Not many first-graders dream of practicing law when they grow up, but for Adam Malone, his ambition of becoming an attorney started early. “I remember being six or seven and a teacher asking the class what we wanted to be, and I was the only kid who said lawyer,” Malone recalls. “But then, it was probably just in my DNA.”
The son and grandson of lawyers, Malone was initially drawn to the field from being around his grandfather, who was serving as a state court judge at that time, and his father Tommy Malone, who was establishing his trial practice. As Malone grew older, though, he came to appreciate the impact of their work, particularly his father’s pioneering medical negligence, commercial vehicle, and catastrophic personal injury results.
“When I started paying more attention to what my dad was doing, I was able to see the difference he was making in people’s lives,” Malone says. “It was a great example of what the law can accomplish, and it convinced me that trying to make a meaningful difference for injury victims was my highest calling and the best purpose I could devote myself to.”
With that goal in mind, Malone was determined to gain as much legal experience as possible before sitting for the bar exam. Growing up, he worked in several law offices; while in law school, he worked first as a criminal warrant officer in the State Court of Fulton County, and then as a full-time judicial intern for Chief Judge G. Alan Blackburn of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Following a year on the Court of Appeals, Malone prosecuted criminal cases with the Clayton County District Attorney’s office. In August 1999, he graduated valedictorian of his class, finishing three years of school in just over two years.
“The reason I worked as hard as I did from the start was because it had always been a dream of mine to practice with my dad, and I wanted to make sure that when I became a lawyer I would have something to offer,” Malone says.
“I wanted to make sure that when I became a lawyer I would have something to offer.”
This hard-earned experience quickly paid off after Malone joined his father in practice. In his first civil trial, he secured a $760,000 verdict against a settlement offer of $75,000—a result that helped launch his career as a civil plaintiffs’ trial lawyer. Soon, thanks to a number of other significant verdicts, Malone would develop a reputation for his prowess in complex medical negligence, trucking, and product liability cases.
Most prominently, in 2008, Malone obtained a record $24.5 million verdict on behalf of a 14-year-old football player who was admitted to a hospital with a broken leg and ultimately had to have the leg amputated after medical staff ignored complications arising from his injury. The verdict was the largest ever returned in Dougherty County, and Malone takes particular pride in the fact that the case was tried in his hometown of Albany.
“For a young lawyer who had probably been doing this not 10 years, Adam showed an impressive ability to communicate with the jury in a way that they understood and appreciated,” says defense lawyer Earl McCall, who was one of the opposing lawyers in the trial. “His finesse was surprising and very effective, and afterward, I told folks in the legal profession that Adam Malone was going to be dangerous from the plaintiffs’ side for us defense lawyers.”
Indeed, that same year Malone became the first lawyer to challenge Georgia’s 2005 cap on damages in medical malpractice cases, which placed a $350,000 limit on pain and suffering awards. The case, Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery v. Nestlehutt, involved a 71-year-old woman who had suffered irreversible facial scarring following cosmetic surgery. Not only did Malone secure a $1.26 million verdict for his client, but the trial court ruled the cap to be unconstitutional, and, on appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld this decision, unanimously declaring the cap to be in violation of the state’s constitution. Jon Peters, a defense lawyer in the Nestlehutt case, notes that Malone in particular brought credibility to the case.
“I’ve had cases against Adam over the years and I know him to be someone who shows up prepared and is a strong opponent at trial,” Peters says. “He is a very professional and ethical lawyer, and you can always count on him to do what he says he will do.”
To that end, Malone is known for his willingness to take cases to trial when defendants refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. “My practice is about making a difference for my clients and helping them put their lives back together, so if the other side fails to account for the harm they’ve done, we go to trial,” he says. “The jury will do the right thing.”
Malone Law , The Best Lawyers in Georgia 2016
