Meet The Team

Larry Forman, CEO

Managing Partner and Trial Master

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 had numerous 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.

Mr. Forman 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). He also runs a very active YouTube Channel: TheDUIGuy+.

Mr. Forman is also a reported 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.

Tracy Shipley, Senior Associate

Daily in the Trenches

Tracy@LarryFormanLaw.com

Ms. Shipley is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and Kentucky. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a legal assistant for a criminal defense firm in Atlanta, Georgia. She was appointed an Assistant Jefferson County Attorney in 2003 upon bar passage.

As an Assistant Jefferson County Attorney, she gained valuable jury and bench trial experience. She represented the Commonwealth in numerous hearings. She worked in multiple divisions: Disability & Mental Inquest Court, both Warrant and Domestic Violence Intake and Felony Misdemeanor. She also handled a Warrant Court jury trial docket and was the first Assistant Jefferson County Attorney delegated management of the Enhanced Supervision docket for defendants diagnosed with mental illnesses. In 2005, she was chosen as an Associate in the Brandeis Inns of Court. In 2006, she attended Trial Advocacy, offered by the National District Attorney’s Association at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, SC.

Ms. Shipley sees Americans’ basic Constitutional rights as under attack. The individual right to be free from government interference is prefaced on each citizen understanding his or her rights and asserting those rights. She is concerned about infringement of citizens’ rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, guaranteed by the 4th Amendment. She believes the right to counsel, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, is too frequently waived by individuals taught to be trusting of authority figures.

Ms. Shipley is a graduate of Oxford College of Emory University with an Associates of Arts. She is a graduate of Emory College of Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology.

Ms. Shipley earned her Juris Doctor from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. She was the law school chapter president of the Brandeis Equal Justice Committee, the local National Organization of Public Interest Attorneys. Ms. Shipley received the Joseph L. White Scholarship. She was a published member of the Journal of Law & Education and recipient of the 2003 Brandeis Writing Award. She served as a student member on the Faculty Committee on Public Service and Professionalism. She was a volunteer legal advocate for the Center for Women and Children. She served as an extern for the Legal Aid Society of Louisville. She worked as a research assistant for two professors and was a law clerk for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office.

Ms. Shipley served as an Adjunct Professor teaching Gender and the Law for the Department of Women & Gender Studies at the University of Louisville in 2007. In 2006, she taught Business Law and Oral Communication at National College of Business & Technology. She later taught World Civilizations and co-taught Law and Government at Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

In 2018, Ms. Shipley worked as an Attorney Advisor to the Social Security Administration in Saint Louis, Missouri.

She is very happy to have returned to practicing criminal law.

Christopher Stopper, Junior Associate

Daily in the Trenches

Chris@LarryFormanLaw.com

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Stopper worked as a senior laboratory technician for two of the largest geotechnical engineering firms in Kentucky, as well as a Senior Problem Solver and Ambassador for Amazon.com. He began working for the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy after earning his juris doctorate as a law clerk before transitioning to becoming an attorney after passing the bar exam.

As an attorney for the Department of Public Advocacy he gained valuable experience and represented clients in several different courts and jurisdictions. He worked in Mercer and Boyle County Family Courts, and represented clients facing criminal contempt charges. He also handled the Lincoln County docket for the agency and developed a robust motion practice in criminal cases.

Mr. Stopper believes that the American Justice System is heavily weighted against Defendants and that many of the legal protections which once safeguarded the citizens have been turned into mere boxes to be checked off on the way towards convictions and plea agreements that are not favorable to those charged with crimes. In the face of the full might of the government, all too often individuals will take the quick road out instead of fighting back against a process and system that all too often has failed them.

Mr. Stopper is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Social Studies Education with a focus on Medieval History and a minor in Anthropology. While attending the University of Kentucky, Mr. Stopper continued to work as a Senior Problem Solver for Amazon, helping his team through 3 years of record-breaking Christmas Seasons. He completed his in-school training for his degree at Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky.

Mr. Stopper earned his Juris Doctor from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. He was a strong advocate for people facing what seemed like overwhelming opposition while in school. He performed volunteer work for the Louisville-Metro Human Relations Commission in investigating housing discrimination claims, the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy’s Appellate Branch, the Attorney General’s Office Division of Senior Protection attempting to prosecute individuals and organizations perpetuating scams against senior citizens, and was an intern at the Jefferson County Public Defender’s Office. He was a member of the Parents Attending Law School student organization as well as acting as a student teacher for the Central High Partnership, where law school students teach classes in the “Law and Government” magnet program at Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

In 2018, Mr. Stopper and the Kentucky Department for Public Advocacy parted ways and he worked out of Frankfort, Kentucky to help a friend whose law firm was short staffed due to some medical ailments. He is happy to once again be returning to the practice of criminal law; which has been his passion for a few years.

Evan Bates, Junior 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.