Attorneys

John Harris

John specializes in insurance defense, representing people in connection with injury claims. He became a Partner in 1998. When he joined the firm in 1993, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) was in its infant stages. Accordingly, John gained significant trial experience in his early years. Since the early 2000s, however, ADR has made its way onto the legal scene. It's now widely used. While in law school, John received the Faculty Award for ADR. Consequently, his coursework prepared him well for ADR-related resolution options and, since 2000, John has gained significant experience with both mediation and arbitration. For example, John mediates about three to four cases per month.

In addition, he is frequently asked to serve as a mediator. Of course, if settlement negotiations break-down or if mediation fails to resolve the dispute, John is a very capable trial lawyer. He has the experience needed to try your case. To help punctuate his trial skills, John has been a presenter at Continuing Legal Education seminars.

Staff Contact Information

Keisha Smith

Education & Military

Mercer University School of Law

Macon, Georgia, 1993
Doctor of Jurisprudence
Honors: ADR, Legal Writing, and Moot Court

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1985
Bachelor of Arts
Honors: Regular Army Commission and Distinguished Military Graduate

Military

  • Air Defense Artillery
  • Judge Advocate General's Corps
  • Airborne Ranger Qualified

AV Preeminent (Highest) Peer Review Rating by Martindale - Hubbell since 2014

text

More About John

John was a Distinguished Military Graduate from Wake Forest University in 1985, whereupon he was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer (Regular Army.) He served as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in a NATO unit in West Germany. John was an Honor Graduate of his Officer Basic Course and was the Distinguished Honor Graduate of his Air Defense Artillery weapons course. He completed the Army Airborne Course and the Army Ranger Course. After graduating from law school, John transferred into the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps,) where he served from 1994-2012. In 2015, John was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve on Georgia's Court-Martial Review Panel. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

John graduated from Mercer University School of Law in 1993 and returned to Carrollton. He and his wife, Lori, have two children, Josh and Dan, and three grandchildren. John served as a baseball, football, and wrestling coach for almost 20 years; and, since 2003, has served as an assistant high school wrestling coach. He is active in his Church and Sunday school class and, in his free time, John does triathlons. He's done several marathons and has twice completed the 140.6-mile Ironman triathlon, en route to his goal of completing a half-ironman or a full ironman in every state.

While in law school, John served on the Moot Court Board and was a member of the National Moot Court Team. He received the American Jurisprudence Award for Criminal Procedure and the Walter F. George School of Law Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement in Alternative Dispute Resolution and in Legal Writing. He also served on the Honor Court for two years. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and his professional memberships include GDLA and DRI.

I have had numerous cases with John Harris throughout my legal career. Whenever he is on the other side I know that no stone will be left unturned in exploring my clients' prior medical and claims histories. Despite my best efforts to prepare my clients, he always seems to teach me something new...

I have had numerous cases with John Harris throughout my legal career. Whenever he is on the other side I know that no stone will be left unturned in exploring my clients' prior medical and claims histories. Despite my best efforts to prepare my clients, he always seems to teach me something new about my case during discovery. He is zealous in his search for the truth. He is tough, but fair. He gives wise advice and counsel to his clients regarding the cases which should be resolved, but is always ready to try the cases which need to be tried. His word is his bond, and if I was a defense lawyer, I'd want to be just like him. The legal community needs more men like John Harris. If he is your lawyer, you are indeed fortunate.


Stephen Garner

John Harris gave us a very personable experience dealing with a rather trying issue. He stayed in touch, and always gave us a phone call instead of an email. We were both very impressed.

David Brown

Have Questions? Contact Us.