Representing Plaintiffs Since 1895

Mr. Barks grew up on the college preparatory campus of the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Upon graduation from high school, he attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science, with a concentration in Middle Eastern Studies.

Upon graduation from college, he entered the United States Navy, serving on active duty and in the reserves for fourteen years. Designated a Naval Aviator (pilot) in 1986, then Lieutenant Barks flew the A-6E Intruder Attack Aircraft, accumulating well over 1,000 hours in tactical aircraft within his first 5 years in the Navy. In addition to his flying duties, Barks also served as Squadron Safety Officer, Deputy Maintenance Officer, attended Naval Safety Center Accident Investigation School, investigated hundreds of accidents and incidents, and participated in numerous accident investigation boards. After serving in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Mr. Barks returned from the Middle East, leaving active duty as a decorated Lieutenant Commander to pursue a legal degree, while maintaining his Reserve Commission.

After concluding his active duty Navy career, Mr. Barks continued flying, including experience with twelve different foreign tactical aircraft, maintaining his licenses, his high altitude chamber qualifications, and aerobatics.

After leaving the Navy, Mr. Barks entered law school at the University of South Carolina, and earned his Juris Doctorate Degree, with honors, in 1996. Mr. Barks focused his out of classroom studies and writings in the area of Products Liability. Mr. Barks continues to write and lecture on Products Liability and the effects of Tort Reform on the progress of product safety in aviation and in Products Liability in general.

In the summer of 1996, Mr. Barks joined the law firm of Speiser Krause Nolan and Granito, in their Metro Washington, DC office. Mr. Barks became a partner with Speiser Krause and practiced in the New York and D.C. offices as a litigator, almost exclusively in the field of Aviation Law. Mr. Barks went on to lead and manage over fifty major pieces of litigation in the United States and abroad.

In the area of non-aviation litigation, Mr. Barks has litigated in the area of racial discrimination, premises liability, and general personal injury cases. He has also settled and tried numerous non-aviation product liability cases including medical device failures; seat back failures; over the counter drug litigation; and design defects in airbags, bicycles, and aircraft accessories. While most of Mr. Barks’ cases have been wrongful death actions, he has also represented numerous individuals involved in devastating personal injury incidents.

Mr. Barks is currently licensed to practice law in Georgia, Virginia, and New York, and admitted to numerous appellate courts in the United States. He is the past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Torts Insurance Practice Section for Aviation, the largest division of aviation plaintiffs’ attorneys, insurers, bankers, and manufacturers in the American Bar Association. He was the editor of the (formerly) ATLA, Aviation Section News Letter, and has been a member of the Georgia, Virginia, New York, and South Carolina Trial Lawyers Associations.

In 2010, Mr. Barks became associated with the Firm, where his practice is primarily dedicated to protecting the rights of loved ones of deceased passengers and individuals who are catastrophically injured in aviation crashes around the world.