For John, it’s all about creating relationships. And for the past 20 years, John has relied on his ability to form these important relationships with clients, juries, peers, and the community to help him successfully represent personal injury victims across Middle Tennessee.
Starting his career as an insurance claims adjuster, he saw how his decisions could impact people's lives positively or negatively—after they’d been seriously injured by someone else’s carelessness. That’s when he began to realize the frustration of working for insurance companies, whose main products are promises in exchange for money—and those promises of coverage were broken far too often.
"One of the most frustrating aspects of trial is that the jury is never told that the defendant has insurance, the defense lawyers are either paid or work directly for the insurance companies, and the full judgment is paid by insurance. I have never tried a case in any courtroom where that was not true. The insurance companies low ball us and force us to go to court with nothing to lose. I have actively tried to change the law allowing direct action against the insurance companies instead of suing the individual--- as a member of the TTLA legislative committee, but the insurance lobby stops us every single time. I hope to change that someday to make it fair for the working man. I hate keeping the jury in the dark. " John Griffith
As a result, John decided to focus on combating those broken promises by attending law school. Now, as an experienced personal injury lawyer, he fights on behalf of deserving people who have been treated unfairly by those same insurance companies. And for John, his clients are more than a case number, which is why he stays in touch with many of them. In fact, he regularly calls former clients to simply catch up and see how they’re doing.
In addition to his law practice, John is committed to advancing the cause of his clients and has served in multiple positions within the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association including;
- President, 2020 - 2021
- Vice President, 2018 - 2019
- Legislative Chair, 2013 - 2019
He’s also been elected by his peers to serve on the association’s Board of Governors each year since 2008. In 2018, John was recognized by the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association with the Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for his work within TTLA and his multiple record-setting verdicts during that year.
In 2012, he was selected to attend the prestigious Trial Lawyers College, which is conducted by Gerry Spence, one of the most unbeatable and prestigious lawyers in U.S. history. And in 2013 and 2014, John was selected by his peers as the “Best of the Bar”—an award that recognizes Tennessee’s top lawyers and corporate counsel.
John plays the guitar and loves making music with his family. “I am blessed to have a wife, my best friend, who has so much talent! I remember being mesmerized as a kid when I saw musicians. I want to give this gift to all of my children and make lasting memories with them. I’m always ecstatic about making music with my family."
Favorite quote:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt
Personal Injury Lawyer John Griffith has been selected to Super Lawyers for 2019-2020!