Greg Veal is a member of the firm’s Fidelity, Surety, and Construction group with practice-related experience going back to 1982. He has been with the firm since 1993, but he has first-hand understanding of both the smaller, boutique shop as well as the 200-lawyer firm. His initial training in fidelity and surety law came at the hand of Frank Mays Hull, who now sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.
Greg’s educational background includes a B.A. degree from Furman University (1979, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) with a double major in business administration and political science. He then obtained his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law (1982, cum laude), where he published a Note as a member of the Editorial Board of the Georgia Law Review and subsequently was elected an editor on the Managing Board.
He has written and spoken often for groups interested in fidelity, surety, and construction law topics, including the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the ABA (TTIPS), the State Bar of Georgia’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), and most frequently at conferences of the Southern Surety & Fidelity Claims Association (SSFCA).
He also has presented less formal, practical advice to groups of claims personnel working for sureties in-house.
Greg's published works include the following: "Use of Consulting & Testifying Experts," Loan Loss Coverage under Financial Institution Bonds, Chapt. XIV, ABA TTIPS FSLC (2007); "Other Common Conditions," Annotated Commercial Crime Policy 2d, Chap. 17, ABA TTIPS FSLC (2006); “Arbitration & The Performance Bond Surety,” Surety Claims Institute (2005); Contributing Author, The Commercial Crime Policy 2d, Chapt. XIX, “Bad-Faith Claims,” ABA TTIPS FSLC (2004); Contributor: The Most Important Questions A Surety Can Ask About PERFORMANCE BONDS, (Question No. 30, p. 137), ABA TIPS FSLC (1997); "Subrogation--The Duties and Obligations of the Insured and Rights of the Insurer Revisited," XXVIII Tort and Insurance Law Journal 69 (Fall, 1992). "All That the Law Allows, But Maybe More or Less Than You Thought:  Statutory Contract and Fidelity Bonds," SSFCA (2008); "Covering the ERISA Plan Trustee:  Your Bond Versus the Regs," SSFCA (2007); "Capitalized Interest as Potential Income under the FIB:  Don't Roll Over on Rollover Interest," SSFCA (2006); “New FIB, Old Crime: Contrasting Financial Institution Bond Revisions with Formerly Parallel Crime Policy Provisions,” SSFCA (2004); “A (Very) Short Course in E-Fidelity,” SSFCA (2003); “Steal-A-Deal, Other Peoples’ Money, and the Commercial Crime Policy,” SSFCA (2002); "Fallout From Fraud--Forged & Unauthorized Bonds," SSFCC (1999); "Fidelity Subrogation Update--Updated," SSFCA (1998); "Georgia Fidelity/Surety in '95: Five Cases You Should Know," SSFCA (1996); "As Their Interests May Appear: Multiple Obligee Bonds," SSFCA (1994); "Comparing Peaches and Palmettos: Georgia and South Carolina's Different Views of the Surety and Bad Faith," SSFCA (1993); "Public Payment Bonds in Georgia," Georgia ICLE (2007-2008); “A Primer on Surety Bonds and Surety Claims,” Georgia ICLE (2002-2004).

Greg Veal’s most notable results for fidelity carriers, sureties, and other clients tend to be reduced exposure on sure losses and avoiding the risks of court when a favorable compromise can be structured.

Reported decisions in which he played a leading role include the following: Transamerica Insurance Co. v. United States, 31 Fed. Cl. 602 (1995) (establishing jurisdiction under the Tucker Act for sureties’ subrogation claims against the government). Transamerica Insurance Co. v. H.V.A.C. Contractors, Inc., 857 F. Supp. 969 (N.D. Ga. 1994) (establishing the enforceability of indemnity agreements by summary judgment despite allegations of oral modification and misrepresentation by the surety). L&B Construction Co. v. Ragan Enterprises, Inc., 482 S.E.2d 279 (Ga. 1997) (representing the surety, establishing that no-damages-for-delay clauses contained in the general contract can flow down by incorporation and bind subcontractors). Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland v. Williams, 699 F. Supp. 897 (N.D. Ga. 1988) (enforcing on summary judgment the surety’s rights under the indemnity agreement). Unreported decisions of significance include enforcement of originals requirement under FIB insuring agreement E in Alliance National Bank v. Federal Insurance Co., Case No. 4:07CV-361-HLM (N.D. Ga. 2008), defeating bank's claim based on capitalized interest in Citizens Bank v. St. Paul, Case No. CV305-167 (S.D. Ga. 2007), protection of the consultant’s work product in the face of a bad-faith claim in Bank of Eastman v. St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co., Case No. CV303-083 (S.D. Ga. May 12, 2004) (FIB case), and vindication of the performance-bond surety’s rights under a dual-obligee rider in Enterprise National Bank v. The Mountbatten Surety Co., Case No. CV301-046 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 20, 2004).

Greg is a long-time member of the bars of the State of Georgia (trial and appellate); U.S. District Court, Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth and Eleventh Circuits; and U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He is a member of the American Bar Association (Litigation Section; TTIPS, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee; Forum on the Construction Industry) and the State Bar of Georgia (Litigation Section).

Born in Augusta, Georgia in 1957, Greg currently lives in the Alpharetta/Duluth area of Atlanta with his wife and three children. You can reach him via e-mail at grv@boviskyle.com or by phone at (770) 391-9100, extension 3907.