John R. Tarpley, a shareholder in our Nashville office, has been involved in complex litigation in the areas of transportation, tort, and product liability, in both state and federal courts.

Mr. Tarpley has established himself as one of the pre-eminent lawyers who represent commercial transportation companies and their employees in Tennessee and nationwide.  He has successfully defended trucking companies in both state and federal courts and at mediations and settlement proceedings throughout the country.  As the chair of the firm’s transportation practice group, he established an aggressive rapid response protocol that results in the quick gathering of all relevant information related to an accident to enable his clients to make critical and prompt decisions about each accident.  Recently, he has been called upon to act in the role of national settlement counsel for several trucking companies to assist them in reaching prompt and efficient resolutions of their outstanding claims.  Further, he is sought after on a national level as a speaker on transportation topics and has spoken to thousands of lawyers and trucking executives on a wide variety of issues. He was one of the founding members of the Trucking Defense Advocacy Council.

He has also established himself as a preeminent mediator and arbitrator in Tennessee and across the United States. Currently he serves as the chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission and is a member of the Tennessee Academy of Mediators. Mr. Tarpley has mediated more than 1300 cases by both in-person and electronic means. He is recognized as being very prepared for every mediation, respectful to all litigants, and focused on mediation topics in Tennessee and at national conferences.

View John Tarpley’s Mediation Calendar

AFFILIATIONS

• American Bar Association
• American Bar Foundation
• Nashville Bar Association
• Nashville Bar Foundation
• Tennessee Bar Association
• Tennessee Bar Foundation
• American Law Firm Association (ALFA)
• Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA)
• Tennessee Academy of Professional Mediators
• Trucking Defense Advocacy Council (TDAC)

 PROFESSIONAL HONORS AND ACTIVITIES

• Chair, Tennessee Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission
• Best Lawyers®, 2022 Administrative/Regulatory Law “Lawyer  of the Year” in Nashville
• Best Lawyers®, 2019 Transportation “Lawyer of the Year” in Tennessee
• Named to the List of “Mid-South Super Lawyers®”
• Named to The Best Lawyers in America©, Administrative/Regulatory Law; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Transportation  Mediation; Product Liability Litigation—Defendants
• Named to Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar”
• Member, Tennessee Academy of Mediators
• Former President, Tennessee Bar Association
• Fellow, Trustee and Former President, Nashville Bar Foundation
• Former Chair, American Law Firm Association’s (ALFA) Transportation Practice Group Former Chair, ALFA International’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee
• Former member, ALFA International Board of Directors
• Former Chair, ABA Journal Board of Editors
• Former Chair, ABA Fellows of the Young Lawyers Division
• Member, Tennessee Bar Association Executive Committee
• Former Chair, ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS)
• Former member, ABA Tort Trial, and Insurance Practice Section Council
• First editor of TortSource (Publication of TIPS)
• Former member of ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary (He was the lead reviewer for the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh.)
• Former member, ALI-ABA Board
• Member, ABA House of Delegates representing the Tennessee Bar Association; ABA Young Lawyer’s Division and the Nashville Bar Association
• Member and Officer, Board of Directors, Nashville Bar Association
• Former Member, Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission
• Former Officer of ABA Young Lawyers Division
• Founding President of Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division
• Former Board Member and Chair of the Music City Chapter of the March of Dimes
• 2025, 2026 Chambers USA Top Ranked – Litigation: Mediators –Tennessee
• Member, American Bar Association Board of Governors

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

As president of the Tennessee Bar Association, Mr. Tarpley established the “Lawyers Care” program and successfully recruited lawyers to do more pro bono work in the state.  In addition, he implemented the “Leadership Law” program and continues to be involved in its programming.  He was the chair of the committee that created the successful TIPS Leadership Academy. Mr. Tarpley recently concluded a successful term as the president of the board of directors of the Music City Chapter of the March of Dimes. Mr. Tarpley has also served on the Board of Directors of First Steps. He is a graduate of the 2016 Leadership Nashville and served as a member of the leadership team for the 2017 class.

He and his wife are active in their church and the parents of adult twins.

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