking Trial Lawyer of the Year by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trucking Litigation Group for 2014 and 2015. The AAJ is a 20,000-member organization representing plaintiff's attorneys across the country. Joe also served as Chair of the AAJ Trucking Litigation Group from 2016 through 2017, having previously served on its executive board from 2010 through 2019.

Best Lawyers in America — Lawyer of the Year

Joe Fried has been named Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America multiple times: in 2016 and 2023 for Personal Injury Litigation in Atlanta, and in 2020 for Product Liability Litigation for Plaintiffs in Atlanta. The Lawyer of the Year designation is awarded to a single attorney in each practice area and metropolitan region — the one who receives the highest peer vote within that category. He has also been consistently recognized in Best Lawyers in America.

Georgia Super Lawyers — Consistently Selected

Joe Fried has been repeatedly selected to Georgia Super Lawyers, a recognition reserved for the top 5% of attorneys in the state each year, for more than 15 consecutive years. The Super Lawyers selection process includes peer nominations and independent evaluation across multiple professional indicators.

Georgia Legal Trailblazer — ALM / Law.com, 2020

Joe Fried was named a Georgia Legal Trailblazer by ALM (Law.com) in 2020, recognizing attorneys who have made a distinctive and lasting impact on the practice of law in Georgia. This recognition reflects Joe's role in establishing truck accident law as a distinct practice area and his ongoing work to educate lawyers, law enforcement, and the trucking industry nationwide.

National Trial Lawyers — Trucking Trial Lawyers, President 2015–2019

Joe Fried served as President of the National Trial Lawyers Trucking Trial Lawyers group from 2015 through 2019, and as Founding Co-Chair of the National Board of Truck Crash Attorneys through the NBTA from 2015 to the present.

Trial Lawyers College — Senior Faculty

Joe Fried serves as a senior faculty member at Trial Lawyers College, a nationally recognized program that trains plaintiff's trial lawyers in advanced courtroom techniques. Faculty selection is highly competitive and reflects both the depth of an attorney's courtroom experience and their ability to teach those skills to others.

Fulton County Magistrate Judge, 1994–2014

While simultaneously building Fried Goldberg into a national firm, Joe Fried served as a part-time Magistrate Judge in Fulton County, Georgia from 1994 through 2014. He was hand-selected by the then-chief judge and was the youngest judge ever appointed in Fulton County. This 20-year judicial career gives Joe a perspective on the courtroom that few trial lawyers share.

Attorney Michael L. Goldberg: Awards and Professional Honors

Attorney Michael L. Goldberg is a partner who has served as lead counsel in more than 15 cases with verdicts exceeding one million dollars. He is admitted in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.

American College of Trial Lawyers — Fellow

In 2013, Michael Goldberg was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), one of the most prestigious invitational organizations in the American legal profession. Fellowship is extended by invitation only and is limited to fewer than 1% of lawyers in the United States and Canada. Candidates must have a minimum of 15 years of trial experience and be recognized for outstanding ethical conduct and professional achievement.

Georgia Super Lawyers — Consistently Recognized Among Top 100

Michael Goldberg has been consistently named among Georgia's Top 100 lawyers in the Super Lawyers edition of Atlanta Magazine, reflecting both peer nomination and independent evaluation. Selection to the Top 100 Georgia lawyers within Super Lawyers represents an additional layer of distinction beyond general inclusion.

Fulton County Daily Report — Top Lawyers in Georgia Under 40, 2011

Michael Goldberg was named one of the top lawyers in Georgia under the age of 40 by the Fulton County Daily Report in 2011, identifying the most accomplished younger attorneys in the state based on professional achievement and peer reputation.

Attorney Briant G. Mildenhall: Awards and Professional Honors

Attorney Briant G. Mildenhall is a partner at Fried Goldberg LLC who brings extensive experience from both the plaintiff and defense sides of truck accident and catastrophic injury litigation. He carries a notable set of individual professional honors.

Briant is Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), placing him among a small group of attorneys nationally who hold this ABA-approved certification. He serves on the ATAA Board of Regents. He holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, the highest designation the organization awards for legal ability and ethics. He also carries a 10.0 Superb rating on Avvo, the platform's highest score. He has been named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 in Georgia and to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. He has been repeatedly recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star and has been named multiple times to the Legal Elite list by Georgia Trend Magazine.

Attorney Brian T. Mohs: Awards and Professional Honors

Attorney Brian T. Mohs is a partner and trial attorney who joined the firm in 2014 and became a partner in 2019. Brian is Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) and serves on the ATAA Board of Regents, reflecting his deep involvement in the specialized field of commercial motor vehicle litigation. He has also been recognized by Super Lawyers, and has held a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator credential in the past, which brings additional technical investigative expertise to catastrophic truck accident cases.

