Treven Pyles
Administrative Director
Staff at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C.
Dedicated to help you and your family members
Our Difference
Dedicated to help you and your family members
Our Difference
"In my 25 years with this firm I had the satisfaction to see it grow into a powerful firm representing thousands of people. Our team is very important in the whole process. We are united, motivated, and qualified - this is the thing that sets us apart."
Treven Pyles, the Administrative Director, is in charge of organizing complex operations that involve people and information, which are two of the key concepts on which our law firm operates. From welcoming and training new staff members to recording and managing information, planning and maintenance, and many unlisted support operations, Treven handles a great number of daily tasks that make our team go forward, one case after another. Patience and hard work are the qualities Treven embodies as a whole-hearted, people-oriented staff member.
"Talking to people on a daily basis requires being adaptable as well as organized and empathetic. As a receptionist, I enjoy my job, mostly because it means working for a firm whose main goal is helping people."
Before getting in touch with the lawyers, people who reach our law firm and need legal assistance have initial contact with our receptionist, Shaniqua Williams. She is the first to answer our clients, and then she is routing their calls to the correct personnel who takes care of their issues.
She also takes care of other administrative matters, like receiving packages and entering client information into the system. All the cases are important to us. That is why every staff member knows the importance of being nice and receptive, and so does Shaniqua.
"Working for ELG is not a job, it's more of a calling. I'm a talker, I like getting to know all those different people - Navy and Air Force veterans, steel plant or powerhouse workers, and others, learning to appreciate what we have, and being able to help them."
Since 1995, Michael Bartlett has had many positions in the firm, starting as a legal assistant. After graduating from UAB, he became an expert in environmental litigation matters, especially toxic exposure. His life experience with toxic chemical exposure injuries fueled his motivation to help people in similar circumstances. Over the two decades of meeting with clients and doing interviews, Michael has a great understanding of the products that cause significant exposure to a wide variety of toxicants.
"Most of our clients are hard-working blue-collar people that have been wronged and suffer every day. The least we can do is to ease their financial concerns in their remaining time by earning fair compensation for them and their families left behind."
As CFO and Director of Claims, Jonathan Sharp is responsible for our firm's financial matters. His main responsibilities are case evaluation, management of firm assets, financial analysis. As Director of Claims, he manages client relations and the collection and proper distribution of all the funds. He has been with the firm almost from the beginning, and he's also been very involved in toxic exposure cases over the years. He describes his occupation as a "sophisticated, non-traditional, rewarding one, sometimes challenging."
"Interacting with clients is my favorite part of the job, because I get to speak to someone different every day. I get to know more about our clients and despite their misfortunes, many of them are keeping a positive mindset and are very pleasant to talk to."
Be it an older employee or a recent one at our law firm, communication is an important aspect of our team's activity, especially for a client liaison and legal assistant such as Gema Zapien. She is patient in gathering work history information for toxic exposure cases and helps the clients with all the necessary documents. Gema is also fluent in Spanish.
Gema relates to our clients by keeping in mind the difficulties of their situation. Having to remember things from more than 40 years ago while suffering from a disease is not an easy thing for anyone.
"To get my job done as a certified professional paralegal for ELG, I must multitask and be as quick and detailed as possible. What I like most about my job is that there is never a dull moment. I'm dealing with multiple attorneys, clients, and co-workers at the same time."
Amelia has been working in our team for 14 years as a paralegal for the firm's principal attorney and staff attorneys. She is experienced in helping with most questions that a client may have, so she often travels to meet them to help complete the paperwork.
The main trait that characterizes Amelia is her genuine interest in the people involved in the various cases that we handle.
"Whether it’s able to tell clients a check is in the mail, explain a document in understandable terms, or simply being the understanding person on the other end of their call, I like being able to help people. My job is satisfying, rewarding."
