Preston began his workers’ compensation career as a Hearing Officer for the Ohio Industrial Commission. He presided over all types of claims, and heard all issues including original allowance, violations of specific safety requirements, final settlements of claims and all issues involving extent of disability.

Preston also served as Legal Director (chief legal advisor) to the Ohio Industrial Commission. In this capacity he advised the commission on a variety of political and legal issues, including a company’s eligibility for self-insurance. He also served on the adjudicating committee, which heard all disputes involving insurance for state fund employers. All attorney Hearing Officers were part of his staff.

After leaving the Ohio Industrial Commission, Preston went to Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, where he represented employers in all aspects of workers’ compensation law. As the Workers’ Compensation Administrator of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey,  he supervised all major cases and personally represented employers in all Ohio courts and at all levels of administrative proceedings. In 1997, he and Mike Hickey formed Garvin & Hickey, LLC, which is dedicated exclusively to representing employers in all matters related to workers’ compensation.

Preston is Special Counsel to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for workers’ compensation matters. He was appointed as a member of the Select Commission on Workers’ Compensation Administration, the committee that authored the study that later became the basis for Amended Substitute House Bill 222.

Governor Voinovich appointed Preston to the Workers’ Compensation Task Force, which was created to review various compensation and benefit levels. He has testified before various House and Senate committees on numerous workers’ compensation and intentional tort bills.

Preston has also served on various Industrial Commission committees, such as the committee to study permanent total disability compensation, the structured settlement committee and the temporary total disability compensation committee to study the GAP problem. He continues to serve as a member of the standing committee to review Industrial Commission rules.

In 2013, Preston was appointed by Governor Kasich to the Executive Order of the Ohio Commodores, “in recognition for outstanding contributions to the economic development of the State of Ohio. It is considered Ohio’s ‘most distinguished honor.’”

Preston has received the Patrick J. O’Neill award presented by the Ohio Self-Insurers Association. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Woodward and White, Columbus Monthly Magazine, Top Lawyers in Columbus, Ohio Super Lawyers, and has been rated one of the top 50 lawyers in Columbus and top 100 in Ohio, and has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell. Best Lawyers in America named him “Lawyer of the Year” in 2014, for Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers, in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area.

Preston is a regular speaker for the Ohio Bar Association, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Self-Insurers Association and various other groups.

Preston also serves on the Board of Directors of Kids Chance of America and the board of Kids Chance of Ohio. It is the mission of Kids Chance of Ohio to provide financial support to further the education of children of Ohio workers who have been killed or declared permanently and totally disabled as a result of workplace injuries.

Mike began his workers’ compensation career with the Ohio Attorney General’s Workers’ Compensation Section. As an Assistant Attorney General he represented the Ohio Industrial Commission and Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in the trial courts and appellate courts including the Ohio Supreme Court. After four years he was appointed Chief of the Attorney General’s Workers’ Compensation Section. As Section Chief he supervised a staff of twenty-four trial attorneys and served as the Chief Outside Legal Counsel for the Industrial Commission and Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Upon leaving the Attorney General’s office he joined the firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey where he practiced in all areas of workers’ compensation law, exclusively representing employers. In 1997, he and Preston Garvin formed Garvin & Hickey, LLC, which is dedicated exclusively to representing employers in all matters related to workers’ compensation.

Mike has received the Ohio Legal Center Institute Award of Merit. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Woodward & White; Business First’s Who’s Who in Columbus Law, Columbus Monthly Magazine’s Top Lawyers in Columbus and has been listed in Ohio Super Lawyers since 2004, a distinction limited to the top 5% of Ohio’s practicing attorneys.

Mike is a member of the Columbus Bar Association and Ohio State Bar Association where he serves on the Workers’ Compensation Committee. In 1996 he was appointed by the Ohio State Bar Association, and confirmed by the Ohio Supreme Court, to serve on the Workers’ Compensation Law Specialty Board. The Specialty Board was charged with the responsibility of developing and administering an examination to be taken by attorneys desiring to become certified as a Workers’ Compensation Specialist.

Mike is also actively involved in defending intentional tort actions, and is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of workers’ compensation and intentional tort. He is a regular speaker for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Self-Insurers Association, the Central Ohio Self-Insurers Association and various other groups representing the interests of employers.

Niki attended The Ohio State University for her undergraduate degree and was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 2016, after graduating from Ohio Northern University, Claude W. Pettit College of Law. During law school, Niki interned at the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as Hardin County Prosecutor’s Office, in Ohio.

Niki joined Garvin & Hickey in 2017. She has experience in representing employers before the Industrial Commission of Ohio, as well as defending employers against Violations of Specific Safety Rules (VSSR).

Additionally, Niki represents and advises employers during inspections and investigations conducted by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), responds to notices from OSHA about employee complaints of safety hazards, and represents employers in OSHA litigation, including citation contests and administrative hearings. Niki also helps employers develop safety and health programs and policies.

Niki is a member of the American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, and the Columbus Bar Association.

John joined Garvin & Hickey as a paralegal in 2019, after completing the ABA accredited Paralegal Certificate Program at Capital University Law School. As a paralegal, he assisted the attorneys at Garvin & Hickey with research, drafting, and other preparation for administrative hearings and court appeals.

While working for Garvin & Hickey, John also took classes in the evenings from Capital University Law School working to obtain his Juris Doctor. While at Capital University Law School he was a member of the Law Review, an advocate for the Moot Court team, a class representative for the Student Bar Association, and a student ambassador for the office of admissions. John also completed a legal clinic course where he represented clients in a variety of civil matters and worked with the Prosecutor for the City of Hilliard prosecuting and trying misdemeanor cases in Mayor’s Court.

In 2023, John graduated from Capital University Law School, Magna Cum Laude, with his law degree and was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio. John continues to work with the team at Garvin & Hickey representing employers before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and in appeals in the Courts of Common Pleas. In addition to workers’ compensation representation, John has defended employers in BWC audits and unemployment hearings.

John is a member of the American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, Columbus Bar Association, and Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys and in 2025 was selected to be one of 24 young lawyers to participate in the Ohio State Bar Association’s 2025 Leadership Academy. John is also admitted to practice in the Southern District of Ohio as well as the State of Indiana, the Southern District of Indiana, and the Northern District of Indiana, and is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association.

While not representing employers, John is a coach of Capital University Law School’s Moot Court program and a frequent volunteer judge for Law School, Undergraduate, and High School Mock Trial and Moot Court Competitions.

Sandee was admitted to the Ohio practice of law in 1998, after graduating from Georgetown University Law Center. Sandee joined the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in 1999. In this position Sandee gained extensive experience in the trial and appellate courts of Ohio while representing the Ohio Industrial Commission and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. In 2001, Sandee joined Garvin & Hickey where she concentrates her practice on representing employers before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and the various trial and appellate courts.