Michelle was born and raised in Quincy, Illinois. In 1996, she graduated, with honors, from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She attended Tulane University School of Law and received her Juris Doctor degree in 1999. She began her legal career with the Office of the Public Defender, First Judicial Circuit, in Pensacola, Florida, in 1999, where she practiced until joining Vernis & Bowling in 2001. Michelle was awarded an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, which identifies attorneys with preeminent legal ability and is a reflection of expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence. She is recognized in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers in America.  Michelle has also been awarded an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating by the Judiciary.

Michelle is the Managing Attorney for Vernis & Bowling of Northwest, Florida, P.A.  She has over two decades of trial experience and handles a variety of cases, including automobile liability, trucking and transportation, hurricane, first and third property claims, premises liability (including negligent security and slip and fall), labor and employment, construction defect, director and officer liability, product liability, and wrongful death.  Michelle has tried over 50 jury trials in both federal and state court and has conducted countless depositions and argued a wide range of motions.  Michelle’s most talked about trial continues to be a lawsuit where she successfully defended Hanes regarding a claim of defective manufacturing of a package of men’s briefs.  The plaintiff claimed that the briefs gaped open during normal wear and caused personal injury, ruining his dream Hawaiian vacation.

Michelle is a member of the Florida Bar, the Alabama Bar, and the Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association.  She is admitted to practice in all Florida and Alabama State Courts, the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, the Southern and Middle Districts of Alabama, and the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Outside of the office, Michelle enjoys traveling, boating, scuba diving, and snow skiing with her husband of over 30 years.

Kory R. Watson has been with Vernis & Bowling of the Gulf Coast since July of 2013. Kory was born in Springfield, Illinois. In 2008, he graduated with honors from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. While at UIUC, Kory was President of the Undergraduate Patent Law Society and Treasurer of the Chi Epsilon National Civil and Environmental Engineering Honor Society.

Kory then attended Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, Illinois. After his first year, he was accepted as a member of the Southern Illinois University Law Journal and his work was chosen twice for publication. Kory also served as Vice Justice for the Stephen A. Douglas Chapter of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and as Legal Research Assistant to Professor Patricia McCubbin. He graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois University School of Law obtaining his Juris Doctorate in 2011. Academic achievements include: Dean’s List, Phi Kappa Phi Award, Academic Excellence Award, and Dean’s Scholarship.

After graduation, Kory entered private practice where he focused on civil litigation in Tampa, Florida, and assisted in the litigation of numerous personal injury cases. In July of 2013, Kory joined Vernis & Bowling of the Gulf Coast, then located in Clearwater, Florida. The Clearwater office was later relocated to St. Petersburg in January of 2015. When Kory is not working he enjoys fishing, wakeboarding, cooking, and watching his favorite sports teams.

William F. (Bill) Smith, II was born in Winfield, Alabama in 1962. Raised in the Birmingham area, he was valedictorian at Shades Valley High School in 1980, where he played basketball and baseball. He received a B.S. in Mineral Engineering, Petroleum specialization, from the University of Alabama in 1984. During college, Bill worked as an engineering intern for Alabama Power Company at the E. C. Gaston Steam Plant. In 1987, he earned a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law. Bill has been married to Suzann Sherer Smith since 1984. They have two adult children, Kathleen, an ICU nurse, and Parker, an insurance agent.

Bill is admitted to practice in Alabama (1987), U.S. District Court, Northern (1988), Middle (1997) and Southern (2004) Districts of Alabama, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (1999). Bill is a member of the Birmingham Bar Association and the National Retail & Restaurant Defense Association.

Bill has practiced exclusively in insurance defense litigation for more than 30 years, having successfully tried, as first chair, a diverse range of cases in state and federal courts, including automobile & commercial trucking, insurance & bad faith claims, wrongful death, premises liability, product liability, employment cases (race and pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, and workers compensation), and disputes between business entities.

From 2014 – 2020, Bill tried more than 30 cases to verdict.