Wendy Garmon has been an employee at ELG for more than twenty years. Her job includes dealing with the pleadings being filed within the Court system, gathering and organizing all the necessary client data, communicating with the clients to keep them informed and answer their questions, traveling to the community to meet with the clients one on one, and helping them with supporting documents needed for their case. While employed by ELG, Wendy has worked on all other community exposure cases, other types of environmentally-related cases such as oil and chemical spills, pesticide exposure cases, and pharmaceutical cases.
"My work at ELG is very interesting; it's like putting the pieces of a puzzle together for every case. It is about getting complete and accurate information as possible to obtain financial compensation for our clients. I found my niche in medical and legal research, and I love my job."
After several years of working at our law firm as a legal assistant, Amy has continued to be an important part of the team. She verifies medical files and ensures the medical records are complete and organized.
She understands what a toxic exposure case means, especially after experiencing it in her own family. These details represent an important part of how our firm deals with each case by caring enough always to go the extra mile.
"It is both inspirational and motivational for me to work on ELG cases, talk to people, and respond to their needs. They always tell me how helpful I am and that my job and work do not go unnoticed."
LaQuita is a Virginia College graduate and our team member who is determined and believes in hard work. Interacting with clients is the main part of her job which includes answering their case-related questions, talking with them on the phone, being attentive, and really listening to them. These are the things that allow us to build a strong case for our clients.
One of LaQuita's work principles is to make sure the clients understand what is going on with their case and that their questions do not go unanswered. Their appreciative responses motivate her to do the job thoroughly.
"To achieve great results, every team member has to do many small, seemingly insignificant tasks necessary for the success of our day-to-day operations. At Environmental Litigation Group, I do these daily since October 4, 1993."
Alan Brasher, our Archival and Record Manager, is responsible for checking in, organizing, and storing any evidence that we may need to use for our cases. In addition, he researches information that may prove beneficial to our clients and us. Also, he is in charge of organizing large numbers of documents for case-related projects. His job includes maintaining the paperwork, documents, X-rays for all of our clients in all of our cases. If there were only three words to describe Alan's job, they would be "Always very busy!" but that is not uncommon in our working environment.
"My job may sometimes require me to go the extra mile literally. For instance, when clients are incapacitated or don't have transportation, I travel to them and assist them with their paperwork. In addition, I like giving a helping hand to our clients while being able to listen to the many life stories they share."
Eddie's daily activities in the Circulation Department consist of mailing client correspondence, taking care of the supplies, doing maintenance, and visiting clients at their location. He's been working with us for 18 years, always being a people-oriented employee and a genuinely caring person. Having experienced a condition caused by exposure to toxic chemicals in his extended family, Eddie is someone who really understands the consequent distress and difference in the quality of life.
"For me, this is more than a job; it is a rewarding and sometimes challenging pursuit to put myself in people's service. After talking with the clients, helping them understand how the process works, and really getting involved in the long term - it's like they become a part of your family."
Having been in the legal field for 22 years translates into significant experience in assisting clients, both in the claims department and in the medical department. Kathy Tucker is talking to clients, answers their questions, reviews their cases, requests medical information on their behalf, and much more. The authentic interest in what she does helps her relate with our clients. Only by trying to understand the specific needs in this unfortunate situation can make another person able to provide accurate solutions.
"What would I say about my role within the ELG team after more than 25 years? That it was satisfying and sometimes frustrating at the same time. I work with the most delicate segment of our clients, the families left behind."
Wendy Stevens' job is to work on the deceased clients' cases. In addition, she is an experienced legal assistant who offers support to the widows and children of those we represent. Helping people can take many forms, from telling them a check is in the mail to explain a document in understandable terms or maybe saying the right thing to someone who has not heard a kind or helpful word in a very long time. She also handles toxic exposure claims and pharmaceutical cases. But, as Wendy sees it, the most challenging part is perhaps not having enough hours in the day to get the workload completed.
Monday – Friday
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday
Closed
