Meet The Team

Larry Forman, CEO

Managing Partner and Trial Master (Barrister, Order of Veritas)

Larry@LarryFormanLaw.com

Mr. Forman has been named in the Nation’s Top One Percent Attorney by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel from 2015 to the present year, and has received the coveted SuperLawyers Rising Star Award since 2016, as well. Mr. Forman has been crowned as a Top Lawyer by both Louisville Magazine and TOPS Louisville Magazine and has been inducted as a ‘Life Member’ into the exclusive ‘Trial Masters’ club in 2019. He has further been named an Associate Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial lawyer Honorary Society, and is a member of the Trial law Institute and Diversity Law Institute.

He and his team have had over 250 DUI charges amended and dismissed pre-trial, the morning of trial, and had many clients acquitted by a jury, including DUI Second Offenses. Mr. Forman is no stranger to jury trials and will fight for his clients tooth and nail to achieve the best possible result.

Mr. Forman has experienced all aspects of litigation from working with judges, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys throughout his life. This broad learning experience allowed him to get as many varied perspectives on the law as possible and prepare him for anything that may come along the way in the practice of law. He has extensive experience handling jury and bench trials and various types of hearings.

He understands the need to prepare a strong defense (which, in the word of Sun Tzu requires a powerful attack) and takes every case seriously and personally. He has been primarily focusing on handling Driving Under the Influence charges (DUIs) as well as personal injury and car accident cases.

Mr. Forman is also very active in the community and regularly judges various Mock Trial and Appellate Argument Competitions, including the National Mock Trial, the First-Year Oral Argument Competition and the Pirtle-Washer Oral Advocacy Competition. He has also given presentations on what to do if stopped by a police officer to the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and to the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) (Video). Most recently, Mr. Forman spoke at the Annual DUI Symposium in Savannah, GA in 2023 about effective cross examination of Police Officers.

Mr. Forman runs a very active Channel on YouTube: TheDUIGuy+ and is also a reporter for TDG+ Live News.

Larry Forman is a graduate of the University of Louisville cum laude and he earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. In his spare time, Mr. Forman enjoys snowboarding, rock climbing, playing ping pong, billiards, and chess. He also enjoys reading non-fiction books on law and human behavior.

Mr. Forman is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Federal Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Fort Knox Army Base, and both the Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky. He has also been admitted pro hac vice into States like California, Alaska, Tennessee and Ohio.

Evan Bates, Senior Associate

Daily in the Trenches

Evan@LarryFormanLaw.com

Mr. Bates started his legal career with the Commonwealth Attorney’s office as the  Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit where he prosecuted felony cases. During this time, Mr. Bates handled all aspects of prosecuting criminal offenses, including representing the Commonwealth at trial.

After this, he joined the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy working first in the Boyd County trial office, and then the Shelby County trial office. While with DPA, he zealously defended indignant clients in cases ranging from non payment of child support, all the way to A and B level felonies.

Mr. Bates is a graduate of Wilmington College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Religion and Philosophy. While attending Wilmington College, Mr. Bates was an active member of Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity and the Mock Trial Team.

Mr. Bates earned his Juris Doctorate from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law. During school he worked as an intern for the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy – Frankfort Trial Office and the Children’s Law Center in Covington.

Mr. Bates is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association, serves on the national board for Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity and is a member of  the Young Professionals Association of Louisville.

Tyler Hitch, Junior Associate

Daily in the Trenches

Tyler@LarryFormanLaw.com

Mr. Hitch has over ten years of legal experience in criminal defense, civil litigation, and immigration law. He has managed his own firm and developed expertise in a variety of legal areas. He is an expert at negotiations and finds creative solutions for clients in the most difficult situations. He is fearless in defending clients against far more aggressive and powerful entities and joins Forman & Associates because of their willingness to take cases to trial. Mr. Hitch hopes to take Forman & Associates’ clients’ cases to trial in the future.

Mr. Hitch was born and raised in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. He is a graduate with Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis School of Law. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 2012 and lives in New Albany, IN with his wife and three children.

Stephanie Kelley, Case Manager

Firm Administrator

Stephanie@LarryFormanLaw.com

Ms. Kelley has been involved in the legal system even prior to attending law school.  She worked in different capacities in law firms up until deciding to go to law school in 2000. Ms. Kelley attended Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, for her first year of law school. She transferred to Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville in 2001. She graduated in 2003 and began her legal career.

While studying for the bar exam, Ms. Kelley had the opportunity to work in Lexington, Kentucky, as a Staff Attorney. She worked in Fayette Circuit Court under Judge Rebecca Overstreet — she found it to be a highly educational experience and a great way to familiarize herself with the inner workings of the court system.

Upon passing the bar exam, Ms. Kelley started doing civil defense work, but quickly shifted to the Louisville Metro Public Defender’s Office in 2004. She gained many skills in criminal defense work including protecting the rights of defendants, motion practice, and conducting jury trials. She worked in both district and circuit courts.

After leaving the Public Defender’s Office, she continued her practice in Frankfort, Kentucky, doing Post-Conviction Litigation and Appellate work. This further advanced her knowledge and skills in defending clients and learning additional writing skills through filing briefs on behalf of clients.

Ms.  Kelley then switched her career and practice by working as a prosecutor at the Bullitt County Attorney Office in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. This further enhanced her ability to work with victims and defendants by learning how the other side lives. Ms. Kelley did not see cases as something she had to ‘win’ but instead how to obtain justice. By having her past experience as a criminal defense attorney, she knew that not all cases were black and white and need to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Ms. Kelley worked in the district courts with adult cases as well as juvenile cases. Furthermore, she was head Family Court attorney and presented the disability cases to a jury.

Ms. Kelley is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Ms. Kelley has many interests but finds the law challenging and is excited to, once again, be working in the legal system, this time with the private criminal defense firm of Forman & Associates.

Visar Maliqi, Of Counsel

Car Accident Guru

Mr. Maliqi started his career at the legendary personal injury firm of DeCamillis & Mattingly as an associate in January of 2018 where he learned how to work injury cases from start to finish. He then went out on his own and opened a practice in May, 2020. Visar obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law in May of 2017, and he was admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in October of 2017. While in law school, Visar served as a member of Law Review, the principal publication of the Louis D. Brandeis, School of Law, and as a member of the Law Review, he researched and wrote about the Mortgage Crisis of 2007 and its impact on the U.S. Economy.

Prior to attending law school, Visar obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Louisville. Outside of school, Visar takes pride in being engaged with the local community and is driven by a strong desire to connect with individuals, assist them through hard times, and help them navigate the complexities of everyday life.

Visar migrated to the U.S. when he was 13 years old, and he is fluent in Albanian and English.

J. Bart McMahon, Of Counsel

Indiana Master

Mr. McMahon was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. After attending Trinity High School, Mr. McMahon obtained his Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction from the University of Kentucky before attending the University of Louisville Law School. After graduating law school Cum Laude, Mr. McMahon was admitted to the Kentucky Bar and the Indiana Bar in 1995 along with the Federal Courts in both States.

He began his practice with his father before opening his own office in 2004 and he represents persons in criminal matters, family court and injury cases in Indiana.

Mr. McMahon is married and has two daughters.