Our Attorneys

John M. Foy
John M. Foy is the founding partner of the law firm Foy & Associates, P.C. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1993 for the State of Georgia. He was also admitted to the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia in that same year. He is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a graduate of Marquette University High School. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio, and his law degree from the Ohio Northern University School of Law, in Ada, Ohio.

Mr. Foy has devoted his entire career to the area of personal injury and insurance law. He devotes 100% of his practice to representing victims who have been injured by others negligence. He has conducted numerous jury trials throughout Georgia. He has focused on wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, as well as cases involving punitive damages. He has handled a substantial number of premises liability cases as well. He has also been very involved with mass tort litigation.

He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the American Association of Justice, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, as well as the Atlanta Bar Association.

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Duncan M. Harle
Duncan M. Harle graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1993 – receiving a Bachelor of Science degree. He later graduated from a joint program between the University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston – completing a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Thereafter, in 2002, he graduated from John Marshall Law School upon completion of a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.

While in law school, Mr. Harle was named to Who’s Who in American Law School Students and served as an officer in the Student Bar Association and as a member of the ATLA Regional Trial Competition team. Mr. Harle lives in Atlanta and served as President of his Homeowners Association from 2008 to 2010, he is a member of the Executive Committee for his Neighborhood Planning Unit, and serves as a Deacon in his Church.

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Heather A. Thorpe
Heather A. Thorpe graduated from York University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Prior to attending law school, Heather worked at Prevent Child Abuse Georgia as a Volunteer Coordinator and Helpline Associate. She later graduated from John Marshall Law School in 2005, where she received a Doctor of Jurisprudence. She joined Foy and Associates in August of 2007.

In her free time, Ms. Thorpe volunteers at the State Bar of Georgia working with their docent program and also with the Fulton Country Truancy Intervention Project, where she represents juveniles at hearings. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the National Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

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Patty K. Kim
Patty K. Kim graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, GA in 2001, receiving a joint Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History. While there, she had the privileges of being a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, an International Economics honor society, and travelling abroad to the United Kingdom to study at the University of Sussex. She then attended Georgia State University Law School where she served as President of the Asian American Law Students Association in 2003-2004 and received a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2004.

She is currently a member of the State Bar of Georgia and has been admitted to the U.S. Northern District of Georgia.

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Jonathan Schopp
Jonathan Schopp graduated from Michigan State University in 2002 with a degree in Communication. During his under graduate years, he worked in radio and television broadcasting, covering sports in the Lansing and Detroit area. He currently writes a regular column for Spartan Nation.

After college, Mr. Schopp worked primarily in the Financial Services Industry as a Financial Planner and Consultant, acquiring a Series 7, 63, 65, and Life, Accident & Health Insurance license. He provided individual and business clients with a variety of financial advice and services in both Michigan and Georgia.

Mr. Schopp graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law in 2008 as a member of the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute. He successfully competed in a range of advocacy competitions throughout law school and became active in the American Bar Association, where he currently serves as a Vice-Chair on the ABA’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

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Cooper F. Spence
Cooper Spence graduated from the University of Georgia in December of 2005 with a degree in Political Science. During his undergraduate years, he spent a semester at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England and served as an intern in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C.

Cooper graduated from Loyola University New Orleans in May of 2009. While in law school, Cooper served in the Loyola Law Clinic and was admitted to the State Bar of Louisiana for the limited practice of indigent criminal defense in the Criminal Courts of Orleans Parish. Cooper also a served as a legal aid volunteer for the Louisiana Pro Bono project and as an intern for the Honorable Jay C. Zainey in the Eastern District of Louisiana. In the summer of 2008, he was a visiting student at Universidad de Estado de Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Cooper was admitted into the State Bar of Georgia in December of 2009 and joined Foy and Associates in May 2010. Before joining the firm, he served as the as the legal staff for the Minority Office in the Georgia House of Representatives.

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Ketan Patel
Ketan Patel grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in finance with highest honors. He then obtained his MBA from The University of Georgia and conducted a foreign investment study in Costa Rica before going on to Georgia State University College of Law and graduating in 2008.

While in law school, Ketan clerked with The Supreme Court of Georgia, interned with The United States Army JAG Corps, investigated insider trading and other securities law violations with The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and served as a law clerk for some highly notable personal injury and pharmaceutical liability law firms. Ketan began his career as an attorney at a Plaintiffs’ firm in downtown Atlanta and then joined the automotive claims department of one of the largest insurance companies in the world. He is passionate about injury and insurance law and has significantly benefited from his experience on both sides.

Ketan spends his free time learning how to play the guitar, working out, participating in outdoor activities, and tutoring his nieces and nephews. He is extremely passionate about helping those in need and will go the extra mile to ensure his clients obtain the maximum compensation for their injuries.

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Kerry A. Nicholson

Kerry A. Nicholson graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mercer University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and minors in Spanish and Business. Subsequently, Kerry graduated from Tulane University Law School in 2010 with a certificate in Sports Law. While at Tulane Law, Kerry was a managing editor of The Sports Lawyer Journal and Vice President of the Tulane Entertainment and Arts Law Society. Kerry discovered her desire to be a plaintiffs’ attorney during her second summer in law school when she was a law clerk at the Legal Aid Bureau in Baltimore, Maryland.

Kerry was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in November 2010. Thereafter, Kerry worked as a Regional Voter Protection Director in Florida during the 2010 election and volunteered at Community Legal Services in Kissimmee, Florida prior to moving to Atlanta in January 2011. Kerry joined Foy and Associates in January 2012.

In her free time, Kerry volunteers as a Saturday Lawyer with Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation where she assists indigent clients with their landlord-tenant, consumer debt, and employment law disputes.

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Elissa Blache

Elissa Blache graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia in 2008 with a degree in Criminal Justice. During her last semester there, she served as an intern for the Western Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office.

Elissa graduated from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in May 2011. During law school, she was an active member of the Moot Court Program. As a second year law student, Elissa won first place and the award for best oralist in the Tulane Sports Law Moot Court Competition. She later served on the Executive Moot Court Board where she coached both the Criminal Procedure and Bankruptcy teams. Additionally, Elissa worked as a Moot Court Teaching Assistant and clerked at an insurance defense firm in Metairie, Louisiana.

Elissa was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in November 2011 and joined Foy and Associates in December 2011.

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