John R. Tarpley

Nashville Office
201 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 1500
Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Telephone (615) 259-1366
Fax (615) 259-1389

jtarpley@lewisking.com

Education
University of Tennessee, B.S., 1976
University of Tennessee, J.D., 1980

Bar Admission
1980 Tennessee

Practice Areas
Litigation
Product Liability
Construction
Insurance

John R. Tarpley has been involved in complex litigation in the areas of tort, transportation, product liability, professional liability, commercial law, construction defect and 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.  Further, he has represented employers, managing underwriters, third party administrators and insurance companies in litigation concerning a wide variety of ERISA issues.  Mr. Tarpley has also been certified as a general civil mediator by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

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.

Most recently, he was appointed by the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives to serve a six-year term on the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission.

Mr. Tarpley formerly served as the first vice-president and as a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Bar Association and was the founding member of Nashville Young Lawyers Division.  He is also a former president of the Tennessee Young Lawyers Conference and assembly clerk and speaker of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

He is a former editor of the American Bar Association's Barrister magazine, a current officer and council member of the ABA Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section.  Mr. Tarpley is a Fellow of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations.

He received his B.S. degree in 1976 and his J.D. degree in 1980, both from the University of Tennessee.  Mr. Tarpley represents clients in all state and federal courts in Tennessee from the Nashville office.