John T. (Tom) Johnson, Jr., is a highly skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable civil trial lawyer who has over 48 years of jury trial experience. He is passionate about providing ethical, efficient, and effective representation for his clients in his practice areas of General Litigation, Insurance Defense, Insurance Coverage and Arson and Fire Claims. While every case presents different scenarios and challenges, Mr. Johnson focuses diligently on each case and the clients he represents, and he provides legal services in a timely and cost-effective manner. Mr. Johnson was one of the first mediators in Knoxville and he has served as a mediator in numerous cases. In addition, Mr. Johnson has been selected to serve as an arbitrator in several cases. Mr. Johnson is highly regarded by his peers and he was selected as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2015, the pre-eminent organization of trial lawyers in North America. In 1995, Mr. Johnson was selected for inclusion in American Board of Trail Advocates. Mr. Johnson has been included in Best Lawyers of America, a highly regarded peer-review publication, for several years. Best Lawyers of America named Mr. Johnson Lawyer Of The Year in 2016 and 2019. Mr. Johnson has been included in Super Lawyers and Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2008. He is consistently listed in City View magazine as one of the top attorneys in Knoxville in several different categories. Mr. Johnson is licensed to practice in the state of Tennessee, and he has been admitted to practice in the state courts of Tennessee, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Johnson focuses his practice on the following:
• Insurance Defense
• Insurance coverage issues
• Arson investigation and defense of fire insurance claims
Mr. Johnson has tried to verdict hundreds of jury trials and has, in some years, been listed by The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter as having tried the most jury trials in the state of Tennessee for that year. The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter recently reported that for the years between 2005 and 2010, Mr. Johnson tried the second highest number of cases for any lawyer in the state.
Mr. Johnson has extensive experience in insurance coverage issues and has actively participated in the drafting of provisions in insurance policies issued by a major insurance company.
- General Litigation
- Insurance Defense
- Insurance Coverage
- Arson Investigation and Fire Insurance Claims
- Tennessee, 1974
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Tennessee, 1974
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky, 1978
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1978
- University of Tennessee College of Law, Knoxville, Tennessee
- J.D. - 1973
- Honors: Graduated with Honors
- University of Tennessee
- B.A. - 1971
- Honors: Graduated with Honors
Mr. Johnson has been a speaker at a number of seminars sponsored by various bar associations and other organizations. He has made presentations to local claims organizations and at statewide meetings of claims managers and claims representatives. On October 29, 2010, Mr. Johnson participated with other well-known attorneys from around the state of Tennessee and other parts of the United States in a mock cross-examination at a seminar sponsored by The Foundation of The American Board of Trial Advocates.
- American College of Trial Lawyers, since 2015
- American Board of Trial Advocates, since 1995
- Best Lawyers in America, since 2007
- Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, 2016 and 2019
- Mid-South Super Lawyers Since 2008
- City View Top Attorney for Multiple Areas of Practice
- AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell
- Knoxville Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- American College of Trial Lawyers
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Master of the Bench, Hamilton Burnett American Inns of Court
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Tennessee Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Knoxville Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Former Elder of Farragut Church of Christ
- Former member of Town of Farragut Board of Zoning Appeals
- Kramer Rayson LLP, Managing Partner, 2010 to 2012