Jane Cibik, Esq.
Jane Cibik is an Attorney at Law who has been mediating workers’ compensation cases for more than 25 years. Jane earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Jane is a licensed Attorney and is a Civil and Domestic Mediator, Arbitrator, and Registered Neutral with the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution.
In addition to her experience as a litigator, Jane has mediated thousands of workers' compensation cases. After practicing law as a Staff Attorney and Government Liaison with the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, she joined the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation as a Board Mediator in 1997.
After several years at the State Board, Jane began her private practice, Jane Cibik Mediations, LLC, in 2003.
Jane is a compassionate and patient mediator. She is determined to help parties resolve their disputes and will spend all the time necessary to make this happen.
Ela Orenstein Basto, Esq.
Pamela (Ela) Orenstein Basto has been practicing law for over fifteen years in Georgia State and Administrative Courts. Ela joined JCM in 2016 and dedicates her practice exclusively to mediating workers’ compensation cases.
Ela has been active in the workers' compensation bar, serving on the Advisory Council to the Chairman of the State Board of Workers' Compensation; the Board of Directors of the Georgia Legal Foundation; and the Board of Directors of the workers' compensation Claimants Lawyers section of the Georgia Trial Lawyers’ Association. Ela is a graduate of the GTLA LEAD program and has been a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education seminars regarding Georgia's Workers' Compensation Act. Ela is a licensed Mediator and Registered Neutral with the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution.
In mediating, Ela has an intimate understanding of parties' need to resolve both the emotional and the financial issues that arise when resolving a legal dispute. Ela is results oriented and brings the tools necessary to get cases settled.
Ela received her law degree from the University of Oregon in 2006 and earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelors of science in Psychology.
Christopher Gifford, Esq.
Christopher is a native of Macon, Georgia and has lived in Atlanta for the last 14 years. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a BA in History and he received his law degree from Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. Christopher has been licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia since 2010.
Upon graduating from law school, Christopher worked for an insurance defense firm, where his practice focused on representing Employers and insurers in worker’s compensation claims. Working for employer and insurers provided Christopher with invaluable experience and a better understanding of the strategies that insurance companies utilize to defend claims.
For the last 9 years, Christopher has devoted his practice to representing injured workers across he State of Georgia and was a partner at a claimant’s firm prior to starting Gifford Law. He has taken and defended hundreds of depositions, negotiated settlement for hundreds of clients, tried cases before the State Board of Worker’s Compensation in every corner of Georgia and participated in appeals before Superior Courts and the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Christopher has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2010 and has spoken at many conferences and seminars on issues relating to Georgia workers’ compensation claims. He is an active member of The Workers’ Compensation Claimant’s Lawyers (WCCL) arm of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA). He has also been a member of WILG - Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group. In 2022 and 2023 Christopher was named a Super Lawyer by his peers, which is an honor bestowed on only 5% of attorneys.
Outside of work, Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife and three children and cheering for the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs.