Our Firm

• Our Staff

• Attorney Brad Harris
• Bo Harris
• Grant Ostrander
• Attorney Jonathan Kurtz
• Attorney Michael Brown
• Attorney Robert A. Morrin
• Sherry Harris
• Brooke Harris
• Amber Schalk
• Kate Richardson
• Allison Cochrane
• Jennifer Lay
• Natalie Williams
• Edward L. Daniel

The laws that apply to the rights of federal employees are quite different from those of non-federal employees. Because of this, it is often very difficult for federal employees to find legal representation. Many attorneys are simply not interested in learning how the federal employees and legal system works - not because they are uncaring people, but because they do not have enough federal employee business to make worthwhile the time spent in researching the particular rights of a federal employee. This problem is made worse on the fact that the attorney's compensation is often restricted by federal regulation.

Our experience tells us that it is not unusual for a federal employee to endure frustration and difficulties in exerting his or her rights, even when we are successfully representing them. Therefore, at the Harris Federal Law Firm our mission is to carefully consider the particular facts of each potential new customer before anything else.

We want to determine that we have a fair chance of success in helping the client and that we are compensated in a way that the client believes has been fair. If we don't anticipate having a happy client at the end of the assignment, we prefer to not become engaged. This is not to say that we don't want to help, we do - we just want to insist on a realistic definition of success.

Our Staff

Attorney Brad Harris has been representing injured people to assert their legal rights most of his life. He graduated with honors from Southwest Texas State University and then moved to Houston where he graduated from the University of Houston School of Law.

He is licensed to practice law in Kentucky and Texas but has represented injured federal workers in nearly every state in the union—including Hawaii and Alaska. His special area of interest in the law is in the analysis of medical terms and conditions for the purposes of developing persuasive communication to accomplish legal rights. Brad and his wife of forty years are especially proud of the fact that both of their children have followed him to take up the cause of injured workers.

Bo Harris is a Senior Federal Claims Representative and Chartered Federal Employee Benefit Consultant (ChFEBC). He has been working with Harris Federal Law Firm representing federal claimants for over ten years. He successfully completed an intensive training course and passed a rigorous examination covering all federal employee benefits. Bo has received certificates of specialized training in federal workers compensation and federal disability retirement.

Bo has secured over five million dollars in schedule award benefits for his clients and has successfully assisted hundreds federal employees in obtaining federal disability retirement from the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board. He has participated in many hearings with the federal workers compensation, social security disability and Merit Systems Protection Board. He also holds Life Insurance license and takes pleasure in helping federal employees in their retirement planning. Bo lives with his wife Geneva, son Hudson and daughter Demi in Lexington, Kentucky. He is an avid golfer and enjoys camping and fishing.

Grant Ostrander is our Intake Coordinator and Senior Disability Claim Specialist. He has worked with Brad since 2001. If you have ever had a case evaluation with us, you have probably spoken with Grant! Grant focuses on providing information to potential clients about their rights, while working with the different federal agencies and the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., on federal disability retirement claims for federal employees. Grant successfully completed his training and exams and is now a Chartered Federal Employee Benefits Consultant (ChFEBC). He has also received a certificate of specialized training in federal workers compensation and federal disability retirement from the Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc. Grant lives in Paris, Kentucky with his wife Kendall, their daughter Calloway and their two dogs. Grant loves the outdoors and if he isn't fighting for your benefits, you might find him on a wilderness hike or camping trip.

Attorney Jonathan Kurtz is a graduate from University of Kentucky College of Law and is licensed to practice in the state of Kentucky. While attending UK, he was a Student Bar Association Representative and was a member of the National Moot Court Team. He is currently a member of the Kentucky Justice Association. Jonathan is an associate attorney here at Harris Federal and focuses on federal worker's compensation and personal injury cases. He enjoys motorcycles, aviation, and the outdoors.

Amber Schalk is one of our medical disability retirement specialists. Part of her job is to assist our clients by explaining the process to them and by gathering and interpreting evidence in support of their disability claim. Her degree in Psychology from the University of Kentucky gives her special insight and empathy toward the difficulties our clients have faced at their workplace. She receives a great deal of satisfaction in really being of assistance to our clients and making their case stronger. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and working with children.

Allison Cochrane is part of our federal disability team, who graduated from the University of Kentucky with degrees in Communication and Sociology. At Harris Federal she arranges incoming appointments and enjoys speaking with clients, and potential clients alike. She also assists our medical disability retirement clients in completing their application forms. Ally enjoys snowboarding, UK basketball, and spending time with her husband, Trent, their adorable one year-old son, and her 2 Great Danes and chocolate lab.

Jennifer Lay is on the front line of our medical disability retirement team. She is our medical records technician. Jennifer requests and collects all the medical records needed to support disability retirement claims. She keeps in close contact with our client's doctors to ensure timely and supportive records. Jennifer has two beautiful daughters and a puppy named Prince. She enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.

Natalie Williams is our referral coordinator. She assists attorneys around the United States in referring federal employees to our firm. Natalie graduated from the University of Louisville with a Communications degree. Natalie lives in Lexington and loves horse racing, reading, music, and spending time with friends. Natalie owns an American Quarter Horse named JR.

Edward L. Daniel served two tours in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army and obtained the rank of Captain in Field Artillery. He has a Bachelors Degree of Business Administration from Texas Christian University. He was employed by the Department of Labor in its Office of Workers Compensation Programs for twenty years. His job course included a stint as a Claims Examiner and he was later promoted to the Quality Control Unit, Congressional Liaison, Claims Manager, and then oversight of the Vocational Rehab/Claims Unit until his retirement in 1997. Since his retirement from the Office of Workers Compensation Programs he has been assisting injured workers with their claims. He helps our federal workers compensation clients with special assignments as a contract consultant. This means that he does not work exclusively for us.