Kovach, James F

Isaac has been fighting for the rights of families and children for twenty three years. He has successfully represented victims who have been injured or killed by reckless truck drivers, defective highways, and dangerous products, including exploding automobile gas tanks and electric power line hazards. Isaac and senior partner David Kirby won the largest compensatory damages verdict in North Carolina for the negligent death of a child. They also won the largest workplace-violence verdict in the United States after a two-month trial involving a disgruntled worker who returned to his former workplace and shot several former co-workers three days after he was fired. Isaac and David also obtained a multi-million dollar verdict against a movie studio for a worker who was severely burned by electric power lines while building an outdoor set for the movie "The Crow," starring Brandon Lee. Isaac also represents property owners, helping them to compel the government to pay fair compensation for property it has confiscated in land condemnation cases.

Isaac is co-author of "Thorp's North Carolina Trial Practice Forms," a Thomson-West publication. This reference book, now in its sixth edition, is a staple in law firms throughout the state. Thorp also spearheaded a comprehensive review of local court rules from 70 of North Carolina's 100 counties while chairing the North Carolina Bar Association's Local Judicial Rules Subcommittee. Under Isaac's leadership, the subcommittee identified over 100 different local rules that conflicted with the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the General Rules of Practice, or otherwise presented problems that could affect the quality of justice provided to North Carolina's citizens. Isaac authored the final report that was presented to the North Carolina Bar Association's Board of Governors. In honor of Isaac's service, the subcommittee was renamed the "Thorp Local Rules Subcommittee" by the North Carolina Bar Association's Litigation Section. Isaac also served two years as co-chairman of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice annual convention and has lectured at education seminars for attorneys.

Isaac was recently selected by his peers as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" and has been a North Carolina "Super Lawyer" for the past several years, an honor bestowed upon only the top five percent of North Carolina's practicing attorneys. He has also consistently received Martindale-Hubbell's AV rating, the organization's preeminent rating indicating the highest level of legal ability and ethics.

While the profession of law has been a tradition in Isaac's family for several generations - his great grandfather served as a judge and mayor in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and his father started the state's first Legal Services program to provide legal services to people of modest means - Isaac took an untraditional path before and during his early legal career. He helped pay for college and law school by working on deep sea fishing boats often 50 miles offshore. Working under conditions much like those seen on the Discovery Channel's "The Deadliest Catch," Isaac came to appreciate the importance of safe products and common sense safety practices. After graduating from the New York University School of Law, he started his law career as an assistant district attorney at the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Isaac was chosen as one of a few select prosecutors to work with special victims in the District Attorney's sex crimes unit. Isaac worked regularly with the New York police to prosecute sex offenders and other predators who victimized children and the elderly. With this background, Isaac brings a down to earth sensitivity to his work on behalf of people who have been negligently maimed or killed through no fault of their own.

Isaac is married to Stephanie Gibbs, a family law attorney with Gailor, Wallis and Hunt in Raleigh, North Carolina. Isaac's ninth grade son is a drummer, avid snow boarder and year round surfer.

Isaac only represents plaintiffs who have been injured or killed and property owners whose land has been condemned by state and local governments through eminent domain