Joe DeGaetano

I am a Chattanooga trial lawyer representing clients in personal injury and insurance disputes throughout Tennessee and Georgia. Although I've had great success obtaining millions of dollars in settlements for my clients, I am not afraid to go to trial, where I have won multi-million-dollar jury verdicts, including one in excess of $10 million. 

I know that each client expects and deserves my full effort and attention, and I therefore will remain available and personally accessible to each of my clients.  

I do not employ junior lawyers, paralegals, or secretaries.  I handle every aspect of your case myself.  If you are my client, you will have my cell phone number, and I will be happy to take your call--days, nights, or weekends.

Professional Experience

• Before entering private practice, I served as a judicial law clerk to Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which decides federal appeals from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The U.S. Court of Appeals is the court of last resort for all but the tiny percentage of federal litigants who are granted review by the United States Supreme Court.

• Following my service with the United States Court of Appeals, I practiced for a number of years with the 100-lawyer Nashville law firm of Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry, and later was that firm's first and only attorney based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  At Boult, I had the good fortune of being trained as a personal injury attorney by three of the best trial lawyers in Tennessee, and I remain of counsel to their firm.  Then, after a successful tenure with one of the top personal injury firms in Chattanooga, I decided to start my own practice so that I could spend more time with fewer clients.  Top-quality representation and personal accessibility matter more to me than a huge caseload.

Education

• I received my law degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2000. I was a member of the Order of the Coif and The Georgia Law Review, and received the highest grades in my class (A+) in the subjects of Torts, Civil Procedure, and Criminal Law. Torts and Civil Procedure are two of the main bodies of law governing personal injury claims and lawsuits.

• My overall grade-point-average at the University of Georgia School of Law earned me the rank of 2nd in a class of more than 220 students.

• In 1996, I graduated from Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

Licenses and Memberships

• Licensed to practice law in all state courts in Tennessee and Georgia.
• Admitted to United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
• Admitted to United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
• Admitted to United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
• Chairman - Executive Council, Tennessee Bar Association Tort & Insurance Practice Section, 2011-2012.
• Member, Tennessee Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Association, and State Bar of Georgia.