He has previously served in-house as senior litigation counsel for a major property & casualty insurer.

Bill is a frequent speaker at seminars on a variety of civil litigation topics. He is active in his church and outside interests include gardening, hiking, backpacking basketball and all youth sports.

Ian Neil Matthes was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree Political Science in 1994 and earned his J.D. from The University of Georgia School of Law in 1997. Ian serves as the Regional Managing Attorney and General Counsel for Vernis & Bowling. Ian provides operation management, support and services to all of the firm’s offices throughout the Southeast.

Ian was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1997, and is licensed to practice law before all state courts in Georgia. He is also licensed to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia. For over 20 years, Ian has represented defendants in general liability, premises liability, automobile liability, bad faith/extra-contractual liability, commercial vehicle liability, insurance coverage, SIU/fraud (including first party arson/property claims and medical provider fraud), and UM/UIM liability matters. He also provides claims/litigation file audit services, and litigation management operations and process improvement consulting.

Ian previously served in-house with P&C insurance companies as a National Litigation Manager and Director of Litigation Management (AIG), managing litigation staff and procedures, as well as class actions and “Bad Faith” claims nationwide. With over 10,000 litigation matters under management, he was also responsible for final trial approval decisions in hundreds of cases per year. He regularly and proudly wears his “litigation management” and “home office insurance guy” hats while encouraging efficiency, communication, and delivery of timely results at the firm. This experience has also led to Ian serving as a speaker at numerous seminars throughout the nation, including at national insurance, litigation management and SIU conventions on topics including Premises Liability, Good Faith Claims Handling, Ethical Adjusting Practices, Personal Lines Litigation, SIU/Fraud Best Practices, Negotiation and Settlement Strategies, and Legislative and Case Law Updates.

Ian is a Founding Board Member and Past-President of the National Retail & Restaurant Defense Association (NRRDA), was the Charter Board President of the Georgia Chapter of the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII), and is a member of GDLA, DRI, CLM, ACA and numerous other litigation, claims, insurance and bar related organizations.

Ian and his wife, Stephanie, have two wonderful children, Charlotte (Charlie) and Harrison. Ian is an advocate for special needs children, raises money for Autism-related causes, and is a proud #AutismDad. His other interests include gardening, baking the best sourdough bread in the Southeast, cooking, and watching the UGA Bulldogs. He is always ready to share photos of his kids, plants, his 110+ varieties of fig trees, or why his hydroponic lettuce is better than anything you can buy.

Jeffrey Paul Raasch was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was raised in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. He graduated from the University of Virginia with Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Government in 1979, where he played Varsity Football. After college, Jeff taught high school social studies near Richmond, Virginia, where he coached football, soccer and tennis.

Jeff earned his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1983. He was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1983. He served the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps as a Captain, and tried over 20 Court-Martials. While stationed at Hahn Air Force Base, in West Germany, he was a college instructor for the University of Maryland European Division.

He was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1985, and is licensed to practice law before all state courts in Georgia. Prior to joining Vernis & Bowling in 2005, Jeff was a Partner in the Atlanta firm of Seacrest, Karesh, Tate & Bicknese, litigating and trying cases in automobile liability, general liability, civil litigation, commercial vehicle liability, condominium and homeowners association litigation, garage liability, liquor liability, negligent security, product liability, property litigation, wrongful death, premises liability, common carrier liability, construction litigation, construction defect litigation, professional liability/E&O, environmental and toxic tort litigation, uninsured/underinsured motorist liability, declaratory judgment actions and insurance coverage issues. Jeff was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 2004, and currently represents clients in liability and workers’ compensation matters across Eastern Tennessee.

His wife, Christel, has been the Assistant Clerk of the Georgia House of Representatives for over 30 years. They have two sons, Chris and Will, who Jeff has coached in baseball, soccer and basketball.

Jeff has been awarded an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, indicating the highest level of skill and professionalism. He has tried over 25 civil jury trials, has won over 100 summary judgment motions, and has successfully defended and pursued numerous appeals on behalf of his clients.