John . Tarpley
Lewis Thomason
John Tarpley is a Lewis Thomason shareholder. He has been involved in complex litigation in the areas of tort, transportation, product liability, professional liability, commercial law, casualty defense, and a wide range of insurance‐related matters in both state and federal courts. His product liability work includes the representation of manufacturers of automobiles, heavy equipment, appliances and power tools, as well as significant experience in asbestos defense. Mr. Tarpley has also successfully defended a number of trucking companies and their employees, both at trial and in the mediation of claims and has addressed a wide variety of retail issues from both a general civil and a commercial law perspective. Recently, he has devoted a significant portion of his practice to the mediation and arbitration of civil matters. Certified as a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 mediator, he is regularly hired to mediate a number of civil matters. He has also been inducted into the distinguished Tennessee Academy of Mediators. Prior to joining the firm in 1989, Mr. Tarpley was a judicial clerk for the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle Division, from 1981 to 1982 and an assistant attorney general for the State of Tennessee from 1982 to 1989. During that time, he was responsible for statewide enforcement of consumer protection and antitrust laws and recovered restitution for thousands of consumers. In addition, he is a former President of the Tennessee Bar Association and has served on the TBA's Executive Committee for a number of years. As president of the TBA, he implemented the successful “Leadership Law” program and continues to be involved in its programming. He also established “Lawyers Care” and successfully recruited lawyers to do more pro bono work in the state. During the year, TBA membership reached all‐time highs. He has recently served as the Chair of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS). Formerly, he held four officer‐level roles in the Section and was a member of the TIPS Council. He was the first editor of Tort Source and was the chairperson of the committee that created the successful TIPS Leadership Academy. In addition, he has held membership on several standing committees of the American Bar Association, served on the ALI‐ABA Board, and currently serves as a member of the ABA Journal Board of Editors. Likewise, he is a member of the ABA House of Delegates representing the Tennessee Bar Association. Previously, he held two officer‐level positions in the ABA Young Lawyers Division and was the editor of the Division's Barrister magazine. He also serves as a current member of the board of directors of the Nashville Bar Association. He has also served a term on the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission and recently concluded a successful three‐year term as the president of the board of directors of the Music City Chapter of the March of Dimes. Mr. Tarpley is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation and serves as a trustee of the foundation. He is also a member of the Tennessee Bar and American Bar Foundations. In addition, he is a member of the American Law Firm Association's (ALFA) Transportation Practice Group and will serve as the group's program chair in 2013. He is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA). He received his B.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1976 and his J.D. degree in 1980, both from the University of Tennessee. As an undergraduate, he was honored to be named as a university Torchbearer. Mr. Tarpley represents clients in all state and federal courts in Tennessee from the Nashville office.
(01/19)