Additional Attorney Recognition

Attorney Nathan A. Gaffney graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University's College of Law, where he served as Executive Editor of the Georgia State Law Review. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers. In 2015, he was awarded the Guardian of Justice recognition for his successful representation of the Council of State Court Judges of Georgia before the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Attorney Daniel J. Kingsley has been repeatedly recognized as a Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star, a designation identifying the top 2.5% of eligible attorneys in the state. While at Wake Forest University School of Law, he was inducted into the Order of the Barristers and received the Robert Goldberg Award for Trial Advocacy, and captained the AAJ Trial Team.

Attorney Drew C. Timmons was selected by his peers as a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2016 through 2022, a recognition reserved for the top 2.5% of eligible attorneys. He graduated cum laude from both Furman University and Georgia State University College of Law, where he competed on the Moot Court Board.

Understanding Motor Carrier Claims — Nationally Recognized Legal Treatise

Joe Fried and Michael Goldberg are co-authors of Understanding Motor Carrier Claims, now in its seventh edition and the only nationally recognized legal treatise on truck accident law published by a law firm. Used by lawyers, judges, and trucking industry professionals throughout the country, it contains proven tactics and techniques for handling commercial vehicle cases. Publishing a nationally distributed legal treatise in your specific practice area is a distinction very few law firms anywhere in the country can claim.

Supporting Plaintiff's Attorneys Across the Country

Fried Goldberg LLC is one of the only law firms in the country that actively invests in educating other plaintiff's attorneys on how to handle commercial vehicle cases. Through our ongoing seminar and resource programs, we share the investigative techniques, litigation strategies, and trucking industry expertise our attorneys have developed over decades of practice; because better-prepared lawyers produce better outcomes for victims.

Our educational programs for plaintiff's attorneys include a regular Breakfast Workshop Seminar, periodic Litigation Skills Clinics, an annual Commercial Motor Vehicle Law Symposium, and a library of archived webinars covering truck accident law topics in depth.

We also publish Practice Pointers guides for Georgia and South Carolina personal injury practitioners, and maintain a dedicated Lawyer Portal with exclusive co-counsel resources. Law firms from across the country collaborate with our team through co-counsel arrangements on commercial vehicle cases where specialized expertise is needed.

This commitment to the broader plaintiff's bar is part of what Joe Fried has called building "an army of lawyers who know how to handle these cases properly" — because when more attorneys can fully develop truck accident claims, more victims receive the justice they deserve.

Results That Reflect the Recognition

Our firm's professional recognition is inseparable from our track record. Fried Goldberg has secured more than $1 billion in total recoveries for clients, including numerous eight-figure verdicts and settlements in truck accident, wrongful death, brain injury, and catastrophic injury cases across the country. A selection of representative outcomes includes:

• $52,000,000 — Brain injury verdict, Georgia: a teen suffered severe brain injury when a tractor-trailer ran a stop sign in Atlanta.
• $37,500,000 — Brain injury, Georgia: a young adult suffered catastrophic injuries when his vehicle struck a tractor-trailer improperly stopped in the interstate middle lane.
• $31,000,000 — Wrongful death, North Carolina: an adult and two children were killed when a tractor-trailer rear-ended their vehicle.
• $28,000,000 — Wrongful death, Georgia: two young girls died when a tractor-trailer struck their stopped vehicle on an interstate.
• $21,000,000 — Double amputation, Georgia: a man was struck by a tractor-trailer in a crosswalk, resulting in the amputation of both legs.
• $20,250,000 — Multiple fractures, Georgia: a woman suffered multiple fractures requiring multiple surgeries when a wheel came off a tractor-trailer and struck her vehicle head-on.
• $16,200,000 — Severe leg injury and pelvic fracture, Georgia: an eight-year-old child was struck and dragged by an Amazon delivery van, with the jury holding Amazon 85% responsible.

A full record of our verdicts and settlements is available on our website.

Get Our Award-Winning Truck Accident Law Firm in Your Corner

The recognition described above reflects how our attorneys are viewed by peers, legal organizations, and the broader trucking litigation community. But the measure that matters most is what our firm does for the people we represent.

Our firm handles truck accidents, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other serious personal injury cases for clients nationwide. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront costs, and you pay nothing unless we win. Contact us today for a free and confidential consultation.

"These guys are great if you want someone to stand up to insurance companies and get you the max amount for your settlement case. Give them a call." — Delvin S., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